Carbon Footprint Calculator

A carbon footprint is a measure of the greenhouse gases associated with the production, use and disposal of product . It includes emissions associated with raw material extraction, manufacturing, transportation, reuse, disposal and all other significant activities that are part of the product’s life cycle.

This calculator estimates the carbon footprint, the non-renewable energy and renewable energy associated with the life cycle of corrugated containers (assuming 8% moisture content) constructed from the average containerboard produced in the United States.

What is the weight of your corrugated container in pounds?  
The life cycle results for this corrugated container are:
Carbon footprint Non-renewable energy Renewable energy
lb CO2 eq. 1000 BTUs 1000 BTUs
kg CO2 eq. Megajoules Megajoules

The calculations performed by this calculator are based on information developed in the 2017 life cycle assessment study. The peer-reviewed study, commissioned by the Corrugated Packaging Alliance (CPA) and conducted by the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI), measured the environmental impact of 1 kg industry-average corrugated product manufactured in 2014. The study revealed that the average containerboard produced and used in the United States has the following attributes (assuming 8% moisture content):

  • Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions (carbon footprint) = 0.532 kg CO2 eq. / kg of corrugated container
  • Life cycle non-renewable energy = 18.5 MJ / kg of corrugated container
  • Life cycle renewable energy = 9.6 MJ / kg of corrugated container