Supplier support
Reduce

Lower-carbon materials and packaging

Most of what a manufacturer emits is in what it buys. You cut it by asking your own suppliers the question you were asked, choosing recycled or lower-carbon versions of the same material, and using less packaging per unit.

4

Where are the emissions in the materials I buy?

In their production, before they reach you. Steel, aluminium, plastics, cement, paper, glass and chemicals each carry an emissions figure per tonne from the energy and process used to make them, and that figure sits in your Scope 3 under purchased goods. For a manufacturer, this is usually the largest line in the footprint, and it is the line customers mean when they ask about "embodied carbon". The good news is that most materials now come in versions with very different footprints, so the choice of version is a reduction you can make at the next purchase order.

What are the levers?

Four, in rough order of how quickly they work.

  1. Use less. Thinner gauges, less scrap, tighter tolerances, lighter packaging. A kilogram not bought is a kilogram with no footprint, and it saves money.
  2. Switch version. Recycled instead of virgin (aluminium and steel especially), lower-carbon cement, recycled-content plastics and paper. Same material, same supplier chain, lower factor.
  3. Switch supplier. Two suppliers of the same material can have very different footprints depending on their energy and process. Asking for each supplier's own figure is how you find out.
  4. Switch material. Only where the product allows and the lifecycle supports it; this is the slowest lever and needs product engineering.

Your customer will accept: a list of your main materials with the version you buy (recycled share, grade), the supplier's own emissions figure where you have it, and the changes you have made or planned. Nobody expects a redesign in year one.

How do I find out my supplier's figure?

Ask. The question you received from your customer is the one to send to your own main suppliers, and larger material suppliers often already publish an emissions figure per tonne or a product carbon footprint for their grades. Asking your own suppliers covers how to do this without creating the burden you have just been through. Where no figure exists, free public databases give published factors by material that are good enough to compare options, for example the UK government conversion factors, France's Base Empreinte or Thailand's product footprint emission factors; the supplier's own figure replaces them when it arrives.

What about packaging?

Packaging is both a materials line and a logistics line. Less packaging per unit cuts the material bought and lets more units fit per pallet, which cuts freight. Recycled-content board and film cut the factor. Reusable transit packaging between you and a regular customer removes the line almost entirely on that route. Customers in food, pharmaceuticals and retail increasingly ask about packaging separately, so it is worth a short statement of its own alongside your footprint. Many countries run a packaging scheme under extended producer responsibility (EPR: producers pay towards collecting and recycling the packaging they sell), and these schemes publish free design-for-recycling guides. Italy's Progettare Riciclo from CONAI and the plastic product design guidelines from Japan's Ministry of the Environment are two examples.

Do I need a product carbon footprint to do this?

No. Material choices can be made on the material's factor alone. A product carbon footprint (PCF) is the next level: the emissions of one of your products from raw material to your gate, which customers in some sectors ask for from their larger suppliers. The Lead stage covers when you need one and how to produce it. If a customer has asked you for one already, the material work in this guide is most of the input.

How do I show the change in my footprint?

By the factor, not the spend. If you switch from virgin to recycled aluminium at the same price, an industry average applied to spend shows nothing; the material's factor, or your supplier's own figure, shows the drop. Label each material line with the factor used (industry average, supplier's own figure, activity data, product footprint) so the reduction is visible and explained. The guide on moving from estimates to measured data covers the labelling.

Do this week: list your five largest purchased materials by weight or spend. Against each, write the version you buy and whether the supplier has published an emissions figure. Email the two largest suppliers and ask.

What should I do next?

Paying for it covers grants and customer programmes that sometimes fund material changes. For a ranked plan that puts materials against your other options, ClimateMate builds one free from real-world case studies. If your customer uses DitchCarbon, claim your profile and record the material changes.

Where to get help

  • ClimateMate: a free decarbonisation plan builder, backed by real-world case studies, that ranks material and packaging changes against your other options. Free.
  • Upstream Innovation: the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's practical guide to cutting packaging at the design stage: eliminate, reuse, swap materials. Free, also in Spanish, French, Portuguese and Chinese.
  • GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard: the purchased goods category and how material emissions are accounted. Free.
  • Concrete Future roadmap: the Global Cement and Concrete Association's levers for lower-carbon cement and concrete. Free, also in Spanish and Chinese.
  • Greenhouse gas emissions: aluminium sector: International Aluminium Institute data to compare primary and recycled aluminium. Free.
  • PCF Evaluator: check a product carbon footprint a material supplier sends you before relying on it. Free.

In your country

Local calculators, grants and advice for this guide, where we have them. See all countries →

Australia

Australia and New Zealand

Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific

Brazil

Canada

Chile

Colombia

Egypt

  • MED TEST II in Egypt: UNIDO (SwitchMed). 28 Egyptian factory cases of raw material and resource savings. In English. Free.

