On September 9, 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) jointly issued the Notice on Launching a Pilot Program for Product Carbon Footprint Labeling Certification. The notice outlines a pilot program aimed at implementing product carbon footprint labeling certification in qualified regions and mature industries.

The primary goal of this pilot is to develop a unified, reliable system for product carbon footprint labeling and certification, which draws on practical experience while ensuring data security. It aims to establish replicable and scalable best practices, supporting carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, and fostering a comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development.

The pilot will focus on products which have high market demand, face strong foreign trade exposure, contribute significantly to emission reduction, have robust data collection capabilities, and show clear impacts across the supply chain. Specifically, targeted products include lithium batteries, photovoltaic products, steel, textiles, electronics, tires, cement, electrolytic aluminum, urea, phosphate fertilizers, and wood products.

The pilot program’s main tasks are as follows:

  • Establishing a Working Framework: Develop a comprehensive working mechanism for product carbon footprint labeling certification, clarifying objectives, tasks, measures, responsible entities, and timeline to ensure a smooth process.
  • Improving Data Quality: Define data collection methods and quality control measures, enhance the application of carbon measurement in quantifying product carbon footprints, and improve the reliability and timeliness of data. Companies will be guided in building skills for measuring, monitoring, and calculating product carbon footprint data.
  • Ensuring Data Security: In line with relevant data security regulations, improve product carbon footprint data security levels, strengthen the management of product carbon footprint data flows in key foreign trade industries, and ensure a secure and reliable data exchange environment.
  • Enhancing Management Capabilities: Improve pilot enterprises’ capabilities in managing product carbon footprints, by benchmarking against international and domestic standards, identifying areas of improvement in production and distribution, strengthening energy-saving and carbon reduction management, and encouraging upstream and downstream companies to enhance carbon footprint management. The aim is to facilitate an overall green, low-carbon transition of the supply chain.
  • Strengthening Quality Control: Provide continuous guidance to certified enterprises to maintain the credibility of certifications, strictly combating any fraudulent carbon footprint labeling, and publicly disclosing administrative penalties and other relevant information through the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.
  • Innovating Policy Mechanisms: Implement policies suited to the pilot industries, encourage green finance by using product carbon footprint certification results as criteria, promote international recognition of product carbon footprint labels, and integrate product carbon footprint certification efforts within broader carbon neutrality and environmental initiatives, such as the “Beautiful China” initiative.
  • Enhancing Evaluation of Outcomes: Develop scientific evaluation methods based on the pilot program’s implementation, conduct multidimensional assessments of its effectiveness—including quality, economic, social, and ecological benefits—and summarize successful practices to provide useful references for future work.
  • Expanding Application Scenarios: Expand government procurement of low-carbon-footprint products, promote the application of product carbon footprint labeling in consumer goods, use media to enhance public awareness, encourage companies to actively display carbon labels, and motivate consumers to choose products with lower carbon footprints.

The document invites interested provincial-level market regulators to identify eligible pilot products and submit the “Product Carbon Footprint Labeling Certification Pilot Application Form” along with a work plan. SAMR, MEE, NDRC, and MIIT will conduct technical evaluations of the application materials and announce the selected pilot products.

Following the document’s release, the National Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) began selecting institutions to participate in the product carbon footprint labeling certification pilot. Applicants must meet certain criteria, including: i) having at least ten full-time certification personnel with expertise in the field, ii) completion of at least 50 product carbon footprint evaluation projects, and iii) experience in national or provincial-level research projects or in developing national or sector standards related to product carbon footprint accounting.

As the EU begins to require, in some regulations (such as the Battery Regulation), product carbon footprints as market entry requirements, China is accelerating the construction of its own product carbon footprint certification system. It is expected that these certification systems, once mature, could become essential for market entry. Currently, China has already initiated the development of multiple national standards for product carbon footprints across industries such as electronics, furniture, plastics, synthetic fibers, lighting, internal combustion engines, and electric vehicle charging equipment. These standards are likely to be referenced in future carbon footprint certification systems. Therefore, it is recommended that EU companies actively monitor and participate in the development of these standards to stay informed about China’s product carbon footprint accounting rules, and prepare for future certification.