# What is the carbon footprint of a cricket bat?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/cricket-bat-carbon-footprint-per-bat

Add the willow cleft, cane handle, rubber grip, glue, stickers and packing, then seasoning, pressing and finishing energy. Divide by bats made. Most of a bat is wood, whose stored carbon is reported separately, so its fossil footprint is small compared with metal or plastic goods.

## Materials

- English or Kashmir willow clefts: count clefts bought per bat made, since some are rejected.
- Cane and rubber handle, grip, twine and glue.
- Stickers, toe guard, cover and carton.
- Imported English willow adds sea freight.

## Workshop energy

- Seasoning or drying: sun or kiln.
- Pressing, shaping and sanding machines.
- Polish and oiling.

## Biogenic carbon

The willow holds carbon taken from the air. Report it separately rather than netting it off.

## Worked example: bat workshop per bat (one month)

- Electricity: 4,000 kWh x 0.710 = 2,840 kg CO2
- Bats made: 3,000
- Plant total: 2,840 / 3,000 = 0.947 kg CO2 per bat
- Add clefts, handles, grips and packaging 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)
- [Biogenic carbon in timber products](https://senseible.earth/answers/biogenic-carbon-in-timber-building-materials)
- [Football footprint per ball](https://senseible.earth/answers/football-carbon-footprint-per-ball)

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.