The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) remains one of the world’s most ambitious health systems in its pursuit of Net Zero, with a clear and escalating set of expectations for every organisation that supplies goods or services into its clinical, pharmaceutical, digital and non-clinical procurement frameworks. In 2020, the NHS made history by becoming the world’s first health system to pledge to achieve net zero and take steps to lessen the effects of climate change in the future. As non-medicine supply chain emissions represent more than 40% of the total NHS carbon footprint, suppliers must now provide robust, transparent, and scientifically credible climate disclosures in line with the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap. For many, this is proving challenging, particularly where claims of carbon neutrality or emissions reductions must withstand scrutiny from NHS procurement teams, auditors and regulators. In this context, ISO 14068 verification can be a strategic tool for healthcare and pharmaceutical suppliers. Although it is not a Net Zero standard, the ISO 14068 standard provides a scientifically robust, auditable methodology for defining and demonstrating credible carbon neutrality.
Why NHS Suppliers Face Heightened Carbon Accountability
Increasing expectations under the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap
The 2024 update to the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap sets out several escalating milestones that suppliers must meet. These requirements are no longer optional or reserved for only the highest-emission sectors. Instead, they apply across the entire supply chain, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, laboratory consumables, digital platforms, food products and service providers.
Key milestones include:
- Carbon Reduction Plans for high-value contracts (2024 onwards): All organisations bidding for or maintaining NHS contracts over £5 million per year must publish a compliant Carbon Reduction Plan. This ensures large suppliers demonstrate transparency, reduction intent and alignment with NHS climate objectives.
- Universal organisational carbon reporting by 2027: By April 2027, every NHS supplier (regardless of contract size or category) must publish a full organisational emissions footprint. This marks a significant shift in procurement culture, requiring even SMEs to invest in emissions measurement and reporting.
- Lifecycle-level product and service emissions data by 2028: From 2028, suppliers will need to quantify the emissions associated with products, materials, devices, medicines, packaging, logistics, and services. This will require lifecycle analysis, supply chain engagement and improved emissions accounting systems.
- Alignment with the NHS net zero target by 2030: By 2030, NHS procurement teams will only contract suppliers that can demonstrate alignment with the wider NHS net zero target. Carbon performance will influence scoring, contract renewals, and long-term supplier relationships.
Understanding ISO 14068 and Why It Matters for Healthcare Suppliers
The ISO 14068 standard defines a transparent, science-based, and globally recognised method for achieving and demonstrating carbon neutrality. Unlike Net Zero framework, which rely heavily on deep reductions and long-term removals, ISO 14068 focuses specifically on:
- Accurate quantification of all organisational or product-level emissions
- Prioritising real emissions reductions before compensation
- Applying high-integrity offsetting only for residual emissions
- Ensuring all claims are independently verified
This creates clear boundaries around the term carbon neutral, preventing misuse and improving trust among NHS buyers.
Why ISO 14068 is becoming essential in healthcare
- Healthcare and pharmaceutical supply chains present unique sustainability challenges:
- Highly regulated manufacturing environments
- Cold-chain logistics with significant energy demands
- Global outsourcing and complex supplier networks
- High-emission raw materials, especially chemicals and biologics
- Device sterilisation processes that rely on energy-intensive systems
These factors increase scrutiny over carbon claims.
Because ISO 14068 combines scientific methodology with independent auditing, it helps suppliers:
- Demonstrate credibility within NHS tenders
- Avoid accusations of misleading environmental claims
- Build trust with regulators, investors, and procurement teams
- Prepare for the deeper lifecycle reporting requirements arriving in 2028
In short, ISO 14068 strengthens the integrity of sustainability communications in a sector where claims must be precise, defensible and thoroughly evidenced.
How ISO 14068 Verification Aligns with NHS Net Zero Expectations
Enhancing the credibility of carbon claims
The NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap expects suppliers to justify how they calculated emissions, what reductions have been achieved and which offset projects they rely on
ISO 14068 verification supports this shift by ensuring:
- All emissions are calculated using standardised, recognised methodologies
- Reductions are implemented and documented before any offsetting is used
- Only high-quality offsets are applied
- All claims undergo independent third-party assessment
This gives procurement teams confidence that carbon neutrality claims used in tender responses, marketing or packaging are scientifically credible.
Supporting compliant Carbon Reduction Plans (CRPs)
A key expectation within the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap is the requirement for accurate and meaningful Carbon Reduction Plans under PPN 006.
Learn More: Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 006
ISO 14068 complements this by requiring:
- A comprehensive baseline emissions inventory
- Clear, evidence-led reduction strategies
- Year-on-year progress tracking
- Transparent reporting and documentation
- A structured approach to outlining residual emissions and offsets
Suppliers adopting ISO 14068 standards typically find it significantly easier to maintain compliant CRPs and demonstrate continuous improvement.
Preparing for lifecycle-level emissions reporting (2028 onwards)
From 2028, the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap will require 100% of suppliers to provide product-level lifecycle emissions data.
ISO 14068 supports this transition by driving organisations to:
- Develop detailed emissions mapping across all value chain stages
- Strengthen data systems used to collect Scope 3 information
- Engage upstream suppliers to improve data accuracy
- Build internal capability for lifecycle analysis (LCA)
- Align internal reporting structures with NHS procurement templates
Suppliers that begin preparing now will be better positioned to secure long-term NHS contracts.
The Business Case for ISO 14068 Verification in Pharma and Healthcare
Competitive advantage in NHS tendering: Sustainability performance is now a formal scoring component in NHS procurement. Suppliers that can provide auditable carbon neutrality claims are:
- More likely to receive higher sustainability scores
- Better positioned to win multi-year contracts
- Less likely to be challenged during procurement audits
- Seen as lower risk by NHS Trusts
Reduced reputational and compliance risk: Environmental claims within healthcare are highly scrutinised. Several global pharmaceutical and medtech companies have faced reputational damage for unverified or misleading neutrality claims. ISO 14068 mitigates this risk because:
- Claims undergo independent verification
- Reduction evidence is fully documented
- Offsets must meet strict quality criteria
- Transparency is a core requirement
Acceleration of internal decarbonisation efforts: The process of achieving carbon neutrality using the ISO 14068 standard often reveals operational inefficiencies.
- Quantify emissions hotspots
- Evaluate manufacturing efficiency
- Optimise logistics and distribution
- Improve data transparency across suppliers
- Implement cost-saving energy performance measures
ISO 14068 therefore acts as both a compliance tool and a strategic driver of continuous emissions reduction.
The Bottom Line
The NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap is redefining what good practice looks like in supplier sustainability. Pharmaceutical, medical device, digital health and wider healthcare organisations are increasingly expected to demonstrate credible carbon neutrality supported by transparent, defensible evidence to meet compliance obligations and remain competitive. ISO 14068 supports carbon neutrality, not Net Zero. It complements, but does not replace, the deep-reduction pathways expected under future NHS regulations. ISO 14068 offers a clear, science-based, auditable pathway to demonstrate organisational integrity and support the NHS mission.