# How do I calculate the carbon footprint of an aluminium ladder?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/aluminium-ladder-carbon-footprint-per-ladder

Weigh the aluminium sections per ladder and multiply by the extruder's per-kg figure. Add rivets, feet and hinges, then cutting, punching and riveting energy, divided by ladders made. Report by height.

## Bought-in parts

- Extruded aluminium stiles and steps.
- Rivets, hinges and locks.
- Rubber or plastic feet.

## Making

- Cutting and punching.
- Swaging or riveting steps.
- Assembly and packing.

## Per ladder

Report per ladder by height and type. Aluminium is almost all of the material, so the billet source matters.

## Worked example: aluminium ladder unit per ladder (one month)

- Electricity: 4,000 kWh x 0.710 = 2,840 kg CO2
- Ladders made: 4,000
- Plant total: 2,840 / 4,000 = 0.710 kg CO2 per ladder
- Add aluminium sections and fittings 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](https://senseible.earth/calculators/product-carbon-footprint)
- [Aluminium extrusion footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/aluminium-extrusion-carbon-footprint-per-kg)
- [Steel almirah footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/steel-almirah-carbon-footprint-per-unit)
- [Aluminium industry](https://senseible.earth/industries/aluminium)

Sources: [GHG Protocol Product Standard](https://ghgprotocol.org/standards), [ISO 14067:2018, Carbon footprint of products (iso.org)](https://www.iso.org), [IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2 Energy (fuel defaults)](https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol2.html), [CEA CO2 Baseline Database, version 21.0](https://cea.nic.in/cdm-co2-baseline-database/?lang=en)

Last reviewed 2026-10-20.