# How do I calculate the carbon footprint of an electric scooter?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/electric-scooter-carbon-footprint-per-vehicle

The battery pack is usually the largest single item: use the cell or pack supplier's figure per kWh times the pack size. Add the frame, motor, controller, body panels and tyres, then the assembly plant's energy per scooter built.

## Bought-in parts

- Lithium-ion battery pack, counted per kWh of capacity.
- Hub or mid-drive motor and controller.
- Steel frame, plastic body panels, tyres and wiring.

## Making

- Frame welding and painting if done in-house.
- Battery pack assembly if done in-house.
- Vehicle assembly and end-of-line testing.

## Per vehicle

Report per scooter by model and battery capacity. Charging electricity belongs to the use phase, not the factory figure.

## Worked example: plant energy per vehicle (one month)

- Electricity: 100,000 kWh x 0.710 = 71,000 kg CO2
- Scooters built: 2,000
- Plant total: 71,000 / 2,000 = 35.5 kg CO2 per vehicle
- Add battery pack, motor, frame and body 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)
- [Imported lithium-ion cells footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/carbon-footprint-of-imported-lithium-ion-cells)
- [Battery pack assembly footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/battery-pack-assembly-carbon-footprint-per-kwh)
- [E-rickshaw footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/e-rickshaw-carbon-footprint-per-vehicle)
- [Automobile industry](https://senseible.earth/industries/automobile)

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 2026-10-21.