Small business, national value: how Nuvoli is helping the NHS cut mobile waste

Your work phone connects you to colleagues, keeps you informed on the move, and helps you get things done wherever you are in the world. But have you ever stopped to think about what happens when it is no longer needed?

Every public sector phone has a lifecycle. How we manage that device lifecycle matters more than you might think. Smart mobile management is a simple way to cut waste and improve sustainability. 

How smart management cuts mobile waste

By rethinking how we manage mobile devices, unused technology can be reused, resold, or donated. This helps improve digital inclusion across the UK and creates real value for the nation through charities such as the Good Things Foundation – the UK’s leading digital inclusion charity. Its mission is to help everyone become digitally equal, able and safe, so that they can be happier, healthier and better off.

Every unused public sector phone donated to charity is an opportunity to bridge the digital divide. 

It could:

• help a grandmother stay connected with friends and family through video calls
• provide job seekers who cannot afford smartphones with access to learning and employment opportunities
• support a family where children are sharing one device for schoolwork

Money saved. Waste diverted. More people connected.

Nuvoli, a telecommunications service provider and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), recognised this opportunity and developed a bespoke telecommunications audit service. The audit can achieve up to 80% cost savings for organisations, including releasing cash from device trade in and recycling.

But their work goes beyond savings. 

Nuvoli also reviews: 

• current spend 
• device usage 
• active connections 
• the carbon footprint of an entire mobile estate

The audit takes around 15 minutes and gives organisations full transparency about their mobile usages across their estate. It identifies lines that are no longer active, highlights usage patterns and strengthens security by making sure devices and SIM cards are accounted for.

The biggest cost benefit is a comparison that Nuvoli conducts for customers across the tariffs on offer from the main mobile voice and data providers. This comparison can achieve savings of up to 70%, even when organisations stay with their current service provider. 

Reducing carbon and device waste

By taking note of the number of active connections and devices used within an estate, Nuvoli can also calculate the carbon footprint for the organisation, removing device waste and reducing CO2 output. 

For example:

• not replacing a mobile phone saves 84.8kg of CO2 by avoiding the manufacture of a new device
• for every inactive device that is recovered from an audit and then reused, it will generate 24p per 84.4kg

For every 100 phones recovered, Nuvoli typically recommends organisations:

• keep 50
• sell 40
• donate 10 to charities such as the Good Things Foundation

Phones that may have been destined for landfill become a lifeline for people in need. This directly supports the government’s Digital Inclusion Action Plan. 

Nuvoli’s journey to becoming a public sector supplier

Having previously only supplied to the private sector, in 2022 co-founders of Nuvoli, Jason Standerwick and Bruce Harper made the decision to bid for a place as a supplier on our RM6261 Mobile Voice and Data Services agreement. 

Bruce explains: 

As an SME, we had always aspired to become a public sector supplier but felt we lacked the experience and knowledge to apply for a framework. After learning more about the Mobile Voice and Data Services agreement and specifically Mobile Audit Lot 3 – this changed everything.

Driven by our mission to help clients save money and streamline processes, we felt compelled to bid as we are passionate about extending our services to the public sector. From this point on, we committed 100% and put every ounce of effort into our response.

The bidding process forced us to rethink how we explained what we do and how we do it, which was time consuming, but we realised that the questions we were being asked about our business operations, whilst challenging, weren’t barriers. They were sensible requests, just expressed in a language we needed to learn.

Nuvoli won a place as sole supplier on Lot 3. 

Helping us find our feet and win business 

For a small business, trust is everything. We might offer better value, but without verified credentials, it’s an uphill battle. Becoming a Government Commercial Agency (GCA) approved supplier changed that. It opened previously closed doors and gave us an invisible seal of approval that built immediate trust with buyers, confirming we offer a genuine solution. 

Bruce said, continuing:

We’d won this opportunity, but we were apprehensive because we didn’t know what to do next. Gaining a place on a framework is one thing. Turning it into revenue was another challenge entirely.

For Nuvoli, everything changed when they met with the GCA commercial team and Commercial Practitioner Amber Jones became their dedicated representative. The support they received included pointing them towards opportunities, guiding and signposting to aggregation events, technology forums and market engagement support. 

Bruce adds:

It was just the right level of hand-holding. Our initial apprehension of dealing with the government quickly melted away.

A call from NHS London Procurement Partnership (LPP) changed everything for Bruce and his co-founder Jason. Through a collaborative agreement with GCA, NHS England now actively encourages trusts across the country to book free telecommunications gold audits worth £370.

200 NHS Trusts and counting

Nuvoli has significantly transformed its public sector engagement and now confidently helps the NHS manage its mobile estate.

Nuvoli has led them in carrying out audits across 200 trusts so far. In many cases, up to 25% of paid mobile lines were not being used. 

The results have been significant: 

• up to 80% average rate saving on their mobile spend upon first using the rates available under the GCA framework
• reduced waste across mobile estates – 500,000+ mobile connections audited
• improved device recovery and reuse 
• minimal administrative burden, as call-offs are managed through NHS LPP

Shah Miah, Category Manager, Digital & Technology Solutions at NHS LPP, says:

Donating or recycling mobile devices supports the NHS’s digital transformation and 10-year plan by reducing digital exclusion and improving access to services like the NHS App. It also contributes to net zero goals by extending device lifecycles, a practical example of how social value and sustainability can be delivered alongside improved patient outcomes.

Amber reflects: 

Watching Nuvoli grow and now delivering audits across NHS Trusts nationwide – that’s exactly why helping SMEs matters. Smaller suppliers can make a real difference when given the chance.

Following this success, a similar campaign is now planned for engagement within Local Government.

The change we are here to make

Every mobile phone reused is one less device in landfill. Every device donated to charity connects someone who was isolated. Every pound saved goes back into frontline patient care, helping to build an NHS fit for the future.

Nuvoli’s story shows what is possible when smaller suppliers are given a fair chance. It is about building a nation where we think about the environmental and citizen benefits of our procurement choices. Where creating value for the nation means something real.

Building on the successful outcome of the NHS audits, GCA aims to replicate this success across other sectors beginning with local government. By uniting the expertise of GCA Internal Stakeholders, including Category and CXD, and Nuvoli Ltd, we have identified 81 key organisations primed to benefit from this strategic campaign. We invite all local government organisations to leverage this collaborative campaign to identify cost-saving opportunities and enhance service delivery.

If you are interested in participating in this campaign, please contact Nuvoli Ltd directly at ccsenquiry@nuvoli.net. 

Inspired by Nuvoli’s journey?

Want to learn more? You can:

• watch our video about Nuvoli’s story
• find out how your organisation can apply to become one of our suppliers and access public sector opportunities