Sustainable portfolios

The benefits of a Life Cycle Assesment are twofold:

1. They inform internal decision making, ensure that continual improvement projects focus on the highest impact areas and do not cause unintended negative impacts, securing the best route for innovation, toward the sustainable solution that both our customers and internal governance require.
2. If they are conducted to a high and consistent standard, they enable customers to more accurately reflect their enviornmental impact, and understand where they too can focus improvement.

When making sustainability claims through LCA comparisons of products and services, Mölnlycke adheres to the following principles:

• Employ the same methodology, assumptions, and scope used for measuring our own products, guaranteeing an equitable comparison within our portfolio.
• Compare the product being evaluated with the average product from our portfolio, rather than with competitors', to underscore improvements and avoid misleading claims.
• Where available, utilize Product Category Rules (PCRs) relevant to the product category. Based on ISO 14040, ISO 14044, ISO 14025 PCRs define the guidelines for creating an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for a specific category and may include industry averages for comparison.

In making sustainability claims, transparency and accuracy are paramount for Mölnlycke. To avoid the risks of "greenwashing" and potential harm to our reputation, it's crucial that our claims are substantiated by reliable data and adhere to pertinent guidelines and standards.

Individual product Life Cycle Assessments inform our work with a holistic sustainability assessment of our portfolio that we conduct in a systematic manner aligned with standardised methodology.

Mölnlycke is actively engaged in promoting a circular economy, incorporating circular practices throughout its entire value chain. Mölnlycke recognises the transformative possibilities across every facet of its business with a collaborative focus on providing its customers with sustainable solutions that utilise resources responsibly and create a minimal environmental impact, while delivering the optimum positive societal impact.

Mölnlycke adapted the standardised categorisation methodology, Sustainable Product Portfolio Assessment, from the portfolio framework tool developed by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) as fit for purpose for a MedTech company.

The company’s portfolio approach promotes the use of safer and more sustainable products, compared to mainstream products or services available on the market, in all stages of the value chain. Mölnlycke’s responsibility stretches to the whole life cycle, from sourcing, transportation, manufacturing through to customer use and end of life. The company assesses the sustainability performance of all products and services and builds sustainability thinking into its innovation process through sustainable design insights and eco-design tools.

Mölnlycke segments its product portfolio into the following three categories to reflect the sustainability risks and opportunities.

• “Leading solutions” are solutions that offer significant sustainability benefits for customers compared to mainstream alternatives in the market, while providing the same or better functionality and no adverse impacts on any other sustainability criteria.
• “Performers” are solutions which meet the needs of Mölnlycke’s customers and patients and have no immediate positive or negative impact in terms of sustainability.
• “Transitioners” are solutions which have known current or future sustainability risks, according to regulations or concerns raised by stakeholders such as customers, NGOs, and public groups.

Information from the portfolio analysis is used to support product portfolio planning through the company’s marketing and innovation processes. It also helps the company to engage with customers with a focus on sustainability.