Home / NHS Evergreen
NHS Evergreen assessment: what it asks, and how to reach the level you need
Evergreen is the NHS's free sustainability self-assessment for suppliers. You complete it on the Atamis portal, it gives you a maturity level from 1 to 4, and the result lasts 12 months. Most NHS buyers use it for information, but NHS Supply Chain frameworks and NHS England medicines tenders require it.
What is the NHS Evergreen assessment?
Evergreen gives NHS buyers one place to see a supplier's progress on net zero, modern slavery and social value, instead of asking the same questions in every tender. You answer once a year, and the NHS buyers you bid to can see the result (NHS England: Evergreen).
It sits inside a bigger push. Every NHS procurement now carries a minimum 10% weighting for net zero and social value, and the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap sets out what suppliers must show over the next few years. Evergreen is how many buyers check where you are on that road.
What does each Evergreen level require?
| Level | What you need | In plain terms |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | A public commitment to net zero by 2050, with emissions and a target covering Scope 1, Scope 2 and a subset of Scope 3, on a UK boundary | You've measured, and you've committed |
| Level 2 | Level 1 plus all relevant Scope 3, a published modern slavery statement and a corporate social value programme | Your full footprint and your social commitments are on paper |
| Level 3 | A 2045 net zero target, independently validated for the reporting entity, on a global boundary, and the Modern Slavery Assessment Tool completed | Someone outside has checked your target |
| Level 4 | Targets validated for the global parent too, active work to map modern slavery risk in your supply chain, and transparency reporting such as CDP, EcoVadis or B Corp | You report publicly, and you're among the leaders |
Levels are a maturity guide, not a score. Buyers can't rank bids on them, but they can see them. A Level 1 supplier bidding against a Level 3 supplier starts a step behind.
Is Evergreen mandatory for NHS suppliers?
For most NHS contracts, no. Two exceptions matter. NHS Supply Chain frameworks require a completed assessment, and recent NHS Supply Chain tenders ask for Level 1 achieved in the 12 months before the tender closes. NHS England Medicines Value and Access tenders exclude any bidder without an assessment at the selection stage.
The rules are tightening. Since 1 April 2026, the Level 1 questions must be answered before a submission is accepted. From 1 April 2027, suppliers to NHS England medicines tenders must hold a current assessment in the updated format.
How is Evergreen different from a Carbon Reduction Plan?
They're separate, and most NHS suppliers need both. A Carbon Reduction Plan is a document you publish on your website and link to each tender. Evergreen is a questionnaire you answer on the NHS's own portal.
The bar for both rises in 2027. From 1 April 2027, NHS contracts worth £5 million a year or more need a Carbon Reduction Plan covering all relevant Scope 3, with independently validated targets. Our guide to Scope 3 for suppliers covers what that means, and our Carbon Reduction Plan service builds one.
The good news: the same footprint, target and policies feed both. Build them once and answer everything from one set of evidence, including EcoVadis and CDP if your other customers ask.
How do you complete an Evergreen assessment?
- Register on Atamis. Find the assessment under Supplier Assessments in the NHS supplier portal. It costs nothing to complete.
- Gather the evidence first. Your footprint, net zero commitment, modern slavery statement and social value programme. Most delays come from documents that don't exist yet.
- Answer for the level you can prove. Aim for the highest level your evidence supports, not the one you'd like.
- Check the boundary. Levels 1 and 2 accept UK figures. Levels 3 and 4 need global ones.
- Renew every 12 months. Update sooner if something big changes, such as a newly validated target.
Level 2 is a realistic target for most small and mid-sized suppliers within a year. It needs a full Scope 3 screen and two published documents, but no external validation.
Can Nemetan get us to the next Evergreen level?
Yes. We start with a gap check against the level you want, then build what's missing: the footprint, the net zero commitment, the modern slavery statement and the social value programme. We help you answer the assessment and line the same evidence up for your Carbon Reduction Plan. Fixed fee, agreed before we start. Book a 20-minute call.
What this could earn you. Measuring your Scope 3 for Level 2 puts your biggest purchases side by side, often for the first time. That is usually where the waste shows, and where Sustainability Opportunity Discovery starts.
Common questions
Does the NHS Evergreen assessment cost anything?
No. It is free to complete on the Atamis portal. The real cost is the time it takes to gather the evidence.
How long does an Evergreen assessment last?
12 months. The NHS recommends completing it every year and updating it whenever something significant changes.
What is the Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment?
It is the full name of the NHS Evergreen assessment: a free online self-assessment that gives NHS suppliers a sustainability maturity level from 1 to 4.
The NHS will keep raising the bar. Suppliers who climb now will find the 2027 rules a short step, not a cliff. Book a call and we'll tell you which level your evidence supports today.