Activate green competitiveness with "carbon footprint management"

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed to build a carbon emission statistical accounting system, a product carbon labeling certification system, and a product carbon footprint management system. Among them, building a product carbon footprint management system is of great significance to promoting green, low-carbon and high-quality development and helping achieve the "double carbon" goal.

Just as walking leaves footprints, human production and life will inevitably produce carbon dioxide, leaving a "footprint" on the earth. Carbon footprint refers to the sum of greenhouse gas emissions and removals directly or indirectly caused by a specific object over a certain period of time, expressed in carbon dioxide equivalent. Carbon footprint can be used to reflect the impact of human activities on the environment and provide reference for achieving greenhouse gas emission reduction. Currently, some countries are trying to use carbon footprint management as a policy tool to deal with climate change, with product carbon footprints being the most widely used.

Jiangsu Province is at the forefront of exploring ways to help achieve the "double carbon" goal. In February this year, the "Implementation Opinions on the Construction of Product Carbon Footprint Management System in Jiangsu Province" jointly issued by six departments including the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the Provincial Market Supervision Bureau, and the Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment clearly stated that the entire chain promotes standard construction, accounting, identification certification and application scenario development of product carbon footprints. By 2025, a number of key product carbon footprint accounting rules and standards will be introduced, and efforts will be made to complete the carbon footprint accounting of 400 products. A carbon footprint background database for key industries such as batteries, photovoltaics, and steel will be initially established. The provincial product carbon footprint public service platform will be launched., the product carbon footprint identification working system has been initially established.

At the enterprise level, many Jiangsu companies have explored the way in advance in product carbon footprint management. At the end of last year, in a new energy vehicle parts manufacturer in Suzhou, a smart controller sold to Europe completed carbon footprint verification and obtained the province's first real-time carbon footprint certificate based on the full life cycle. In August this year, Yangzhou Juyuanchun Tea Professional Cooperative located in Zaolin Bay Tourist Resort in Yizheng received the first batch of tea carbon footprint certification in the country, providing a sample for the green transformation of the entire chain of Yangzhou tea industry.

At present, my country still has problems in product carbon footprint management, such as imperfect standard system, difficulty in data acquisition, and insufficient technical support. Building a product carbon footprint management system also requires multi-party coordination and joint efforts. Departments such as ecology and environment should promptly carry out the preparation of carbon footprint accounting standards for key products, select a batch of products for trial first, and actively promote the release of general principles for product carbon footprint accounting and carbon footprint accounting rules and standards for key products, and establish and improve product carbon footprint factor databases. Provide reference for the formulation of identification certification, hierarchical management, information disclosure and other systems; Market supervision departments should give full play to the role of quality certification in helping enterprises reduce carbon emissions and increase efficiency, take the lead in exploring and carrying out carbon labeling certification pilots for key industrial chains, promote the early issuance of a batch of carbon labeling certification certificates, and guide enterprises to save energy and reduce carbon emissions; Energy, transportation, housing and other key areas such as construction, industry and information technology, and agriculture and rural areas must accelerate the construction of carbon footprint management systems, gradually implement carbon footprint management standards, and realize the promotion and application of green and low-carbon products; Finance and other departments should increase the priority procurement and use of products with low carbon footprints in public procurement, public consumption, green travel and carbon inclusive scenarios, and encourage more companies to produce environmentally friendly products; The education department and the majority of colleges and universities should, based on the needs of carbon footprint management talents, base themselves on environmental science, take into account interdisciplinary education such as management, economics, sociology, and psychology, and promote the construction and cultivation of carbon footprint talent teams with systematic thinking. At the same time, the majority Enterprises must also take the initiative to assume social responsibilities and actively cultivate more professional talents with carbon footprint management capabilities while promoting the transformation of the industrial chain to low-carbon and green.