A shoe, taken apart.

For leather and footwear exporters

Your buyer may ask for the carbon in one pair. In the example below, most of it comes from things you buy, not from your own factory.

Carbon here means CO2 (carbon dioxide), the gas let out when fuel is burned or power is made. Like smoke from a stove, you cannot see it, but it adds up. This page is for tanneries and shoemakers in Kanpur, Agra, Ambur, Vaniyambadi, Chennai and Kolkata.

Tap any piece of the shoe.

• Dashed edge: bought in
• Solid green: your own

1. Laces

Bought in

Laces are small, and you buy them in. They still count.

Where the carbon comes from

• Someone else makes them in their own factory and ships them to you. Their carbon is in how they were made, not on your meter.

What the buyer asks

• The weight of the laces and other small parts in each pair.

What to do

• Write the weight per pair. Ask the maker for their carbon number per kg. If they have none, write down that you asked. Do not guess.

No example number here. The example pair on this page leaves laces out.

2. Upper leather

Bought in from the tannery

Leather is usually the biggest piece. It was made in a tannery, so its carbon is mostly the tannery's fuel and power.

Where the carbon comes from

• Tanning drums turn on electricity. Boilers burn coal or wood to make hot water and dry the hides. Tanning chemicals and dyes are bought in. A shared waste water plant you pay for is also bought in.
• If you run the tannery yourself, the boiler fuel and the power are your own, and the chemicals are still bought in.
• Burning wood gives CO2 (carbon dioxide) that buyers count on a separate line. The other gases from the same fire still count as your own.

What the buyer asks

• Fuel and power per square foot of finished leather. Chemicals used. How much of your hide comes from tanneries you control. Audit schemes such as the Leather Working Group ask for the same.
• Which rule you used to give the hide a share of the cow's own emissions. Name the rule.

Count leather bought, not leather in the shoe

• Cutting wastes some hide. Divide the square feet you buy by the pairs you make, so the waste sits inside each pair.

Example: leather in one pair

• Pieces need 1.65 sq ft. Cutting yield is 75 percent.
• 1.65 divided by 0.75 = 2.2 sq ft per pair
• 2.2 sq ft x 1.0 kg CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent, every warming gas counted as CO2) per sq ft (assumed tannery number) = 2.2 kg CO2e
• Leather: 2.2 kg CO2e per pair

Example: a tannery's own month (Ambur)

• Boiler coal: 15,000 kg x 2.44 kg CO2 per kg = 36,600 kg CO2
• Power: 20,000 kWh (kilowatt hours, the units on your bill) x 0.675 = 13,500 kg CO2 (0.675 kg CO2 per kWh is the grid average for FY 2025-26 (April 2025 to March 2026))
• Total: 36,600 + 13,500 = 50,100 kg CO2

Seen in Kanpur (tanning chemicals, wood boilers), Ambur and Vaniyambadi (coal boilers and waste water plants). Chennai and Kolkata exporters ship the leather, so they get the hide questions too.

3. Lining and insole

Bought in

The soft layer inside. You buy it, so you ask your supplier for its number.

Where the carbon comes from

• Lining, insoles, toe puffs and counters are made by suppliers. The carbon is the weight of each piece multiplied by that material's number.

What the buyer asks

• The weight of each piece per pair, and where the number for that material came from. A column that names the source answers it before they ask.

Which number to use, best first

• 1. Your supplier's own figure for the product, with how they worked it out.
• 2. A named public number for the same material and region.
• 3. A guess from money spent, only as a last choice, and marked as a guess.

No example number here. The example pair on this page leaves the lining out.

4. Glue

Bought in

A thin line of glue holds the shoe together. It is bought in, and it is small, but buyers ask.

Where the carbon comes from

• Glues and finishes are made from chemicals in someone else's factory.

What the buyer asks

• How many kg you use in a month, and the maker's own number for it.

How to count it

• Take the kg used in the month. Divide by the pairs made in the same month. Keep the invoice and the maker's number beside it. If the maker has no number, report that gap instead of guessing.

No example number here. The example pair on this page leaves the glue out.

5. Sole

Bought in (your own if you mould soles)

The sole is made of rubber or plastic. It is usually bought in. If you make soles yourself, the power for the moulding machines is your own.

Where the carbon comes from

• Bought in: the rubber or plastic itself, made by a supplier.
• Your own, if you mould: heaters on the moulding machines and the power to run them. In Agra's sole and heel units, soles take most of the energy: 5,429 of 8,624 tonnes of oil equivalent, about 63 percent (data for 2014-15, so it is old).

What the buyer asks

• The weight of the sole per pair and what it is made of. Whether the figure is per pair or per kg. Keep the material on its own line, apart from the power.

Example: a bought rubber sole

• 0.4 kg x 3.0 kg CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent, every warming gas counted as CO2) per kg (assumed) = 1.2 kg CO2e
• Sole: 1.2 kg CO2e per pair

Example: moulding power for 0.4 kg of sole (Agra)

• 0.4 kg x 1.4 kWh (kilowatt hours, the units on your bill) per kg (assumed, inside the cluster range of 0.91 to 2.67) = 0.56 kWh
• 0.56 x 0.675 = 0.378 kg CO2 (carbon dioxide)
• About 0.38 kg CO2 from moulding power

Seen in Agra, where plastic and rubber sole units sit beside the shoe makers who buy from them.

