# How do I calculate the carbon footprint of non-woven PP bags per kg?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/non-woven-bag-carbon-footprint-per-kg

Multiply the polypropylene granules used per kg of fabric by a resin factor, add spunbond line electricity, printing ink and bag-making electricity, then divide by kilograms of bags sold. Resin is usually most of the total; trim waste sent back as regrind is not new resin.

## Material

- PP granules: the largest share; use a supplier or database factor per kg.
- Colour masterbatch and UV additive.
- Printing inks and lamination film for laminated bags.

## Energy

- Spunbond line: extruder, spinneret, quench air and calender heating.
- Bag-making machines with ultrasonic sealing.
- Generator diesel.

## Per kg or per bag

Report per kg and give bag weight by size and GSM, so a buyer can convert. Count trim waste recycled in-house once.

## Worked example: non-woven unit per kg (one month)

- Electricity: 90,000 kWh x 0.710 = 63,900 kg CO2
- Bags sold (kg): 120,000
- Plant total: 63,900 / 120,000 = 0.532 kg CO2 per kg
- Add PP resin and masterbatch 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)
- [Emission factors for PP, HDPE and PVC resin](https://senseible.earth/answers/polymer-resin-emission-factors-pp-hdpe-pvc)
- [PP woven sack vs jute footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/pp-woven-sack-carbon-footprint-vs-jute)

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.