Why does material choice (bamboo vs conventional) matter for hygiene products?

The two sub-types reflect materially different production routes, so selecting the correct one avoids over- or under-stating this line; use bamboo only where you can confirm the product specification from your supplier, not as a default assumption.

Do hand sanitiser and soap dispensers count as Hygiene or Chemicals?

Liquid hand sanitiser and soap are more accurately recorded under Chemicals given their chemical composition; this entry is currently scoped to sanitary products, so check which sub-type best matches your specific product before recording.

How should we record hygiene products supplied to visitors as well as staff?

Record the full purchased quantity regardless of end-user, since the organisational boundary for purchased goods is based on procurement, not who ultimately uses the product.

Our welfare supplier invoice bundles hygiene products with other consumables — what should we do?

Ask for an itemised breakdown where possible; if unavailable, apportion the invoice value using unit counts or a reasonable estimate, and note the assumption in your methodology rather than assigning the full invoice to one entry.

Is spend an acceptable unit here, or must we use product counts?

Unit count is the only unit currently available for this entry, so record the number of items purchased rather than spend; if you only have spend data, convert using average unit price where possible and document the approach.

Activity data·Purchased goods & materials

How to measure emissions from Hygiene

Hygiene activity data covers purchased sanitary and personal-hygiene products, such as sanitary pads, recorded by unit count under Scope 3 Category 1. Select the material-specific sub-type (bamboo or conventional) where the product specification is known, and keep cleaning chemicals and general consumables in their own entries. Source unit counts from itemised welfare-supplier invoices rather than blended facilities spend.

Scope: Scope 3 Category 1
What activity data you need: Unit
Activity data: Purchased goods & materials

What counts as Hygiene

Hygiene and sanitary products purchased by the organisation for staff or public welfare facilities — for example sanitary pads and related personal-care consumables. Excludes general cleaning chemicals (see Chemicals) and general facilities consumables (see Household).

Hygiene is a narrower purchased-goods entry than Household, covering personal hygiene and sanitary products specifically, where material composition (for example bamboo versus conventional sanitary products) can meaningfully change the purchased-goods intensity. Use this entry for welfare-facility hygiene products supplied to staff or visitors, not for cleaning chemicals used to maintain those facilities, which sit under Chemicals.

How to collect the data

Source unit counts from facilities-management or welfare-supplier invoices, ideally itemised by product type so you can select the closest material sub-type (e.g. bamboo versus conventional sanitary products) rather than defaulting to a single average. Where a supplier provides only a blended monthly welfare-supplies invoice, isolate the hygiene-product line items before recording, rather than including the whole invoice value here.

What activity data you need

Collect the most specific physical unit available. Unit definitions are in Appendix I — Description of Units.

Unit

Which emission scope it falls under

Hygiene activity data typically maps to Scope 3 Category 1 under the GHG Protocol. Confirm organisational boundary and ownership before reporting.

Scope 3 Category 1

By emission scope

Scope 3 Category 1

Compliance frameworks

Compliance & reporting frameworks

Sub-types available in the platform

All 2 sub-types available in the platform.

Sanitary pad: Bamboo
Sanitary pad: Conventional

Common questions

Why does material choice (bamboo vs conventional) matter for hygiene products?: The two sub-types reflect materially different production routes, so selecting the correct one avoids over- or under-stating this line; use bamboo only where you can confirm the product specification from your supplier, not as a default assumption.
Do hand sanitiser and soap dispensers count as Hygiene or Chemicals?: Liquid hand sanitiser and soap are more accurately recorded under Chemicals given their chemical composition; this entry is currently scoped to sanitary products, so check which sub-type best matches your specific product before recording.
How should we record hygiene products supplied to visitors as well as staff?: Record the full purchased quantity regardless of end-user, since the organisational boundary for purchased goods is based on procurement, not who ultimately uses the product.
Our welfare supplier invoice bundles hygiene products with other consumables — what should we do?: Ask for an itemised breakdown where possible; if unavailable, apportion the invoice value using unit counts or a reasonable estimate, and note the assumption in your methodology rather than assigning the full invoice to one entry.
Is spend an acceptable unit here, or must we use product counts?: Unit count is the only unit currently available for this entry, so record the number of items purchased rather than spend; if you only have spend data, convert using average unit price where possible and document the approach.

Next step

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Related in this cluster·Purchased goods & materials