With 60% of the NHS’s carbon footprint coming from its supply chain, tackling procurement waste is one of the most impactful things the health service can do for sustainability. Multiple NHS trusts have adopted Warp-It to redistribute surplus furniture, equipment, and consumables internally and between partner organisations.
NHS trusts typically take around one year to build momentum before reaching critical mass on the platform. The key success factors identified across multiple trusts include CEO-level support, procurement leadership in championing the platform, and close collaboration with facilities teams who handle the physical logistics of moving items.
While procurement owns the platform strategically, facilities teams are the operational backbone – coordinating collections, deliveries, and storage of redistributed items across hospital sites.
“Wasteful procurement and waste costs are not acceptable.”
Andy Hay, NHS Lothian and NHS Tayside
“Warp it is owned by Procurement, but Facilities are really the key players.”
NHS implementation insight
“Fear of giving stuff away is one of the most challenging issues…throwing stuff away is worse!”
NHS sustainability lead on overcoming cultural barriers
Once established, NHS trusts using Warp-It achieve rapid savings – £30,000 was saved in just a two-month period across participating trusts. More importantly, the platform helps address the 60% of NHS carbon emissions that come from the supply chain, aligning with the NHS’s commitment to reaching net zero.
The biggest cultural shift is overcoming the fear of giving items away. As practitioners have found, the alternative – throwing perfectly usable items away – is far worse both financially and environmentally.
Join the growing number of NHS trusts saving money with Warp-It.
