How to measure emissions from Plastic

What counts as Plastic

Plastic covers purchased plastic materials and resins by polymer type — HDPE, LDPE/LLDPE, PET, PP, PS and PVC, plus bioplastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) — used as raw material inputs to manufacturing rather than finished packaging items. It's reported under Scope 3 Category 1, by weight, because emissions intensity varies materially between polymer types and between virgin and recycled resin.

Polymer type is the single most important detail here — HDPE, LDPE, PET, PP, PS and PVC each have distinct emissions profiles because they're produced through different chemical processes, so a blended "average plastic" figure loses meaningful accuracy compared with a polymer-specific one. This category is for raw plastic material and resin, typically bought by manufacturers to mould, extrude or form into products; if what you're buying is already a finished packaging item — a bottle, a bag, film wrap — that belongs under Packaging instead, even though it's the same underlying material. Bioplastics such as PLA are tracked as their own subtype, reflecting a different feedstock and production process from petroleum-derived polymers, so don't fold them into a generic plastic average if you know the specific type. Forming processes (extrusion, injection moulding) are typically bundled into the polymer-specific factor already, so there's usually no need to add a separate manufacturing energy figure on top, unless your reporting boundary specifically requires it.

What activity data you need

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

• tonne
• £ Spend
• $ Spend

Which emission scope it falls under

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

Sub-types available in the platform

All 13 sub-types available in the platform.

• Bioplastic: Polylactic Acid (PLA): Thailand
• Plastic: Average plastic film
• Plastic: Average plastic products
• Plastic: Average plastic products: UK
• Plastic: Average plastic rigid
• Plastic: Average plastics
• Plastic: HDPE (incl. forming)
• Plastic: Hydropol polymer pellets
• Plastic: LDPE and LLDPE (incl. forming)
• Plastic: PET (incl. forming)
• Plastic: PP (incl. forming)
• Plastic: PS (incl. forming)
• Plastic: PVC (incl. forming)

Data entry options

• production type

  Select production type when entering plastic activity data in the platform.

Full list of data entry options

Common questions

Should I use a general 'average plastics' figure or break it down by polymer type?

Break it down by polymer type wherever your supplier data allows — HDPE, PET, PP and PVC have meaningfully different profiles, and blending them into one average sacrifices accuracy you likely already have available on your invoices.

How is this different from plastic packaging like bottles or film?

This category is for raw resin or plastic material used as a manufacturing input. A finished plastic bottle, bag or piece of film wrap bought as packaging belongs under Packaging instead, even though the underlying polymer is the same.

Does bioplastic need separate treatment from conventional plastic?

Yes — bioplastics like PLA are produced from different feedstocks through different processes, giving them a distinct emissions profile from petroleum-derived polymers, so record them under their specific bioplastic subtype rather than a generic plastic average.

What if my supplier only tells me 'rigid' or 'film' plastic, not the exact polymer?

Use the average plastic rigid or average plastic film subtype as an interim measure, and ask your supplier for the specific polymer type on future orders, since this is one of the more accurate improvements available in this category.

Does recycled plastic content need a different factor from virgin resin?

Yes, and it's worth asking suppliers to confirm — recycled resin of the same polymer type generally has a lower footprint than virgin resin, since it avoids the primary extraction and cracking stage of production.