What does cradle-to-gate mean?

Cradle-to-gate counts emissions from raw-material extraction through to the factory gate, before distribution and use. It excludes transport to customers, the use phase, and end-of-life, which a full cradle-to-grave assessment would add.

Where do the emission factors come from?

The material and process factors are simplified averages drawn from public LCA databases such as Ecoinvent summaries, the ICE database, and DEFRA factors. They are order-of-magnitude estimates for early design decisions, not certified declarations.

How does the energy source change the result?

Processing emissions scale with the carbon intensity of the electricity you use. A grid-average mix is far higher than renewable power, so switching the energy source can cut the processing component severalfold without changing materials.

Can I use this for a verified PCF declaration?

No. A declaration to ISO 14067 or PAS 2050 needs primary supplier data and a verified factor set. This tool is for screening and design trade-offs, helping you find the biggest levers before commissioning a formal assessment.

Why is recycled material lower?

Recycled feedstocks avoid most of the energy-intensive primary extraction and refining steps, so their embodied-carbon factor is typically a fraction of the virgin equivalent. Choosing recycled aluminium over virgin is one of the largest single reductions available.

Product Carbon Footprint Estimator

This estimator builds a cradle-to-gate product carbon footprint (PCF) from the bottom up: every kilogram of material carries an embodied-carbon factor, the manufacturing process adds energy-related emissions, and packaging is counted too. It is a screening tool for designers who want to find the biggest carbon levers before commissioning a formal life-cycle assessment.

How it works

The footprint is the sum of three contributions:

materials   = Σ (material mass × embodied factor)
processing  = total material mass × process energy (kWh/kg) × grid factor (kgCO2e/kWh)
packaging   = packaging mass × packaging factor
total PCF   = materials + processing + packaging   (kg CO2e per unit)

Material embodied factors vary enormously: virgin aluminium is around 11 kg CO2e per kg while recycled aluminium is near 2, and engineering plastics sit around 3 to 6. The processing term multiplies energy intensity by the carbon intensity of your chosen electricity source, so a renewable mix dramatically shrinks it.

Tips and example

A 0.8 kg virgin-aluminium part, injection-moulded on grid-average electricity with 0.05 kg of cardboard packaging, lands near 9 to 10 kg CO2e per unit, almost all of it in the aluminium. Switching to recycled aluminium roughly halves the total, which shows why material choice usually dominates early-stage decisions. Always treat the figure as indicative — refine it with supplier-specific data once the design is settled.