How do I calculate the carbon footprint of a foam mattress?
Work out the foam weight from density and volume, multiply by the foam's footprint from the supplier or a published dataset, and add springs, fabric, adhesives, the plant's energy per mattress and the packaging. Polyol and isocyanate in the foam usually make up the largest share.
Foam weight per mattress
Foam weight = density x volume. A queen mattress of 1.5 m x 1.9 m with 0.15 m of foam has 0.4275 cubic metres; at 32 kg per cubic metre that is 13.7 kg of foam. Do this for each foam layer, since memory foam, HR foam and rebonded foam have different densities.
The other parts
- Pocketed or bonnell springs: steel wire by weight.
- Quilting fabric, fibre fill and border tape.
- Adhesives and fire retardants.
- Plant energy: foaming, cutting, quilting, bonding and compressing.
- Packaging: roll-pack film and cartons.
Blowing agents
India phased out HCFC-141b in foam manufacturing from 1 January 2020 under its HCFC Phase-out Management Plan. Most slabstock foam is now water-blown, where the reaction of water with isocyanate forms CO2. If you use any other blowing agent, record the quantity and its global warming potential, because releases count in Scope 1.
If you buy foam blocks
Many mattress makers buy blocks from a foamer and only cut, bond and cover. Then the foam is a bought-in input: ask the foamer for kg CO2e per kg of each grade and keep your own plant energy separate.
Worked example: plant electricity per mattress (one month)
- Electricity: 20,000 kWh x 0.710 = 14,200 kg CO2
- Mattresses made: 2,500
- Plant electricity: 14,200 / 2,500 = 5.68 kg CO2 per mattress
- Foam: 13.7 kg per queen mattress x the foamer's factor per kg gives the larger part
Inputs are illustrative; use your own bills and production records.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads the plant's electricity bills (CEA grid factor 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh, CO2 Baseline Database version 21.0) and fuel invoices (IPCC 2006 defaults) into a fingerprinted Scope 1 and 2 record, the plant-level input to a per-unit figure. Bought-in materials go to the supplier evidence trail; product reports are self-declared drafts.
Sources: GHG Protocol Product Standard, ISO 14067:2018, Carbon footprint of products (iso.org), Ozone Cell, Ministry of Environment, HCFC Phase-out Management Plan, CEA CO2 Baseline Database, version 21.0
Last reviewed 2026-10-20.