Eco-Packaging Calculator

This calculator scores a packaging material's environmental footprint by combining fixed per-material factors with your specific weight and volume. Each of the four materials carries a baseline CO₂ intensity (plastic ~3.5 kg CO₂/kg, cardboard ~0.9, glass ~0.8, aluminum ~8.2 — aluminum's number is high because primary smelting is energy-intensive, even though the metal itself is infinitely recyclable) and a real-world recycling/diversion rate (cardboard 89%, aluminum 50%, glass 33%, plastic just 9%). Recycled content in your input reduces the effective carbon intensity, since the model assumes reprocessed material carries only 30% of virgin material's CO₂ burden — so specifying 50% recycled content meaningfully lowers both the per-unit and annual CO₂ figures, not just the diversion percentage.

The composite 0-100 Eco Score blends four weighted components: a linear CO₂ score worth up to 40 points (it starts at 40 and subtracts 4 points for every kg of CO₂ per kg of packaging, floored at zero once effective intensity reaches 10 kg CO₂/kg, so each unit of emissions reduction is worth the same fixed number of points regardless of where you start), the material's inherent recycling rate (30 points), a flat 15-point bonus if the material is biodegradable (cardboard only, in this model), and up to 15 points for recycled content share. Annual water footprint is a separate estimate driven by production water intensity per material (glass and aluminum are relatively low; cardboard and plastic are higher), scaled down by whatever fraction is virgin material since recycled inputs are assumed to need less water reprocessing. Treat every figure here as an industry-average approximation for comparing material choices, not a certified life-cycle assessment — actual CO₂ and water impact vary by regional energy mix, transport distance, and specific manufacturing process, so use this to rank options rather than to make regulatory or offset claims.