# How do I calculate the carbon footprint of plastic toys?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/plastic-toy-carbon-footprint-per-kg

Weigh each polymer in the toy, such as ABS, PP or PVC, and multiply by its supplier's per-kg figure. Add moulding, assembly, painting and packing energy, divide plant energy by kg passed, and add batteries or electronics separately.

## Materials

- ABS, PP, PE or PVC by weight per toy, plus runners not reground.
- Paint, printing and stickers.
- Batteries, motors and circuit boards for electronic toys.

## Process

- Injection or blow moulding machines.
- Assembly, painting and pad printing.
- Window boxes, blister packs and cartons, often heavier than expected.

## Per kg and per piece

Report per kg for a range and per piece for a buyer's SKU. Packaging can be a large share for small toys.

## Worked example: toy factory per kg (one month)

- Electricity: 60,000 kWh x 0.710 = 42,600 kg CO2
- Kg of toys passed: 40,000
- Plant total: 42,600 / 40,000 = 1.065 kg CO2 per kg
- Add polymers, paint 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)
- [Injection moulding footprint per kg](https://senseible.earth/answers/injection-moulding-carbon-footprint-per-kg)
- [Wooden toys footprint per kg](https://senseible.earth/answers/wooden-toys-carbon-footprint-per-kg)

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.