# How do I calculate the carbon footprint of rubber hose per metre?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/rubber-hose-carbon-footprint-per-metre

Add the rubber compound, textile or wire reinforcement per metre and multiply each by its supplier figure. Then add mixing, extrusion and steam curing energy, and divide the plant's energy by metres of hose dispatched.

## Materials

- Natural and synthetic rubber, carbon black and oils by weight.
- Polyester or nylon braid, or steel wire reinforcement.
- Couplings if fitted.

## Process

- Mixing mill or kneader.
- Extrusion and braiding or spiralling.
- Steam autoclave curing from a boiler.

## Per metre

Report per metre by bore size and ply. Larger bores and wire reinforced hoses carry much more material per metre.

## Worked example: rubber hose unit per metre (one month)

- Electricity: 25,000 kWh x 0.710 = 17,750 kg CO2
- Coal: 20,000 kg x 2.42 = 48,400 kg CO2
- Hose dispatched (metres): 150,000
- Plant total: 66,150 / 150,000 = 0.441 kg CO2 per metre
- Add rubber compound and reinforcement 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)
- [Rubber moulded part footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/rubber-moulded-part-carbon-footprint-per-kg)
- [Natural rubber sheet footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/natural-rubber-sheet-carbon-footprint-per-kg)
- [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.