The meeting of envoys for the COP26 conference has pushed green targets and the climate change agenda to the forefront of everyone’s mind, including NHS suppliers.

Government agencies, private companies and individuals have all been moved to look after our planet and join the journey to net zero.

The NHS and health services will play a vital role in helping government achieve these ambitions, protecting the environment, and delivering a sustainable health service for the future.

Decarbonisation commitments – what’s been said

Numerous announcements were made during the global climate conference, including the NHS aspiring to achieve net zero.

All four of the UK health services made the pledge, aiming to develop climate resilient, sustainable low-carbon health systems.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “As a health community, we cannot simply sit on the sidelines – we must respond to climate change through urgent action, with global collaboration at its core.

“(…) it is brilliant news that dozens of countries have joined the UK in committing to reduce carbon emissions from their health systems – significantly cutting greenhouse gas output around the world.”

More than £280m is being invested in de-carbonising the NHS estate in England through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, with a further £1.425bn in funding confirmed for the whole public sector across this Spending Review period.

Following the conference, the world’s first ever net zero health building standard will be launched and will be applied as part of this government’s commitment to build 48 new hospitals before 2030.

So how do I win more NHS tenders?

With such a huge estate, the NHS is a substantial source of greenhouse gas, however, it’s not just the buildings that contribute to emissions, medicines and the NHS supply chain (link to other blog) account for some 62% of total carbon emissions.

Lowering this is a key priority for the NHS, in fact Health Secretary Sajid Javid also stated that: “From 2030, the NHS will no longer purchase from suppliers that are not aligned with its net zero ambitions.”

NHS England has stated that all NHS suppliers will need to publish a carbon reduction plan. In Scotland, the NHS will review supply chains and take action to reduce their negative impacts while promoting positive effects.

Reducing emissions will be part of all new procurement contracts for major suppliers to NHS Wales.

While health and social care in Northern Ireland will help to influence supply chains to reduce their carbon emissions in supplying health and social care.

What does this mean for suppliers?

Anyone looking to supply into the health sector must be looking at their green strategy as part of their bid.

With such innovation and new solutions becoming more attractive to the sector, its also a great time for those who haven’t traditionally been suppliers to look at this new, and lucrative, market.

And a great way of staying one step ahead of the competition is using business intelligence platform Health Contracts International (HCI).

Find out more here

Top tips for healthcare suppliers to go green

• Give your tender credibility – put a plan in place now and have a track record of green credentials
• Consider your company’s culture – a green policy can include small changes such as reducing printing, turning off computers, losing the plastic cups, or a cycle to work scheme. Using eco-technologies will not only improve your bid, but also help your bottom line
• Consider using electric vehicles or consolidating deliveries to lessen carbon emissions
• Reduce, reuse and recycle your waste
• Innovate – green technologies and solutions will be more in-demand than ever
• Consider your supply chain – can you change a product to something more eco-friendly?
• Get advice – there are many advice services that can help you understand your carbon footprint and where improvements can be made

The NHS spends around £27 billion every year on healthcare tenders – but they don’t just purchase pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

As one of the biggest employers in the world, the NHS requires a huge infrastructure to maintain its operations with thousands of NHS contracts and NHS tenders up for grabs.

Therefore, they are always in the market for a wide range of goods and services from suppliers.

Here are examples of NHS England and healthcare contracts which are available in 2021:

• Electronic patient record systems
• Shared or integrated care records
• IT services and cyber security
• Digital tools and analytics
• Tools and applications that support direct patient care
• Surveys
• Workforce development
• Transformation and change support – expert advice and management to design and build the necessary infrastructures for integrated care systems
• Patient empowerment and activation – services and technologies to help patients manage their own health and wellbeing
• System optimisation – improved care models, patient flow solutions, digitisation etc
• System assurance support – provision of measurements, models and benchmarks to measure and manage quality, cost and clinical outcomes
• Medicines optimisation – provision of support to develop, implement and deliver strategies to deliver improved outcomes from medicines

Some of the biggest and most recognisable firms in the UK and beyond supply these services to the NHS along with thousands of smaller sub-contractors.

These include Deloitte, IBM, Ipsos MORI, KPMG, PA Consulting Group, Philips Electronics and Siemens among many others. There are also countless SMEs who are part of the NHS supply chain.

And with hundreds of new healthcare tenders going live every day it’s more important than ever to stay head of the competition.

Why is now an important time for healthcare tenders?

The UK Government agreed to boost NHS spending by a further £36.6bn which means, inevitably, more NHS tenders will go live in 2022.

They have also committed to award 33% of public contracts to SME meaning now is the perfect time for smaller companies to get their foot in the door and supply their goods and services.

In January, UK health sector buyers published 736 contract notices, with the value of these healthcare contracts ranging from over £1 billion to less than £100,000, so the opportunities for suppliers to work in the health sector are plentiful and lucrative.

Even as the COVID-pandemic subsides, the NHS and wider global health industry will continue to spend billions on procuring goods and services to maintain their day-to-day operations.

How HCI can help you win more healthcare tenders

Healthcare suppliers can now find, and win, more NHS contracts thanks to a new data-driven intelligence and insights platform.

Health Contracts International (HCI) is the only business intelligence solution dedicated to the lucrative healthcare market.

HCI includes all frameworks and DPS contracts and also provides users with a wealth of market insight, including analysis of healthcare buyer spending patterns, trends and specialist industry news.

Register to find out more about HCI with a free demo