Supply chain and procurement

The NHS supply chain accounts for 62% of its carbon footprint. One of the two key carbon targets for the NHS is to achieve net zero status of its supply chain by 2045. The aspirational target in this plan is for Integrated Care System (ICS) members to bring this target forward to 2040.

The benchmarking exercise flagged up procurement as an area requiring improvement, with only four Trusts having a green procurement plan, and a further two Trusts and one former Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) working on such a plan. This is a key area for ICS members to address.

Embedding best practice

The ICS currently deals with supply chain sustainability via its general procurement group. The option of a specific sustainable procurement working group will be kept open as the strategy progresses.