Fragrances & Perfumes

Material Composition Assumptions

The default bill of materials for a representative 100 ml fragrance product (eau de parfum, ~15–20% fragrance concentration, total unit weight approximately 280 g including packaging) includes:

• Fragrance liquid (~128 g net content): Ethyl alcohol (~75–85% by mass), fragrance concentrate (~15–20%), water (~2–5%), fixatives and UV-absorbers (<1%). The fragrance concentrate itself is a complex blend of aroma chemicals (synthetic musks, aldehydes, terpenes, esters) and natural extracts (rose absolute, bergamot essential oil, sandalwood, oud resin), typically 150–250 individual components
• Glass flacon (~120–200 g): Premium moulded soda-lime glass, significantly heavier than standard beverage glass of equivalent volume due to thick walls required for structural integrity of complex sculptural shapes. Post-production decoration commonly includes acid etching, silk-screen printing, gold/silver electroplating, or lacquering
• Metal collar and spray pump mechanism (~15–25 g): Aluminium or zamak (zinc alloy) collar and overcap; brass or stainless steel spray pump with HDPE dip tube and glass ball valve. The pump mechanism alone may contain 8–12 material types
• Secondary packaging (~30–50 g): Rigid folding carton (1.5–3.0 mm greyboard laminated with coated art paper), tissue or foam liner, printed leaflet, cellophane outer wrap with tear tape

The CCI score of 3.2 kgCO2e per unit is significantly higher than other personal care categories on a per-unit basis because the glass-and-metal packaging configuration is exceptionally heavy relative to the net liquid content. The per-kg figure of 25 kgCO2e/kg reflects both the packaging intensity and the upstream complexity of fragrance compound synthesis. A 100 ml fragrance bottle weighs approximately the same as a 330 ml wine bottle but contains only 100 ml of product — making the packaging-to-content ratio roughly three times worse.

The score covers cradle-to-gate manufacturing emissions. End-of-life (glass recycling, pump mechanism disposal) and use-phase are excluded.

Manufacturing Geography

The default manufacturing region is France for prestige and mass-prestige fragrances, with glass component sourcing from France, Italy, and Poland, and metal cap/collar components increasingly manufactured in China.

• France grid intensity: ~60 gCO2e/kWh. France’s nuclear-dominant grid is one of the lowest-carbon in Europe, materially reducing Scope 2 for fragrance blending and filling operations that take place in the Grasse region (the historical capital of fine fragrance) and Paris-area manufacturing facilities operated by LVMH, Chanel, Coty, and Puig.
• EU glass-producing countries: Italy and Poland have grid intensities of ~230 gCO2e/kWh and ~700 gCO2e/kWh respectively. Polish glass production is coal-intensive and represents a meaningful upward pressure on the glass component footprint.
• China grid intensity: ~565 gCO2e/kWh. Metal closures, cap components, and some secondary packaging are manufactured in China (particularly Guangdong province) and shipped by sea to European filling sites.

The blended Scope 2 intensity used in the default score (~350 gCO2e/kWh) reflects a mix of low-carbon French filling operations and higher-carbon glass and metal component manufacturing elsewhere in Europe and China.

Regional Variation

Region	Grid Intensity	Estimated Score Adjustment
France (nuclear)	~60 gCO2e/kWh	-83% on Scope 2 vs. EU avg (saves ~0.18 kgCO2e)
EU average	~300 gCO2e/kWh	Baseline reference
China filling	~565 gCO2e/kWh	+88% on Scope 2 (adds ~0.19 kgCO2e)
Poland (glass production)	~700 gCO2e/kWh	+133% on Scope 2 for glass component
EU (electric furnace, renewables)	~30 gCO2e/kWh	-90% on Scope 2 (saves ~0.20 kgCO2e)

Note: Scope 2 represents only ~7% of the total footprint, making manufacturing grid intensity a secondary consideration. The dominant driver of variation is the glass flacon weight and production process: a 300 g artisan glass bottle has approximately 2–3 times the footprint of a lightweight 120 g standard flacon, independent of where it is manufactured. Natural fragrance ingredients (rose absolute at ~4 tonnes of petals per kg of extract, agarwood/oud at critically endangered scarcity) can introduce Scope 3 hotspots that dwarf the packaging contribution for ultra-prestige formulations.

Provenance Override Guidance

A supplier or manufacturer may override the default CCI score by submitting:

1. Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) per ISO 14067 or a cradle-to-gate LCA per ISO 14040/14044, specific to the SKU, flacon design, and filling site. LVMH’s internal environmental assessment methodology may qualify if underlying data and system boundary are disclosed.
2. Glass flacon EPD or a supplier-specific carbon disclosure for the flacon design, including flacon weight, cullet rate used in production, furnace fuel mix, and any post-production decoration processes (each decorative step adds emissions).
3. Ethanol sourcing documentation — sugar-cane ethanol (Brazil, certified under Bonsucro) carries a substantially lower footprint than wheat-based EU ethanol; this provenance can be verified through certificates of analysis and supply chain documentation.
4. Natural ingredient provenance for high-intensity natural materials: rose absolute, jasmine absolute, oud, ambergris, musk. Supply chain declarations and yield ratios allow calculation of per-unit contribution.
5. Secondary packaging weight and recycled content — shifting from virgin to FSC-certified recycled greyboard and eliminating cellophane (replacing with water-soluble seal or recycled tissue) reduces the secondary packaging contribution by 30–60%.

FEVE EPDs for glass containers provide the most useful component-level override data given that the flacon is the single largest contributor to the footprint.

Methodology Notes

• CCI score of 3.2 kgCO2e per 100 ml bottle represents a mid-range estimate for a prestige or mass-prestige fragrance format. Published data is sparse for finished fragrance products, but component-level EPD data (glass flacon ~1.0–2.0 kgCO2e, ethanol ~0.1–0.15 kgCO2e, secondary packaging ~0.3–0.6 kgCO2e, metal components ~0.2–0.4 kgCO2e) supports a plausible range of 2.0–5.0 kgCO2e per unit across the market.
• Scope breakdown: Scope 3 dominates at 90% (2.88 kgCO2e per unit), driven by glass flacon production, fragrance compound synthesis, and secondary packaging. Scope 2 (factory electricity for blending, filtration, aging, filling) is 7% (0.22 kgCO2e). Scope 1 (direct combustion) is 3% (0.10 kgCO2e).
• Functional unit: One 100 ml eau de parfum or equivalent fragrance product including primary packaging (glass flacon, metal collar, spray pump) and secondary packaging (rigid carton, liner), cradle-to-gate.
• Fragrance concentration matters: Eau de cologne (2–4% concentration) contains more ethanol and less concentrate than eau de parfum (15–20%); however, the glass and metal packaging is the dominant contributor and does not vary with concentration. The per-unit score is relatively insensitive to fragrance concentration for a given bottle format.
• Natural vs. synthetic ingredients: Synthetic aroma chemicals (e.g., Iso E Super, Habanolide, Hedione) typically have lower carbon footprints than their natural counterparts and are produced in controlled industrial processes. The trend toward “natural” and “clean” fragrances may inadvertently increase the carbon footprint of the fragrance concentrate, depending on specific ingredients and sourcing.
• Confidence is medium because no major fragrance brand publishes SKU-level carbon footprint data. Component EPD data (glass, ethanol) is available from reputable sources, but the fragrance compound itself — which can contain 150–250 proprietary ingredients — is rarely disclosed in sufficient detail for bottom-up LCA.