Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and three other departments jointly issued the “Guiding Opinions on Launching the Construction of Zero-Carbon Factories.”

The Guiding Opinions propose a phased, tiered approach to fostering decarbonization, prioritizing industries with urgent decarbonization needs, predominantly electricity‑based energy consumption, and relatively lower decarbonization challenges for initial pilot efforts. These sectors will progressively refine relevant planning and design, energy supply systems, process technologies, management and operations, and business models. Once conditions are sufficiently mature, the initiative will be gradually extended to industries characterized by high carbon intensity and significant decarbonization hurdles.

Since 2026 Starting from [year], a group of zero-carbon factories will be selected to serve as model examples and lead the way; by [year]... 2027 In [year], a number of zero-carbon factories will be cultivated and built across industries such as automotive, lithium batteries, and photovoltaics; by [year]... 2030 Over the years, efforts have been steadily expanded to sectors such as steel, nonferrous metals, petrochemicals, and building materials, exploring new pathways for decarbonizing traditional high‑energy‑intensive industries.

The “Guiding Opinions” outline a roadmap for advancing carbon‑emission accounting and management, accelerating the green and low‑carbon transformation of the energy mix, significantly improving energy efficiency, conducting carbon‑footprint assessments for key products, enhancing digitalization and intelligent technologies, and implementing carbon offsetting and information disclosure—covering six key areas.

Establish a robust carbon‑emissions accounting and management system to enable scientifically sound carbon accounting. Develop a CO₂ emissions accounting framework to identify and quantify both emissions and removals, providing accurate, timely, and traceable data to support the development of zero‑carbon factories.

Accelerate the green and low‑carbon transformation of the energy mix to achieve carbon reduction at the source. Encourage factories to transition to zero‑carbon supplies of electricity, heat, hydrogen, and fuels; develop and deploy distributed photovoltaic systems, decentralized wind power, biomass‑based power generation, and other renewable sources tailored to local conditions; and explore direct procurement of green electricity to increase the share of renewables. Additionally, support eligible factories in building industrial green microgrids to enable efficient, complementary utilization of multiple energy sources.

Significantly enhance energy efficiency and achieve decarbonization of processes. Focus on systematic optimization of production workflows, simultaneously advancing both energy efficiency improvements and decarbonization of process flows.

Conduct carbon‑footprint assessments for key products to drive decarbonization across the entire value chain. Actively implement zero‑carbon supply‑chain management by procuring green, low‑carbon products, adopting green, low‑carbon logistics, and increasing the share of clean transportation, thereby encouraging upstream and downstream partners in the industry to adopt energy‑saving and carbon‑reduction measures and collaborate on decarbonization efforts.

Enhance digitalization and intelligentization to achieve smart carbon management. Implement the “Guidelines for Building Digital Energy‑Carbon Management Centers in Industrial Enterprises and Industrial Parks,” leveraging technologies such as the industrial internet, the Internet of Things, and big data to establish and operate digital energy‑carbon management centers, enabling precise measurement of energy consumption and carbon emissions, refined control, intelligent decision‑making, and visualized reporting.

Implement carbon offsetting and information disclosure to achieve net-zero emissions and drive continuous improvement. After fully implementing self‑driven emission reductions—reaching the point where no further cuts are feasible—remaining CO₂ emissions can be offset through cross‑border carbon trading and other mechanisms, thereby achieving and sustaining near‑zero CO₂ emissions at the facility. Support the trading of green electricity and green certificates to further increase the share of green power consumption. Encourage facilities to issue sustainability reports on a regular basis, covering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. ESG ) Reports, including the Zero‑Carbon Factory Construction Report, publicly disclose carbon emissions, product carbon footprints, and progress in zero‑carbon factory development, thereby validating the anticipated outcomes and performance of zero‑carbon factories and enabling continuous improvement.

(Source: China Chemical News) 2026-01-19 )