TPB Foods
From No Level Awarded to NHS Evergreen Level 1
TPB Foods had sustainability documents in place but was frustrated by a No Level Awarded result. A focused review identified inconsistencies between its evidence and portal answers. After making the recommended corrections, the team confirmed Level 1 the following morning, ahead of its tender deadline.
Level 1
Confirmed on 15 July 2026
Next morning
Level 1 confirmed after specific advice
Ahead of deadline
Tender deadline: 20 July 2026
The starting point
The documents were there. The result was not.
TPB Foods is a family-run catering butcher and meat supplier based in Bolton. It serves customers including hospitals, care settings and catering businesses, with its own processing facilities and refrigerated delivery fleet.
The team had completed the NHS Evergreen assessment and already had a Carbon Reduction Plan and supporting policies. Receiving No Level Awarded was frustrating. Project Manager Suzanne Durham needed to understand why the submission was falling short and resolve it before a tender deadline on 20 July.
The approach
Follow the evidence through to the answers.
I reviewed the documents and the actual Evergreen responses together, tracing the information from the published Carbon Reduction Plan into the portal. This made it possible to identify the specific inconsistencies affecting the result and explain the corrections clearly.
Two immediate issues stood out. The emissions figures entered into the portal did not match the Carbon Reduction Plan. The response about whether emissions data was publicly available also needed to reflect the published evidence.
My advice set out the checks in order: reconcile the emissions figures and Scope 3 categories, align the target years with the published commitment, correct the public-availability response and recheck the levelling summary. Suzanne could then make the changes herself, knowing what each correction addressed.
The value was in connecting the documents, data and submission as one complete picture. The team gained a clear explanation of the problem and a short, practical route to resolving it.
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“Joanna was quick to identify missed opportunities and assisted us in implementing information gaps and navigating the scope and emissions minefield.”
Suzanne Durham
Project Manager, TPB Foods
The result
A clear correction. A next-day result.
I sent the specific recommendations on 14 July 2026. The following morning, Suzanne confirmed that she had corrected the mismatched emissions information and the public-availability response. TPB Foods had achieved Level 1.
That confirmation came ahead of the 20 July tender deadline. The immediate obstacle was resolved, and the team had a clearer understanding of the importance of keeping its published evidence and Evergreen answers consistent.
Looking ahead
The next carbon reporting cycle.
A future Carbon Reduction Plan update is a potential next step in the relationship. For a meat supplier, understanding the wider supply chain will be an important part of that discussion, alongside its own processing, refrigeration and delivery operations.
The next opportunity is to strengthen the evidence behind the plan and consider practical decarbonisation priorities as NHS expectations develop. This is prospective work, building on the immediate Evergreen result.
