How a leading healthtech organisation turned carbon management into a competitive advantage for NHS tendering
About Accurx
Accurx is a healthcare communication platform built to solve healthcare productivity.
Today, Accurx operates across ~69% of NHS trusts and 96% of GP practices, connecting millions of patients and healthcare professionals across the NHS so that every patient gets gold-standard, efficient, and joined up care.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the platform enabled video consultations, remote patient monitoring, and a vaccine booking system managing almost 30 million vaccinations.
Andrew Field
Senior Bid Led, Accurx
Our entire customer base is the NHS, so sustainability scrutiny and credibility is critical. Furthr gave us the technical rigor, positioning and reference points that carry weight both in social value responses and delivery of initiatives. We now consistently score fours and fives out of five on sustainability and social value; that doesn't happen without the right evidence behind you.
2040
Accurx's Net Zero target year
94%
reduction in
carbon per patient consultation modelled by bespoke calculator
4-5/5
consistent score on the sustainability and social value section of NHS tenders
40%
Scope 3 activity data coverage achieved in the first measurement phase.
Overview
When NHS procurement introduced Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) requirements under PPN 006, publishing a compliant CRP became a condition of participation in the tender process.
Without a structured emissions measurement and decarbonisation plan across Scope 1, 2 and 3, a bid is non-compliant before it reaches evaluation.
On top of that the standard CRP requirement, every NHS tender also carries a minimum 10% combined weighting for net zero and social value. Unlike compliance criteria, which operate on a pass or fail basis, this section is scored and procurement panels rank suppliers against each other on the strength of their evidence.
In a market where public sector buyers are required to make data-driven decisions, it is one of the few areas where suppliers have a genuine opportunity to stand out. The organisations that come in with measurable outcomes rather than described commitments are the ones that win on scoring.
Key challenges to address
Taking carbon management Furthr
Full value chain measurement and Carbon Reduction Plan
Accurx operates across a global value chain spanning multiple channels of communication, so they decided to work with Furthr on their sustainability requirements rather than building an internal function. Furthr's sustainability team worked directly with Accurx's finance, operations, product and bidding teams throughout the programme, providing best practice guidance during measurement, active stakeholder engagement to gather data across the value chain, and continued support post-measurement to strengthen bid responses.
Furthr delivered its carbon management service to build a full value chain emissions measurement, going beyond the minimum PPN 006 requirements, including significant data quality improvement work, cleansing fragmented datasets across Scope 3 and structuring them for ongoing capture. This ranged from engaging with Accurx's telecoms suppliers on SMS lifecycle emissions to surveying temporary staff on commuting patterns. The first phase of measurement delivered 40% activity data coverage across Scope 3.
Quantifying social value impact through a bespoke emissions calculator
Beyond compliance, Furthr built a bespoke calculator comparing a standard GP consultation with the same interaction handled through Accurx's platform. The tool produces a per-consultation carbon comparison across primary and secondary care, from individual practice to NHS-wide level, backed by a methodology document covering system boundaries, assumptions and emissions factors. By quantifying the emissions reduction of digital-first patient care, Accurx has an evidenced answer to every tender question on environmental impact.
As part of their social value commitments within winning bids, Accurx deploys the Furthr app to NHS trust staff, giving clinical and operational teams access to practical guidance on the environmental benefits of their work. Through the calculator, Accurx can also provide NHS trusts with a view of their own emissions baseline, with the intent to re-evaluate it over a 6 to 12 month period and demonstrate measurable progress.
Tender response support and ongoing sustainability expertise
One of the most significant shifts Furthr brought was in how Accurx articulates its sustainability offer. As Andrew Field, Senior Bid Lead at Accurx, describes it, knowing what to say is one thing, but knowing the specific terminology, reference points and alignment to international standards that carry weight in a procurement panel is another. Furthr provided exactly that, alongside a wholesale reset of Accurx's bid response knowledge bank to better reflect the depth and rigour of what they actually do.
Throughout the year, Furthr's sustainability experts worked alongside the Accurx bid team across live tenders, providing ongoing strategic guidance on how to evidence progress, articulate environmental and social impact within each submission, and ensure that every answer accurately reflects the work behind it.
The impact
Accurx holds a PPN 006-compliant CRP published on their website, meeting the condition of participation across all NHS tenders.
This work with Furthr has contributed to a growing portfolio of NHS tender wins representing multi-million pound contracts across primary and secondary care.
Furthr built a bespoke emissions calculator for Accurx that models a 94% reduction in carbon per patient consultation in primary care, giving a verifiable answer to every tender question.
Accurx consistently scores 4 or 5 out of 5 on the sustainability and social value section of NHS tender submissions, driven by Furthr's sustainability expertise and the quality of evidence behind every answer.
An active emission reduction working group is delivering initiatives against Accurx's 2040 net zero target, with an ongoing Scope 3 data improvement plan ensuring reductions are tracked against a measurable baseline.
The carbon management programme already covers future NHS requirements and positions Accurx ahead of the April 2027 expansion to full Scope 3 coverage.
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