Neither recycling method fits my paper product. What does the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Standard allow instead?

The standard allows another method if it meets its requirements, applies an allocation factor between 0 and 100 percent consistently between inputs and outputs, and bases it, in this order of preference if feasible, on physical properties, economic value or number of subsequent uses. For paper fibre it gives the subsequent uses method as an example.

The three conditions, all of which must be true

1. The method meets the allocation and all other requirements of the standard, including being disclosed and justified in the inventory report.
2. It accounts for all emissions and removals due to recycling: an allocation factor between 0 and 100 percent is applied consistently between inputs and outputs, to avoid double counting or undercounting.
3. Its basis for allocation follows this order of preference, if feasible: a physical properties factor, an economic value factor, or a factor based on the number of subsequent uses.

What the standard says about paper

The standard says companies with paper products may want to use the number of subsequent uses method recommended by the American Forest and Paper Association for recycling cellulosic fibre in paper products. Another company may find economic allocation more appropriate and refer to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard 14049:2000.

The standard says the method should be referenced from sector guidance, product rules, technical reports, journal articles or other standards. If the method is not published, the company is strongly encouraged to give details in the report or a supporting document, and to have the method externally verified.

How to check you have not lost or doubled emissions (our reading, not the standard's words)

• Write down the recycling process emissions for the batch.
• Split them with a single allocation factor applied the same way to inputs and outputs, say 40 percent to the product that delivers the fibre and 60 percent to the product that uses it.
• Check the two shares add back to the whole.

Example: splitting one recycling process

• Recycling process emissions for one batch of fibre: 200 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) (example)
• Allocated to the product delivering the fibre: 200 x 0.40 = 80 kilograms of CO2e
• Allocated to the product using the fibre: 200 x 0.60 = 120 kilograms of CO2e
• Check: 80 + 120 = 200 kilograms of CO2e, so nothing is counted twice or missed.

The 40 and 60 split is an example. The standard does not give a split, and the subsequent uses method has its own published rules that this page does not reproduce.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices, electricity bills and fuel slips into a dated emission record. Picking a recycling method for a product footprint stays with you and your buyer.

• Situations that pick the recycling method
• Recycled paper mill and the waste paper it buys
• Allocating emissions between co-products
• Free calculators

Sources: GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard (chapters 7, 9 and 11)

Last reviewed 2026-11-05. Conditions are from the requirements in section 9.2 and the guidance in section 9.3.7 of the Product Standard. Get the subsequent uses method from its publisher before relying on it.