How do I calculate the carbon footprint of a conveyor belt per metre?
Weigh the rubber covers and fabric or steel cord per metre and multiply by supplier figures. Add calendering, building and press curing energy, then divide the plant's energy by metres of belt dispatched, stated by width and ply.
Materials
- Rubber compound for top and bottom covers.
- EP fabric plies or steel cords.
- Bonding and skim compounds.
Process
- Mixing and calendering.
- Belt building tables.
- Hydraulic curing presses heated by steam or thermic oil.
Per metre
Report per metre with width, number of plies and cover thickness, the figures a buyer's tender already names.
Worked example: conveyor belt unit per metre (one month)
- Electricity: 40,000 kWh x 0.710 = 28,400 kg CO2
- Coal: 30,000 kg x 2.42 = 72,600 kg CO2
- Belt dispatched (metres): 20,000
- Plant total: 101,000 / 20,000 = 5.050 kg CO2 per metre
- Add rubber and reinforcement for the full figure
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), IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2 Energy (fuel defaults), CEA CO2 Baseline Database, version 21.0
Last reviewed 2026-10-20.