Analysis of Carbon Footprint and Water Footprint in Laundry MSMEs Business Using Life Cycle Assessment

Laundry MSMEs are resource-intensive, consuming significant electricity and water while discharging wastewater with high concentrations of detergent residues. Accordingly, assessing their environmental impacts is essential to support sustainable practices in the laundry sector. This study aims to quantify the carbon footprint and water footprint of a laundry MSME, identify the hotspot, and propose mitigation strategies. A gate-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted using SimaPro software. Impact assessment applied IPCC 2021 GWP100 for carbon footprint and AWARE methodology for water footprint. The result shows that laundering 1 ton of clothes generates 5,072 kg CO₂-eq and 687 m³ of water use. The washing process is identified as the main hotspot, contributing 3,470 kg CO₂-eq (68% of total emissions) and 654 m³ (95% of total water use). These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions at the washing stage to reduce environmental impacts and enhance resource efficiency in the laundry sector.