Decarbonising healthcare together

Our ambition is to transform our business and become a global leader in sustainable healthcare, decoupling our growth from resource constraints and reducing our dependency on virgin fossil materials and fuels.

We have formalised our climate change mitigation efforts through the Science Based Targets initiative which validated our near-term GHG emission reduction targets, as well as the Net Zero target, confirming that we are fully aligned with the 1.5°C pathway and the ambitions of the Paris Agreement. 

The commitment includes our own operations (Scope 1 and 2), as well as Scope 3 upstream and downstream. Scope 3 covers around ~89% of our total emissions (in 2024); it includes purchased goods and services, transportation, application, use and end-of-life treatment of products.

Innovating to spur transition to low-carbon economy

Apart from aligning with the 1.5°C pathway, we ramp up developing and delivering sustainable solutions to support the transition to a clean low-carbon economy using the UN Sustainable Development Goals on Affordable and Clean Energy (#7) and Climate Action (#13) as a lens to address challenges, build a strong growth strategy and access new markets along the way.

To make rapid progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reach the Scope 1 and 2 target while maintaining long-term business growth, we have now transitioned to 100% renewable electricity and  we continually reduce our absolute energy consumption year-on-year, while looking into fossil-free heat sources. We actively pursue energy efficiency and conservation programmes at our locations across the globe.

The target on 100 % active annual sourcing of renewable electricity was reached in December 2024 with all of our established and new manufacturing sites and the headquarters securing 100% renewable electricity either through the long-term virtual Power Purchase Agreements (the sites in the EU and Malaysia) or Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). Furthermore, we have made a significant progress in our efforts to increase the share of renewable electricity from onsite sources with higher additionality with sites in Malaysia, UK and Thailand having completed the installation of solar photovoltaic systems which accounted for 7%, 15% and 5% of the sites’ annual electricity consumption in 2024 respectively. The work on the solar panel installation on our factory in Belgium is underway. 

We partner with customers and suppliers to drive sustainable innovation to reduce GHG emissions in our value chains across our businesses. Below are just a few examples of the work we do to reduce GHG emissions in our value chains:

• Developing new digital solutions in order to meet the increasing demand for resource-efficient products and enable our customers to reduce their own emissions and material use. One example is Mölnlycke Portal.
• Introducing renewably sourced alternatives to fossil-based products, using biobased plastics.
• Improving the holistic environmental footprint of product formulations while guaranteeing the same performance during customer application or transport.
• Providing customers with information about the product footprint, including GHG emissions, using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. 33.6% of our solutions by net sales were assessed through LCA in 2024.
• Improving logistics performance, for example by optimising transportation routes of raw materials and final products, as well as using lower emission transport options.
• Facilitating full recyclability of Mölnlycke packaging by switching to monomaterials when possible and increasing recycled or biobased content.
• Encouraging supply chain partners to commit to the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Sustainable investments

We have introduced GHG emissions assessment into relevant investment requests to drive further awareness of the environmental and future economic impact of major decisions, and to strengthen the sustainability of our business portfolio as a result.

An internal carbon price for investment decisions has been included, anticipating the impact of any future carbon pricing. The internal price of carbon implemented is uniform and static and set to a relatively high level, EUR 100/t, to internalise potential future costs of carbon in the long term. It enables the management to arbitrate between different options, to choose the most virtuous and efficient ones to achieve the goals of Net Zero by 2050 at the latest. Mölnlycke’s suppliers and customers might be impacted by carbon pricing, which creates both risks and opportunities. For example, the company can mitigate the carbon cost impact for its suppliers and customers by offering sustainable solutions.

Increasing transparency

Our GHG value chain emissions (Scope 1, 2 and 3) are made transparent through our external sustainability reporting, which is in line with the GHG Protocol and follows partly GRI standards and partly CSRD standards ahead of the regulation. We use key indicators to track our progress and drive continuous improvement processes in every function, supported by external benchmarks.

We support the recommendations from Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and include those disclosures in our external sustainability reporting. We recognise that climate change will pose risks as well as opportunities for us and our customers, both directly through our operations and indirectly through our stakeholder activities. Therefore, we listen to the needs of our stakeholders when operating and providing our solutions.

Finally, we have implemented stricter GHG emission reductions measures in our travel policy, which applies to all employees and consultants. This includes eliminating unnecessary travel and switching to alternative transportation means that are more efficient and produce fewer GHG emissions.