How do I calculate warehouse emissions per pallet position?
Add the warehouse electricity at 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh, generator and forklift diesel at 2.68 kg per litre, and refrigerant top-ups, then divide by pallet positions. Ambient and cold warehouses differ widely, so report each type separately and share by occupied positions.
What to count
- Electricity for lights, racks, docks, offices and any cold rooms.
- Diesel for generators and diesel forklifts.
- Refrigerant top-ups for cold rooms and offices.
Sharing with clients
A 3PL can share the warehouse total among clients by occupied pallet positions or pallet-days. Clients report their share in Scope 3, Category 4 or 9.
Per pallet position
Report per pallet position per month, or per pallet-day stored, and say whether it is ambient, chilled or frozen.
Worked example: ambient warehouse (one month, illustrative inputs)
- Electricity: 50,000 kWh x 0.710 = 35,500 kg CO2
- Diesel: 600 litres x 2.68 = 1,608 kg CO2
- Pallet positions: 8,000
- Total: 37,108 / 8,000 = 4.638 kg CO2 per pallet position a month
Inputs are illustrative; use the warehouse meter and position count.
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, GLEC Framework for logistics emissions (Smart Freight Centre), CEA CO2 Baseline Database, version 21.0
Last reviewed 2026-10-21.