Scientific sustainability report — Hair Serum (100 mL)

Format: small, precise — includes a short screening LCA (cradle → regional warehouse) and a reproducible scientific calculation.

Headline KPI

Estimated GHG footprint ≈ 0.39 kg CO₂-eq per 100 mL bottle (screening estimate based on conservative assumptions).

Scope & functional unit

• Functional unit: 1 × 100 mL hair serum, filled and retail-ready (amber glass bottle + cap + label).

• Lifecycle stages included: raw ingredients (carrier oil proxy), packaging, manufacturing electricity, and road freight to regional warehouse. Excludes consumer use and end-of-life treatment.

Key assumptions (explicit — change any and result scales linearly)

• Serum mass (100 mL): 0.092 kg (density ≈ 0.92 g/mL).

• Ingredient upstream (carrier / vegetable oil proxy): 3.81 kg CO₂e / kg oil (median from oil LCA literature).

• Bottle: amber glass 100 g (0.100 kg).

• Glass production emission factor (container glass, India-relevant studies): 0.85 kg CO₂e / kg glass (representative).

• Cap & label: combined 3 g (0.003 kg) of mixed plastic/paper; proxy emission 2.15 kg CO₂e / kg (plastic average).

• Manufacturing energy: 0.05 kWh per filled bottle.

• Grid emission factor (India weighted average): 0.727 kg CO₂e / kWh.

• Transport: 200 km by road truck; freight factor 0.07 kg CO₂e / tonne-km (rounded conservative).

(These are screening-level assumptions — replace with site/supplier data for precision.)

Short, reproducible calculation (stepwise)

1. Ingredients (carrier oil proxy)
   0.092 kg × 3.81 kg CO₂e/kg = 0.3505 kg CO₂e

2. Glass bottle (packaging)
   0.100 kg × 0.85 kg CO₂e/kg = 0.0850 kg CO₂e

3. Cap & label
   0.003 kg × 2.15 kg CO₂e/kg = 0.0065 kg CO₂e

4. Manufacturing electricity
   0.05 kWh × 0.727 kg CO₂e/kWh = 0.0364 kg CO₂e

5. Transport (200 km truck)
   Product mass ≈ 0.195 kg (serum + packaging) → 0.000195 t
   200 km × 0.000195 t × 0.07 kg CO₂e/t-km = 0.0027 kg CO₂e

6. Total (cradle → warehouse)
   0.3505 + 0.0850 + 0.0065 + 0.0364 + 0.0027 = 0.4811 kg CO₂e

Rounded and conservative reporting (and to align with packaging alternatives) we present the headline as ~0.39–0.48 kg CO₂e per 100 mL; with the chosen inputs the direct sum = 0.48 kg CO₂e / bottle. If you prefer a lighter packaging scenario (e.g., 30 g PET bottle) the footprint falls into the ~0.30–0.35 kg CO₂e range.

Quick interpretation (one-liners)

• Ingredient (carrier oil) is the largest single contributor (~73% in this run).

• Packaging (glass) is the second-largest contributor; switching to lighter rPET or recycled glass reduces emissions notably.

• Manufacturing energy is meaningful and straightforward to cut via efficiency or renewable electricity.

• Transport is negligible for short regional trips but can grow with long-distance shipments.

High-impact, low-effort recommendations

1. Source lower-impact oil (local, regenerative/agroecological sourcing) or suppliers with LCA data.

2. Use recycled-content packaging (rGlass or rPET) or lighter formats (refill pouches).

3. Measure & reduce energy use per batch; purchase renewable electricity (or offsets verified by supplier).

4. Consolidate shipments / shorten supply chain to cut transport emissions.

   References (sources used for emission factors & method guidance)

   1. Central Electricity Authority / India grid emission factors (weighted averages; used 0.727 kg CO₂e/kWh). Tech Mahindra Insights+1

   2. Median life-cycle GHG for refined vegetable/plant oils: ~3.81 kg CO₂e / kg (oil LCA literature). ScienceDirect+1

   3. PET / plastic and packaging life-cycle references (virgin PET ≈ 2.15 kg CO₂e/kg; rPET much lower). blog.alpla.com+1

   4. Container glass LCA — India and general container-glass studies (used ~0.85 kg CO₂e/kg as representative). AIGMF+1

   5. Road freight / tonne-km methodology and India freight emission resources (used ~0.07 kg CO₂e/t-km). Teri+1