# How do I calculate the carbon footprint of hand sanitizer per litre?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/hand-sanitizer-carbon-footprint-per-litre

Alcohol is the main input: multiply the ethanol or isopropyl alcohol per litre by the supplier's figure. Add glycerine, gel agents and the bottle, then blending and filling electricity divided by litres filled.

## Materials

- Ethanol or isopropyl alcohol by volume.
- Glycerine, carbomer and fragrance.
- Bottles, pumps or sachets.

## Process

- Blending in closed tanks.
- Filling and capping.
- Labelling and packing.

## Per litre

Report per litre with alcohol content, and per pack size for retail packs.

## Worked example: hand sanitizer unit per litre (one month)

- Electricity: 4,000 kWh x 0.710 = 2,840 kg CO2
- Sanitizer filled (litres): 100,000
- Plant total: 2,840 / 100,000 = 0.0284 kg CO2 per litre
- Add alcohol, additives and bottles 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)
- [Cosmetics footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/cosmetics-carbon-footprint-per-unit)
- [Pharma formulation footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/pharma-formulation-carbon-footprint-per-1000-tablets)
- [Chemical industry](https://senseible.earth/industries/chemical)

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.