Tablets

Material Composition Assumptions

The default reference product is a 10-11 inch tablet weighing approximately 0.5 kg, composed of:

• Display module: LCD or OLED panel with cover glass (typically alumino-silicate), touch digitizer, and backlight (LCD only), approximately 0.15-0.18 kg. Display manufacturing involves clean-room photolithography similar to TV panels but at smaller substrate sizes.
• Semiconductor ICs: System-on-chip (SoC), DRAM (4-8 GB), NAND flash storage (64-256 GB), power management IC, and various controllers, approximately 10-15 g total. Wafer fabrication at 5-7 nm process nodes is extremely energy-intensive.
• Lithium-ion battery: Lithium polymer pouch cell, approximately 0.12-0.15 kg (25-35 Wh capacity). Battery constitutes roughly 25-30% of device mass.
• Enclosure: Aluminum unibody or magnesium alloy rear shell, approximately 0.12-0.15 kg. CNC-machined from billet aluminum with anodized finish.
• PCBs and connectors: Multi-layer HDI printed circuit boards with surface-mount components, approximately 0.02-0.03 kg.
• Packaging: Cardboard box, charger (if included), cable, and documentation, approximately 0.3-0.5 kg.

Manufacturing Geography

Tablet manufacturing follows the broader consumer electronics supply chain:

• Component production: Display panels from China (BOE, Tianma) or South Korea (Samsung, LG); semiconductors from Taiwan (TSMC) and South Korea (Samsung); batteries from China (ATL, BYD).
• Final assembly: Primarily China (Foxconn, Pegatron, Compal facilities in Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, Chengdu).
• Grid intensity (China): 565 gCO2e/kWh (IEA 2024). Used as conservative default since the majority of assembly and many components originate in China.
• Grid intensity (South Korea): 430 gCO2e/kWh (IEA 2024). For Samsung-specific production.
• Grid intensity (Taiwan): 510 gCO2e/kWh (IEA 2024). TSMC wafer fabs.
• Rationale: Semiconductor fabrication and display panel manufacturing are the most energy-intensive steps. A single wafer fab can consume 50-100 MW continuously.

Regional Variation

Assembly + Component Region	Grid Intensity	Estimated CCI Score	Adjustment vs Default
China (default)	~565 gCO2e/kWh	70 kgCO2e	Baseline
South Korea	~430 gCO2e/kWh	63 kgCO2e	-10%
Taiwan (TSMC supply)	~510 gCO2e/kWh	67 kgCO2e	-4%
Vietnam (assembly only)	~480 gCO2e/kWh	66 kgCO2e	-6%
USA (hypothetical)	~390 gCO2e/kWh	60 kgCO2e	-14%

Note: Scope 2 is 27% of total emissions. Component origin (especially display and semiconductor fabs) matters more than final assembly location for total emissions.

Provenance Override Guidance

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

1. Product Environmental Report or Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) per ISO 14067. Apple, Samsung, and Microsoft publish detailed product-level reports.
2. Component-level data: Display panel supplier PCF, semiconductor foundry emissions data (TSMC publishes per-wafer emissions), battery cell supplier data.
3. Factory energy data: Renewable energy procurement at assembly and component facilities. Apple’s supplier clean energy program is a reference example.
4. Recycled content data: Recycled aluminum enclosures can reduce enclosure-stage emissions by 80-90% vs. primary aluminum.

Methodology Notes

• CCI score of 70 kgCO2e represents a conservative estimate for a 10-11 inch tablet. Apple reports 53-69 kgCO2e for iPad Air models (with Apple’s partially decarbonized supply chain); the CCI score adds a conservative margin for non-optimized supply chains with coal-intensive grids.
• Scope breakdown: Scope 3 dominates at 71% (50 kgCO2e), driven by display panel manufacturing, semiconductor IC production, battery cell manufacturing, and aluminum enclosure production at upstream suppliers. Scope 2 is 27% (19 kgCO2e) from final assembly and testing electricity. Scope 1 is 2% (1.0 kgCO2e).
• Confidence: High because multiple manufacturers (Apple, Samsung, Microsoft) publish detailed product environmental reports with independently verified data.
• Functional unit: One 10-11 inch tablet (~0.5 kg), cradle to gate through packaged product.
• Use-phase: Excluded but relatively modest. A tablet consuming 10-15 kWh/year over 4 years contributes approximately 15-30 kgCO2e in use-phase emissions.
• Size scaling: Larger tablets (12-13 inch) have approximately 30-50% higher production emissions due to larger display panels and batteries.