How do I calculate the carbon footprint of hand sanitizer per litre?
Alcohol is the main input: multiply the ethanol or isopropyl alcohol per litre by the supplier's figure. Add glycerine, gel agents and the bottle, then blending and filling electricity divided by litres filled.
Materials
- Ethanol or isopropyl alcohol by volume.
- Glycerine, carbomer and fragrance.
- Bottles, pumps or sachets.
Process
- Blending in closed tanks.
- Filling and capping.
- Labelling and packing.
Per litre
Report per litre with alcohol content, and per pack size for retail packs.
Worked example: hand sanitizer unit per litre (one month)
- Electricity: 4,000 kWh x 0.710 = 2,840 kg CO2
- Sanitizer filled (litres): 100,000
- Plant total: 2,840 / 100,000 = 0.0284 kg CO2 per litre
- Add alcohol, additives and bottles 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.