Industry Insights

As global "carbon neutrality" goals gain momentum, a growing number of industrial products are now equipped with their own "carbon dossier" – that is, a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) report. In simple terms, it functions like a "carbon emissions health checkup" for a product.

Recently, global chemical giant Celanese issued a carbon footprint report for a high-temperature nylon material under its Zytel® brand. The report shows that for every 1 kilogram of this engineering plastic produced, from raw material extraction to factory gate (i.e., "cradle-to-gate"), 4.9 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂-eq) of greenhouse gases are emitted.

How is this number calculated?

It follows international standards such as ISO 14067, which incorporate carbon emissions from all stages – including raw material extraction, transportation, and energy consumption – and ultimately convert them into a unified unit of carbon dioxide equivalent. This is essentially a comprehensive environmental accounting of the product's earliest life stage.

Why are customers increasingly asking for this report?

On one hand, it's to address "green trade barriers" in markets like the European Union, where imported products must declare their carbon footprint. On the other hand, major brand owners such as Apple and BMW also require their suppliers to provide this data, so they can calculate the total emissions across their supply chains and meet their emission reduction commitments.

A carbon footprint is not a "list of defects" for a product, but rather an objective environmental performance scorecard. In the future, products without a "carbon dossier" may not even qualify to enter the international market.