# How do I calculate the carbon footprint of particle board per square metre?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/particle-board-carbon-footprint-per-sq-m

Add the wood chips or agri residue and resin per square metre with supplier figures, then the dryer, press and sanding energy. Divide the plant's energy by square metres dispatched, and state thickness and density.

## Material

- Wood chips, sawdust or bagasse by weight.
- Resin, usually urea formaldehyde.
- Decor paper for prelaminated boards.

## Process

- Chip dryer, often fired by wood dust.
- Continuous or multi-daylight hot press.
- Sanding, cutting and laminating.

## Per square metre

Report per square metre at its thickness. A 25 mm board carries far more wood and resin than an 8 mm one.

## Worked example: particle board unit per sq m (one month)

- Electricity: 150,000 kWh x 0.710 = 106,500 kg CO2
- Coal: 40,000 kg x 2.42 = 96,800 kg CO2
- Square metres dispatched: 200,000
- Plant total: 203,300 / 200,000 = 1.016 kg CO2 per sq m
- Add wood and resin 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)
- [Plywood footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/plywood-carbon-footprint-per-cubic-metre)
- [Wooden furniture footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/wooden-furniture-carbon-footprint-per-piece)
- [Construction industry](https://senseible.earth/industries/construction)

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.