# What emission factor should I use for purchased PP, HDPE and PVC resin in Scope 3?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/polymer-resin-emission-factors-pp-hdpe-pvc

Use your resin supplier's cradle-to-gate product footprint for the exact grade first. If you do not have one, use a published industry-average eco-profile for that polymer as a labelled proxy, and cite its edition and region. Never mix virgin and recycled resin factors.

## The order of preference

The GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard prefers supplier-specific data for Category 1 and asks you to describe the data quality of every factor you use.

1. Supplier-specific: a cradle-to-gate footprint from the polymer producer for the grade you buy, with its year and method.
2. Product-specific database value for the same polymer and region, with the dataset name and edition.
3. Industry-average eco-profile from another region, labelled as a proxy.
4. Spend-based estimate, only when you have no quantities, labelled with wider uncertainty.

## Why a European figure is only a proxy

Most widely used polymer eco-profiles describe European production. Indian polymers are made from different feedstocks and on a grid with a different factor, and PVC needs chlorine, made by electrolysis, so its figure moves with the electricity behind it. Use a European profile when nothing better exists, take the cradle-to-gate GWP per kg from the current PlasticsEurope eco-profile report for that exact polymer, write the edition year, and mark it as a proxy for Indian resin.

## Finding resin lines in your purchases

- HSN 3901: polymers of ethylene in primary forms; HDPE is 3901 20.
- HSN 3902: polymers of propylene; PP is 3902 10.
- HSN 3904: polymers of vinyl chloride; PVC is 3904 10.
- Masterbatch, additives and recycled granules sit under other codes or descriptions; give them their own factors.

## Checks before you apply a factor

- Units: kg CO2e per kg of resin, cradle-to-gate. Do not use a figure that includes end of life.
- Quantity: resin bought in the year for Category 1, not resin used in production.
- Recycled resin: use a recycled-content factor only with evidence of the recycled share.

## Worked example: a moulder's annual resin purchases (illustrative inputs)

- PP 100 t at an illustrative proxy of 1.6 kg CO2e/kg = 160 t CO2e
- HDPE 50 t at an illustrative proxy of 1.8 kg CO2e/kg = 90 t CO2e
- PVC 30 t at an illustrative proxy of 2.0 kg CO2e/kg = 60 t CO2e
- Category 1 resin total: 160 + 90 + 60 = 310 t CO2e, all proxy-based
- If the PP supplier provides 1.4 kg CO2e/kg: 140 + 90 + 60 = 290 t CO2e, with 48% of the total now supplier-specific

All four factors are illustrative inputs to show the arithmetic, not quoted eco-profile values. Replace them with the figures from the edition you cite or your supplier's footprint.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible classifies resin purchase lines by HSN chapter 39 into the Scope 3 evidence trail, with quantities and suppliers. A figure needs a factor you approve for that material, a supplier footprint, or a labelled spend-based estimate.

- [Injection moulding footprint per kg](https://senseible.earth/answers/injection-moulding-carbon-footprint-per-kg)
- [No emission factor for a material](https://senseible.earth/answers/no-emission-factor-for-material)
- [Recycled content in a product footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/how-to-count-recycled-content-in-product-footprint)

Sources: [GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard, Category 1](https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-value-chain-scope-3-standard), [ISO 14067:2018, Carbon footprint of products (data quality)](https://www.iso.org)

Last reviewed 2026-10-18. Eco-profile editions are revised every few years; check the current PlasticsEurope eco-profile for PP, HDPE and PVC, cite its edition, and look for an Indian producer footprint.