6. Shoe box

Bought in

The box, tissue and carton. Paper has a number too, and it is easy to find.

Where the carbon comes from

• Paper and card are made in a mill, then cut and printed by your box supplier.

What the buyer asks

• The weight of box, tissue and carton per pair, and the paper number you used.

Example: box and tissue

• 0.25 kg x 1.0 kg CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent, every warming gas counted as CO2) per kg (assumed) = 0.25 kg CO2e
• Box: 0.25 kg CO2e per pair

The same working applies in every cluster.

7. The factory floor

Your own: power you buy and fuel you burn

This is the part that is yours: the power on your electricity bill and the diesel in your generator.

Where the carbon comes from

• Machines, lights and fans run on grid power. A diesel generator burns fuel when the power goes. Both are on bills and invoices you already have.

What the buyer asks

• Power and generator diesel per pair. How you split them between styles. The same method each year, so a drop can be shown. Bills and stock records that match your totals.

Why not just divide by pairs

• A boot takes far longer to make than a sandal. Splitting by the time each style takes is fairer than giving every pair the same share. Write down your rule beside each figure.

Example: the pair in the sum above

• Power: 40,000 kWh (kilowatt hours, the units on your bill) in a month, 20,000 pairs, so 40,000 divided by 20,000 = 2 kWh per pair
• 2 kWh x 0.675 kg CO2 (carbon dioxide) per kWh (FY 2025-26 (April 2025 to March 2026)) = 1.35 kg CO2
• Diesel: 1,000 litres x 2.68 kg CO2 per litre = 2,680 kg, divided by 20,000 pairs = 0.134 kg CO2
• Your own: 1.35 + 0.134 = 1.484 kg CO2 per pair

Example: boots and sandals in one factory

• Power: 70,000 kWh x 0.675 = 47,250 kg CO2
• Diesel: 900 litres x 2.68 = 2,412 kg CO2
• Factory total: 47,250 + 2,412 = 49,662 kg CO2 for 40,000 pairs
• Split by pairs: 49,662 divided by 40,000 = 1.242 kg CO2 for every pair
• Split by minutes (a boot takes 30, a sandal 12; 10,000 boots, 30,000 sandals): a boot comes to 2.257 kg and a sandal to 0.903 kg
• Same factory, fairer split by time

Example: other shoe units, one month each

• Agra shoe unit: 18,000 kWh x 0.675 = 12,150 kg CO2, divided by 24,000 pairs = 0.506 kg per pair
• Ambur shoe upper unit: 7,000 kWh x 0.675 = 4,725 kg CO2, divided by 14,000 pairs = 0.338 kg per pair

Seen across these clusters. In Ambur and Vaniyambadi, the shoe upper units stitch on grid power, so this is their main own line.

One pair, added up

This is an example pair of leather derby shoes. CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) counts every warming gas as if it were CO2, so one number covers all of them. Pick a view to light up the part you want to see.

• Leather (bought in): 2.2 kg CO2e
• Sole (bought in): 1.2 kg CO2e
• Box (bought in): 0.25 kg CO2e
• Power (your own): 1.35 kg CO2e
• Diesel (your own): 0.134 kg CO2e

• Bought in: 2.2 + 1.2 + 0.25 = 3.65 kg
• Your own: 1.35 + 0.134 = 1.484 kg
• Together: 3.65 + 1.484 = 5.134 kg, about 5.1 kg of CO2e per pair
• Share bought in: 3.65 divided by 5.134 = 0.71, so about 71 of every 100 kg

The leather, sole and box numbers are assumed for this example. The example leaves out the lining, glue and laces, so a real pair comes out a little higher. Replace the assumed numbers with your tannery's and suppliers' own before you send anything to a buyer.

Two rules people ask about

Short answers first. Tap to read more.

Is leather on the EU carbon border list (CBAM)?

No. CBAM is the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, the EU's carbon rule for some imports. It covers only iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, hydrogen and electricity. Leather and footwear are not on that list. Brands that count the carbon in what they buy, and audit schemes such as the Leather Working Group, may still ask you for figures. That is their own rule, not CBAM.

Does the EU deforestation rule cover my leather?

No. Leather came off the list on 18 September 2026. The EUDR (EU Deforestation Regulation) once listed hides, skins and leather from cattle and buffalo. Those entries were deleted with effect from 18 September 2026, before the rule starts to apply. Finished bags and footwear were never on the list. Live cattle and beef are still covered. Some EU brands may still ask where a hide came from under their own buying rules. Keep the hide merchant or slaughterhouse records and the state of origin for each lot, so you can answer without rebuilding the chain. The EU's own rules point to a later review of the list, so check the current list before you sign a new buyer contract.

Words your buyer may use

You do not need these to start. Buyers use them, so here they are in kitchen terms.

Scope 1

Fuel you burn yourself. Like the wood in your own stove. For you: boiler coal or wood, and diesel in your generator.

Scope 2

Power you buy. Like water from the municipal tap. You do not make it, you pay for what you use. For you: grid electricity.

Scope 3

Things you buy that someone else made. Like buying a ready-made roti instead of cooking it. For you: leather, soles, glue, lining, laces, box, and waste water sent to a shared plant. These are the pieces marked bought in above.

Now try your own pair.

Senseible reads your electricity bills and diesel invoices for the factory part. The bought-in parts need numbers from your suppliers, and the calculator shows where each one goes.

Work out the carbon in one of my products