How do we count the varnish and polish used on wooden products?

Varnish, lacquer and polish you buy are Scope 3 Category 1, by litres or kilograms bought and a supplier or database factor. Solvent that evaporates in your shop is not counted as CO2 in Scope 1 unless it is burnt, for example in a fume incinerator.

Count

• Litres of varnish, lacquer and thinner bought.
• Factor per litre or kg, with source.

Solvent fumes

Fumes are an air quality issue. If an incinerator burns them, its fuel and the solvent carbon become Scope 1.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads bills, fuel invoices and production records into dated, fingerprinted records, so the figure you send a buyer can be traced to its documents.

• Wooden furniture footprint
• Car body shop paint solvents

Sources: GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard, GHG Protocol Corporate Standard

Last reviewed 2026-10-22.