NHS Supply Chain: Food to launch new Carbon Toolkit – Supporting trusts on their Net Zero journey

NHS Supply Chain: Food is set to launch a comprehensive new Carbon Toolkit, designed to help NHS trusts understand, measure and reduce the environmental impact of their food and catering services. The resource will be available soon on the NHS Supply Chain: Food web page.

Developed by the Culinary and Dietetics Team, the toolkit provides practical, accessible training materials to support NHS catering, procurement and sustainability teams in embedding carbon‑reduction practices across their operations.

We wanted to make high‑quality training materials more accessible to our customers in the NHS. With increasing resource pressures, not all trusts can attend external academies or host in‑house training. This toolkit offers practical advice to help teams build knowledge, share best practice and strengthen support across the NHS.

Kathryn Browne, Head of Operations, NHS Supply Chain: Food

The launch follows extensive Carbon Literacy Training undertaken by the NHS Supply Chain: Food workforce throughout 2024 and 2025. Staff across the team, including Food Account Managers, Chefs, Dietitians, Category Buyers and Procurement Specialists completed training to deepen their understanding of carbon impacts and develop the skills needed to reduce emissions in their day‑to‑day roles and lives.

The new toolkit brings this expertise together, offering guidance informed by subject matter experts who work directly with trusts.

This new toolkit is brilliant. It provides practical, day‑to‑day insights from the experts within our Food Team who support trusts every day. I’m confident NHS organisations will gain real value from it.

Sam Lee, Category Manager, NHS Supply Chain

Our Carbon Toolkit aims to support trusts in understanding, measuring and reducing the environmental impact of their food and catering services. By offering practical guidance and actionable insights, we’re helping trusts make more sustainable procurement and operational decisions while maintaining high standards of patient care and nutrition.

Pirianka Louis Montfort, Nutrition Compliance Manager, NHS Supply Chain

The development of the toolkit has been a collaborative effort, involving sustainability specialists at NHS Supply Chain: Food, NHS England, suppliers, customers and the organisation’s internal Sustainability working group.

NHS Supply Chain: Food expects the toolkit to benefit a wide range of stakeholders, including catering managers, procurement teams and sustainability leads. It will also support NHS trusts with their Carbon Reduction Plans and advancing broader sustainability initiatives.

This toolkit provides a vital reference point for organisations progressing their Net Zero ambitions. More than guidance, it offers practical support to help customers confidently navigate their sustainability journey. Through NHS Supply Chain: Food, we are equipping customers with exclusive, actionable tools designed to drive meaningful change.

Kathryn Browne, Head of Operations, NHS Supply Chain: Food

NHS trusts are encouraged to contact NHS Supply Chain: Food for tailored support with Carbon Reduction Plans or any other sustainability‑related guidance.