About questions and answers
We have grouped questions into different elements of the Evergreen Assessment process to assist you in finding relevant information.
What
This group of questions and answers is in relation to the products and tenders covered by the policy.
Products and services
Question
What categories of products and services fall within the scope of these requirements?
Answer
Products and services that fall within the scope of these requirements cover a range of categories including:
- medicines
- medical technology (appliances/devices)
- borderline substances
- plasma derived products
- homecare
Entities submitting a bid in response to any category tender managed by the Medicines Value and Access (MVA) procurement team, will be required to comply with these requirements.
Question
Does this requirement cover all medicines and vaccines tenders in the UK?
Answer
Following on from the answer above, medicines procurements undertaken by other bodies including the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the devolved administrations and NHS procurement hubs are not in scope of this requirement.
Checking inclusion of requirements
Question
How will my organisation know if an NHS tender requires the submission of an Evergreen assessment?
Answer
Entities submitting a bid in response to a tender undertaken by the NHS England Medicines Value and Access directorate, are required to submit an Evergreen Assessment.
Bidders will recognise if a tender requires an Evergreen submission through consulting the tender pack, which outlines the requirements for that tender. The Selection / Qualification Questionnaire section of the tender pack will contain specific questions related to Evergreen.
In addition, it will also be clear in tender adverts, packs and other documentation that the tender is being carried out by NHS England Medicines Value and Access Directorate. This will confirm that an Evergreen assessment will need to be submitted to proceed in the tender process.
Who
This group of questions and answers is in relation to the type of supplier.
Suppliers affected
Questions
Several questions have been asked on this theme. These include:
- I am a distributor/wholesaler/provide a third-party product or service, do I need to submit an Evergreen Assessment?
- I am an organisation with subsidiaries, do I need to complete an assessment, or should this be the subsidiary?
- My organisation is based outside of the UK, does it still mean I need to submit an Evergreen Assessment?
Answer
Entities submitting a bid in response to an NHS England Medicines Value and Access tender are required to submit an Evergreen Assessment as outlined in the tender pack.
If a distributor, wholesaler or provider of a third-party product or service is a subcontractor for a bidding entity, they will not be required to complete an Evergreen Assessment. However, they are able to do so if they wish to assess their own progress in line with NHS England commitments.
Subsidiary of a parent company
Question
My organisation is a subsidiary of a parent company. Can we use our parent company’s Evergreen assessment?
Answer
When completing the Evergreen assessment, a supplier can choose to report information at contracting entity, regional or global level, provided that:
- the figures reported entirely cover the targets and emissions of the entity contracting with the NHS
- the chosen reporting level is used consistently across all the data provided to allow for meaningful analysis
Specifically for medicines tenders, in order to meet the requirement to complete an Evergreen assessment, the supplier needs to ensure there is a submission recorded under the bidding entity’s supplier record, irrespective of the level at which the data is provided.
When
This group of questions and answers is in relation to timelines.
Timeframe for submission
Question
What is the timeframe for submitting an Evergreen Assessment for procurements in 2024?
Answer
Suppliers that are bidding for NHS England medicines tenders where the procurement process began on or after 1st January 2024 will need to submit an Evergreen Assessment prior to, or on, the deadline for tender bids. This is outlined in the relevant tender documentation.
The presence of an active supplier Evergreen submission will be confirmed at the Selection Questionnaire (SQ) stage of the tendering process by the procurement team.
Scope
This group of questions and answers is in relation to the policy scope.
New medicines
Question
Will the new process also apply to new medicines to treat currently unmet medical need?
Answer
This process relates to all NHS England medicines procurement processes commencing on or after January 1st 2024 where suppliers bid to be on a framework or contract. This will not be a requirement for the new to market or negotiated access medicines.
Requirements
This group of questions and answers is in relation to the policy requirements.
Additional criteria
Question
Can buyers using NHS England Medicines Value and Access frameworks and contracts, add additional 10% Net Zero and Social Value criteria to their orders?
Answer
At the moment, buyers using NHS England Medicines Value and Access frameworks and contracts are not able to add further Net Zero and Social Value questions to their order. This is because the facility to do so has not been included in the framework procurement documentation. However, this may evolve in the future.
Frequency of submission
Question
Will bidders be asked to submit a new Evergreen Assessment for every tender they are bidding for?
Answer
Bidders are only required to submit an Evergreen Assessment once per year. This will then make them compliant for any tenders that they bid for during that period.
Additionally, suppliers can make updates to their Evergreen Assessment submission throughout the year if they wish to do so.
Replacing Net Zero and Social Value questions
Question
Will the Evergreen Assessment replace the use of Net Zero and Social Value questions within NHS England medicines tenders?
Answer
Using the Evergreen assessment meets the requirements of the 2022 milestone of the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap; the Net Zero and Social Value model within NHS England Medicines Value and Access medicines tenders. However further social value questions may be included in these procurements in the future.
Evaluation
This group of questions and answers is in relation to evaluating submissions.
Comparing submissions
Question
Will Evergreen levels be compared between bidders and will scores be allocated to different Evergreen levels as part of tender evaluations?
Answer
The Evergreen submissions of different bidders will not be scored or compared with each other. The requirement is a pass/fail requirement, based on the existence of an active Evergreen Assessment submission.
While NHS suppliers are encouraged to aim for the highest Evergreen levels, a specific level is not required as part of the procurement process.
Assessment not submitted
Question
What happens if my company has not submitted an Evergreen Assessment when bidding for an NHS England medicine tender?
Answer
A bidding entity that has not submitted an Evergreen Assessment at the tender SQ stage will be excluded from the rest of the procurement process. They will not be able to become part of the medicines framework or contract they are bidding to be a part of.
Submission not achieving a level
Question
What are the consequences of submitting an Evergreen Assessment but not achieving a level?
Answer
We understand that medicines suppliers are at different stages on their journey to Net Zero. If a bidder has submitted an Evergreen Assessment (level not required) then they will not be excluded from NHS England medicines tenders at this time. However, we encourage bidders to achieve the highest level possible in the assessment to align with NHS England priorities and future requirements.
Alignment
This group of questions and answers is in relation to alignment with wider policies.
Alignment to Government
Question
Is this aligned to wider Government requirements on social value reporting and procurement processes?
Answer
Yes, this policy builds on the UK Government’s PPN 06/20 and ensures net zero and social value is included in NHS England medicine tenders.
Evergreen and Carbon Reduction Plans
This group of questions and answers is in relation to the difference between Evergreen assessments and Carbon Reduction Plans (CRPs).
Supplier roadmap requirements
Question
Are the Evergreen Assessment and Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) requirements related?
Answers
Evergreen Assessment and CRP requirements are different and additional.
CRPs must be published on the supplier’s website, updated annually, and linked for each tender a supplier completes as per the guidance on the CRP policy.
Evergreen is a self-assessment that is updated annually but does not need to be submitted for each tender opportunity.