Packaging Printing Carbon Footprint: 3 Types of Real Data Boundaries: Scope 1 / 2 / 3 — The Unspoken Challenges for Small and Medium-Sized Printers: How to Respond When Clients Request Reports

In April 2026, a client who sells imported beauty brands contacted us. Here are their exact words:

"Master, our group will require all suppliers to provide Scope 3 carbon footprint reports starting in 2026. Can your printing factory provide them? If not, we will have to switch to a supplier that has the capability."

Behind this statement are the three Scope data boundaries of the carbon footprint of packaging printing. The client group requires Scope 3, while printing plants can directly calculate Scope 1 and Scope 2. Scope 3 covers the entire supply chain, including paper production, ink production, glue production, transportation, customer use, and end-of-life disposal. Printing plants cannot calculate this accurately—an industry dirty secret.

This kind of tension between "customer groups requesting Scope 3" and "printers being unable to calculate it accurately" increased sharply in 2025-2026. Since the second half of 2025, our printing company has begun receiving these requests: the share of customers with annual order volumes of 1000 ten-thousand units or more has risen from 0% to 5-8%. This article explains the boundaries of 3 Scope categories and how printing companies can respond to customer requests for Scope 3 data.

Category 1 Scope 1: Direct Energy Consumption at the Printing Plant

Scope 1 refers to energy directly consumed by the printing plant, such as natural gas, diesel, and ink solvents released through evaporation. The printing plant can calculate these data directly by reviewing financial records, including monthly gas consumption, electricity consumption, and diesel consumption, and multiplying them by the corresponding emission factors to obtain the Scope 1 data.

Scope 1 data for our printing plant: 1 medium-sized printing plant (annual output value of 20 million yuan), with monthly Scope 1 CO2 emissions of approximately 5–8 tonnes. Ink and solvent evaporation accounts for the largest share (approximately 40–50% of Scope 1)—which is why VOC treatment and carbon footprint management proceed in parallel: reducing VOCs also reduces Scope 1 emissions.

The printing plant calculates Scope 1 data directly from financial documents each month, with an accuracy of ±2%. This is the easiest Scope 1 data for the printing plant to obtain and for customers to verify among the three scopes.

Scope Category 2: Purchased Electricity

Scope 2 is electricity purchased by the printing plant from the power grid. To calculate this data, multiply the plant’s monthly electricity bill by the regional grid emission factor. The grid emission factor in eastern China is approximately 0.5 kg CO2/kWh, while provinces in western China with abundant hydropower have an emission factor of approximately 0.3 kg CO2/kWh.

The printing plant can achieve a data accuracy of ±5% for Scope 2 (electricity costs are accurate, but emission factors vary by region). Customers generally find this level of precision acceptable.

The printing factory's path to green transformation is to focus on Scope 2—install photovoltaic rooftop systems, purchase green electricity, and participate in carbon markets. This approach pays back in 1-3 years and directly improves customers' Scope 2 reports.

Category 3: Upstream and Downstream Value Chain

Scope 3 is the most difficult data for printing companies to calculate: upstream (paper production, ink production, adhesive production, and transportation) and downstream (customer use and final disposal), across 15 categories. Printing companies have no direct control over this data—the carbon footprint of paper depends on the papermaking process, while that of ink depends on the chemical manufacturing process, so printing companies can only obtain approximate values.

When customers request Scope 3 data, printing companies should proactively inform customers that "the data is estimated" (using industry-average data), rather than pretending they "can calculate it" — such transparency is more reliable than pretending the calculation is precise.

Commonly used Scope 3 estimation databases for printing plants include: Ecoinvent (Europe, with comprehensive data for the printing industry), DEFRA (the UK, with timely updates), and Chinese local LCA databases (localized data but slow updates). The accuracy of these databases varies by ±30-50%, which printing plants should proactively disclose.

3 Scripts for Printing Companies Responding to Customer Requests for Scope 3

1.Scope 1+2 capability: "We can provide directly calculated data for Scope 1 and Scope 2, with an accuracy of ±2-5%."—This is the most basic commitment.

2.Scope 3 Reference Database: "For Scope 3, we use the Ecoinvent/DEFRA databases for estimation, with an accuracy of ±30-50%. The estimation sources must be identified when preparing carbon reports for brands."—This is a medium level of commitment.

3.Scope 3 Collaborative Calculation: "We are willing to collaboratively calculate Scope 3 with your suppliers, which requires you to provide specific manufacturer data for upstream paper, ink, and adhesive."—This is an advanced collaboration model applicable only when there is a high level of trust between the customer and the printing plant.

Select one of these 3 scripts based on the customer type rather than making a blanket statement that "we can do it." This "tiered commitment" avoids overpromising to customers and also reduces the risk of inaccurate data at the printing plant.

The boundaries of the printer's refusal of Scope 3

Not all customer requirements are worth accepting for the printer. In our actual practice, the printer quotes 2-3 ten-thousand yuan for a Scope 3 single-category audit. Given this cost, the customer’s annual order value needs to exceed 1000 ten-thousand yuan for the printer to cover it. If the customer’s annual order value falls below 1000 ten-thousand yuan, the printer will usually proactively recommend that the customer proceed on the grounds that “the data precision is insufficient and could mislead your report,” as follows:

1. Use the Group’s internal Scope 3 estimation methodology;

2. Cite industry-average Scope 3 data (using the printing plant’s monthly production data as input parameters);

3. Commission a third-party consulting company to conduct the Scope 3 audit (the printer will provide the raw data).

These 3 recommendations enable printing companies to continue cooperating with small and medium-sized clients instead of falling into the ethical dilemma of "whether to include Scope 3."

Printing Factory Carbon Footprint Compliance Assets

In 2025-2026, the printing plant needs to templatize 3 categories of Scope data: calculate it monthly, archive the data, and retrieve the archived data directly when customers inquire. The printing plant’s templates include: Scope 1 (natural gas/diesel/ink solvents), Scope 2 (monthly electricity charges × regional emission factors), and Scope 3 (industry estimates for 15 categories).

This template is compliant and enables printing companies to respond quickly when customers request Scope 3 data, while also allowing them to accumulate data assets when customers are not asking. When a customer does request the data, the printing company can retrieve and respond with previously collected data rather than compiling it from scratch.

Compliance Boundaries for Printers When Customers Request Scope 3 Data

Printing companies should not pretend to calculate Scope 3 data accurately. When a client group uses a printing company’s estimated data in its Scope 3 report without a stated estimation accuracy, a third-party audit may find that the Scope 3 data lacks sufficient accuracy after the client group publishes its report, potentially undermining the credibility of the client group’s report—and, in turn, leaving the printing company open to complaints.

The compliant approach is for the printer to explicitly label the Scope 3 data as “estimated, with an accuracy of ±30-50%, sourced from the Ecoinvent database,” allowing the client group to retain this accuracy statement in its report. This is the printer’s source of long-term value for clients.

Further reading

Carbon Emission Accounting for Packaging Companies: 3 Methods — ISO 14064 / GHG Protocol / Chinese National Standard GB/T 51316

4 Types of Forest Certification Labels: FSC / PEFC / CFCC / China Environmental Label — How Packaging Printers Should Choose

Three Key Indicators for Packaging Printing VOC Management: Employee Health First, Then Environmental Compliance

Occupational Health at Packaging and Printing Plants: 3 Key Indicators—VOC / Noise / Dust