How do I calculate the carbon footprint of welding electrodes per kg?
Add the steel core wire and flux materials per kg of electrodes with supplier figures, then wire drawing, extrusion and baking energy. Divide the plant's energy by kg of electrodes packed.
Material
- Mild steel core wire.
- Flux: minerals, ferro alloys and binders.
- Packets and cartons.
Process
- Wire drawing and cutting.
- Flux mixing and extrusion.
- Baking ovens.
Per kg
Report per kg by electrode type and size.
Worked example: welding electrode unit per kg (one month)
- Electricity: 30,000 kWh x 0.710 = 21,300 kg CO2
- Kg dispatched: 100,000
- Plant total: 21,300 / 100,000 = 0.213 kg CO2 per kg
- Add core wire and flux 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.
- Product carbon footprint calculator
- Steel wire drawing footprint
- Steel fastener footprint
- Steel industry
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.