How do I calculate the carbon footprint of a cinema multiplex per screen?
Take the multiplex electricity from the bill at 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh, add generator diesel at 2.68 kg per litre and any refrigerant top-ups, then divide by screens. Air conditioning is often the largest load, so report per screen and per show if you track shows.
Main loads
- Central air conditioning for auditoriums and lobbies.
- Projectors, sound systems and lighting.
- Food court kitchens, often on LPG or electricity.
Inside a mall
If the cinema is a mall tenant, its own metered electricity is Scope 2, and the common-area share billed by the landlord is Scope 3, Category 8.
Per screen
Report per screen per month, and per show or per ticket sold if your booking system gives the count.
Worked example: six-screen multiplex (one month, illustrative inputs)
- Electricity: 90,000 kWh x 0.710 = 63,900 kg CO2
- Diesel: 800 litres x 2.68 = 2,144 kg CO2
- Screens: 6
- Total: 66,044 / 6 = 11,007.3 kg CO2 per screen a month
Inputs are illustrative; add refrigerant top-ups from service invoices as their own line.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads electricity bills (CEA grid factor 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh, CO2 Baseline Database version 21.0) and diesel, LPG and gas invoices (IPCC 2006 defaults) into a dated, fingerprinted Scope 1 and 2 record for each site. Intensity per unit uses the activity count you enter, and estimates are labelled as estimates.
Sources: GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, CEA CO2 Baseline Database, version 21.0, IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2 Energy (fuel defaults)
Last reviewed 2026-10-21.