France

Germany

  • ProBas (Process data for environmental assessments): Umweltbundesamt. Free database of process and emission data. In German. Free.
  • Mindeststandard für recyclinggerechtes Design von Verpackungen (Minimum standard for recyclable packaging design): Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister with Umweltbundesamt. Official 2026 method for judging packaging recyclability, which drives EPR fees. In German and English. Free.
  • Verpackungen (Packaging): Umweltbundesamt. German packaging rules, quotas, FAQs and recyclability studies. In German. Free.
  • Ressourcenchecks (Resource checks): VDI ZRE (Federal Environment Ministry funded). Online self-checks for material efficiency and scrap reduction by process. In German and English. Free.
  • Eco Design von Kunststoffverpackungen (Leitfaden) (Eco design of plastic packaging guideline): IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen. Guideline and toolbox for eco-design in plastic packaging development. In German and English. Free download.

India

Indonesia

Ireland

Italy

  • EcoD Tool (Eco-design tool): CONAI. Compare packaging CO2, energy and water before and after redesign. In Italian. Free (sign-up).
  • Progettare Riciclo (Design for recycling): CONAI with material consortia and universities. Design-for-recycling guidelines for steel, paper, aluminium and plastic packaging. In Italian. Free.

Japan

Kenya

Mexico

  • Infografías y descargables (Material guides): ECOCE A.C. Guides by plastic type on identification and collection for recycling. In Spanish. Free.

Morocco

Netherlands

  • Instrumenten (Tools): KIDV / Verpact. Sustainable Packaging Compass, Recyclecheck and other packaging tools. In Dutch and English. Free (some need account).
  • Rekentool herbruikbare verpakkingen (Reusable packaging CO2 calculator): KIDV / Verpact. Excel tool for when reusable beats single-use packaging on CO2 and cost. In Dutch and English. Free (contact form).
  • Circulair ondernemen (Circular business): RVO. Circular strategies, a raw material risk scanner and subsidies. In Dutch. Free.

Poland

Singapore

  • Mandatory Packaging Reporting: National Environment Agency. Packaging reporting and 3R plan rules, templates and guidebook. In English. Free.
  • Packaging Partnership Programme: National Environment Agency with industry. Packaging guidelines, weight benchmarks and 3R plan examples. In English. Free.
  • 3R Guidebook for Packaging: Singapore Manufacturing Federation and NEA. Step-by-step help to write a reduce, reuse, recycle plan for packaging. In English. Free.

South Africa

Spain

Sweden

  • Boverkets klimatdatabas (Boverket climate database): Boverket. Public emission factors for construction materials such as concrete, steel, insulation. In Swedish. Free.

Thailand

Türkiye

  • Sıfır Atık Kılavuzları (Zero Waste guides): Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change. Sector guides including industrial facilities and industrial zones. In Turkish. Free.

UK

US

Eastern Partnership (regional)

Europe (regional)

European Union

Mediterranean (regional)

Nordic countries

Looking for another country? See free help by country.

Common questions

What is embodied carbon in materials?

The emissions from producing a material before it reaches you, such as steel, aluminium, plastics or cement. It sits in your Scope 3 under purchased goods and is usually a manufacturer's largest line.

How can a small manufacturer reduce emissions from materials?

Use less, switch to recycled or lower-carbon versions of the same material, choose suppliers with lower footprints by asking for their figure, and change material only where the product allows.

How do I find the carbon footprint of a material I buy?

Ask the supplier; large material suppliers often publish a figure per tonne or a product carbon footprint. Until then, use a published factor such as the UK government conversion factors.

How can packaging reduce a supplier's carbon footprint?

Less packaging per unit cuts material and lets more fit per pallet, reducing freight. Recycled content lowers the factor. Reusable transit packaging with regular customers removes the line on that route.

Will switching to recycled material show in my carbon footprint?

Only if the line uses the material's factor or your supplier's own figure. An industry average applied to the same spend shows nothing, so label each line with the factor used.

Get help

Email suppliersupport@ditchcarbon.com and hear back within two working days. Free, whether or not your customer uses DitchCarbon.

Emailsuppliersupport@ditchcarbon.com
We reply within two working days.
Does your customer use DitchCarbon?Claim your profile →
Free, takes about 30 seconds, and is where your customer reads your answer from.
DitchCarbon logo
v260319.2
enquiries@ditchcarbon.com+44 203 475 7875

Ditch Carbon Ltd
167-169 Great Portland Street
London W1W 5PF

Platform
How it worksDataIntegrationsAuditabilityComparePricing
Solutions
AI survey responder
Product carbon footprints
Scope 3 decarbonisation
Financed emissions
Scope 3 reporting
Sustainable procurement
Supplier engagement
Customers
EssilorLuxottica
Hikma
Grant Thornton
Haleon
Coherent
Howden
Resources
GuidesBlogDatasetIndustriesTrust centerUpload your reportCalculation methodologyClaim your profileSupplier supportSBTI APIFAQ
Documentation
HelpReferenceAppendixChangelog
Company
AboutContactCareersPrivacy policyTerms and conditions
LinkedIn logo