China's rubber products industry has entered a new stage of green transformation: "proactive carbon control
Beijing, January 19 (China News Service) -- The China Consumer Product Quality and Safety Promotion Association recently released the group standard "Methods and Requirements for Quantifying the Carbon Footprint of Greenhouse Gas Products (Rubber Products)". As the first national standard focusing on the carbon footprint of rubber products, it establishes a comprehensive carbon footprint management system covering the entire chain from planting to production to recycling, driving the industry's green transformation from "passive emission reduction" to a new stage of "active carbon control".
The rubber products industry, as a "resilient cornerstone" of the national economy, has products penetrating more than 10 key sectors including transportation, healthcare, and industry. Its annual carbon emissions account for 2.3% of total industrial emissions nationwide. For a long time, the industry's green transformation has been plagued by a triple dilemma: high energy consumption, low recycling, and a lack of standards.
The newly released group standard, "Methods and Requirements for Quantifying the Carbon Footprint of Greenhouse Gas Products (Rubber Products)," is based on the characteristics of the industry and constructs its system around the core principles of "full chain coverage, detailed product category breakdown, and localized adaptation". For example, the calculation rules are refined to suit the specific characteristics of the rubber industry. Natural rubber requires calculation of "methane emissions during planting + energy consumption emissions during processing"; synthetic rubber requires the addition of "emissions from ethylene cracking"; and waste rubber recycling distinguishes between "emission reduction from recycling" and "emissions from incineration." Simultaneously, it clarifies that in joint production scenarios, priority should be given to allocation based on energy consumption ratio, filling a gap in the industry's calculation methods.
Taking tire production as an example, the standard requires not only calculating emissions from mixing and vulcanization plants, but also tracing carbon emissions from fertilizer application during natural rubber planting in Yunnan, as well as energy consumption during the thermal cracking of waste tires. This end-to-end accounting, "from rubber plantation to recycling plant," allows companies to truly understand the origins and destination of carbon emissions.
The China Consumer Product Quality and Safety Promotion Association stated that the implementation of the group standard "Quantification Methods and Requirements for Greenhouse Gas Product Carbon Footprint in Rubber Products" will not only promote the green development of the rubber products industry by reducing carbon emissions and improving quality, enhancing the market competitiveness of high-end products, but will also provide key support for carbon reduction in downstream sectors such as transportation and healthcare, contributing to the achievement of "dual carbon" goals.
