Our 2026 Carbon Reduction Plan: The Highlights
We've just published our 2026 Carbon Analysis & Reduction Plan. It covers every emission we generate - Scope 1, 2, and 3 - where they come from, what we've achieved since our 2022 baseline, and exactly what we're doing to reach Net Zero by 2035.
This isn't a glossy pledge. It's a transparent, data-backed document from a small manufacturer in Sheffield. Here are the highlights.
The headline numbers
Since our 2022 baseline, production has grown by 72%, from approximately 11,400 caps to 19,630. But our emissions have only risen by 18%, from 13.46 to 15.87 tCO2e (market-based).
That's genuine decoupling of growth from emissions. The reason is straightforward: the fixed carbon costs of running our facility, heating, electricity, base travel, get spread across more caps. Every additional cap we produce dilutes the overhead.
The result is a 58% reduction in per-cap carbon intensity, from 1.18 kg to 0.496 kg CO2e. We set a 2025 target of 0.60 kg per cap. We beat it.
Where our emissions come from
Our total footprint is 15.87 tCO2e (market-based). Here's how it breaks down:
- Fabric (47%) - Cotton sourced from Thailand, shipped by sea. This is our largest source and the one area where we depend on an overseas supplier.
- Packaging & consumables (19%) - Cardboard, tissue paper, labels, and shipping materials.
- Gas heating (17%) - We share a facility and pay 50% of the gas bill. This is a fixed overhead regardless of how many caps we make.
- Staff travel (17%) - Commuting and in-work mileage across 11,340 miles per year.
- Electricity (0% market-based) - Eliminated through green tariff procurement. Our location-based figure is 1.44 tCO2e, which will fall as the UK grid decarbonises.
Everything happens under one roof in Sheffield - cutting, sewing, embroidery, vinyl, packing, and dispatch. There are no hidden tiers or outsourced stages.
The displacement effect
Every Medicus cap is designed to last approximately 200 uses - that's 3 to 5 years of regular wear. Healthcare workers use a minimum of 2 disposable caps per working day. Over its lifetime, a single reusable Medicus cap displaces approximately 400 disposable caps, regardless of the owner's working pattern.
At our maximum capacity of 32,000 caps per year, that translates to 12.8 million disposables displaced, 71 tonnes of clinical waste avoided, and a net CO2e saving of 587.8 tCO2e - a ratio of 25:1 between emissions avoided and emissions generated.
We report this as context for the value of our product, not as an offset against our own footprint.
What we're doing next
Our plan to reach Net Zero by 2035 is built on four pillars:
- Per-cap efficiency - Our next target is 0.40 kg CO2e per cap at full production capacity. We get there by scaling throughput, reducing cutting waste, and improving packaging.
- Grid decarbonisation - The UK electricity grid is projected to fall from 177 gCO2e/kWh today to just 20 g by 2035 (DESNZ Green Book, February 2026). Even with rising electricity use, our location-based Scope 2 drops by 86%.
- Operational decarbonisation - We're planning an air source heat pump installation (2029-30) to eliminate all Scope 1 gas emissions, and transitioning our vehicle fleet toward EVs.
- Supply chain engagement - We're requesting carbon data from our Thai fabric suppliers, trialling BCI and organic cotton blends, and switching to recycled/FSC cardboard packaging.
Being honest about growth
We won't pretend that growing a manufacturing business doesn't increase absolute emissions. It does. More fabric, more packaging, more energy. Our absolute emissions will peak at around 18-19 tCO2e as production approaches 32,000 caps, before falling back through infrastructure changes and grid decarbonisation.
But the per-cap intensity - the emissions attributable to each scrub cap we put into a healthcare worker's hands - falls consistently. And the displacement value of each cap means the net environmental impact of our growth is overwhelmingly positive.
That's what honest sustainability reporting looks like for a bounded manufacturer.
Per-use: reusable vs disposable
When you compare on a per-use basis - the fairest comparison - a Medicus reusable cap generates 0.039 kg CO2e per use, compared to 0.048 kg for a disposable. That's 18% lower, every single use, compounding over hundreds of wears.
Read the full plan
The complete Carbon Analysis & Reduction Plan includes our full emissions breakdown by scope, the detailed reduction actions with timelines, our per-cap intensity pathway through to 2035, and the methodology behind every number.
Download the full 2026 Carbon Reduction Plan
Get the complete report with detailed emissions data, reduction targets, and our pathway to Net Zero by 2035.
This Carbon Reduction Plan is based on data from the Medicus Caps Carbon Tracker (baseline 2022, restated). All emission factors use DEFRA 2025 conversion factors unless otherwise stated. Fabric emissions use Cotton Inc. LCA (2016), ISO 14040 compliant, Carbon Trust verified. Forward projections use DESNZ Green Book supplementary data tables (February 2026). Prepared February 2026.
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