碳中和——EPD中国的贡献

(English version in the bottom)

你有没有因为记错时间错过航班或者火车的经历？我有过一次，在欧洲读书的时候，有一次穷游坐廉航从巴黎飞斯德哥尔摩，临到起飞前两个半小时左右，我优哉游哉地赶到机场大巴处，却死活找不到机场大巴，一旁的士司机殷勤地提醒我飞机还有1个半小时就要起飞了，我才发现我把起飞时间记错了，晚了整整一个小时——为了不浪费机票（虽然只花了20多欧，折合200人民币左右），我火急火燎地跟这个热情的的士司机去了机场，总算赶上了飞机，的士费花掉了我将近120欧，不过还好，不然，买下一班航班机票更贵（临时买廉航已经来不及了），更不必说后续因为行程耽误造成的损失。

这是十几年前读书时候的事了，最近一次记错时间搞得无厘头就更叫人虚惊一场——在一次准备做有关建筑隐含碳评估的讲座前的2个小时左右，我们家领导发消息给我：孩子丢了。我又是火急火燎地冲出办公室，跑到儿子学校门口，大门紧闭，同学们看来已经离校多时了，于是我和领导分头去附近的商店、停车场以及儿子平时可能会去的地方寻找——跟失魂落魄的野鬼一样。找了一个小时两手空空，我的脑子里是各种情景剧在上演——回到儿子学校门口和领导集合，准备商量下一步对策的时候，发现这小子和同学们正慢悠悠地走向校门——原来，他今天晚一个小时放学，领导把放学通知的时间看错了！

好吧，说了这两个故事，想必大家已经猜到我要说什么了：碳中和，离不开可靠的数据！那么，问题来了：如何才能获得可靠的数据呢？怎样才不会因为搞错碳足迹或碳减排的数据，搞出碳中和的“大乌龙“呢？

十年前，我参加了一个欧盟的建筑碳足迹咨询评价项目，涉及上百种建筑产品和品牌，从混凝土、钢筋到门窗，幕墙等等，不一而足，可是问题来了：当时市场上没有几家公开产品碳足迹的建筑产品制造商，依赖当时有限的背景数据库，数据可靠性和适用性都是问题，最大的问题是，如果仅仅依赖于别人的数据，那地产企业自己的项目减排就无从下手，现在谈碳中和，更是无的放矢——认识到这些问题，欧盟几个国家，比如法国和德国等国家就着手开展了建筑产品的碳足迹及环境影响评估及声明（EPD）的数据库开发和建设工作，十年时间过去了，这几个国家逐渐形成了本国逐年更新的建筑产品的环境影响数据集，例如法国的Inies数据库和德国IBU EPD数据库，更为重要的是，这些数据集都是由建筑产品制造商提供的一手数据，地产企业可以开展建筑隐含碳的溯源，并进一步开展碳减排的管理，为碳中和奠定数据依据和基础。

（图片来源：https://infogram.com/constructionlcas-2020-guide-to-epd-1h7g6kgqx9zo4oy?live）

那么，他们是怎么做到的呢？

这就不得不提EPD-产品环境影响声明的评估之道——无论是法国的FDES还是德国的IBU，或是中国的EPD执行机构-EPD中国（环境友好产品中心）——他们首先是代表本国或地区、行业，按照产品三型环境影响声明标准（依据ISO14025）成立执行机构，负责组织企业及授权的合作机构，依据国际三型声明标准执行产品的环境影响评估以及声明工作。大部分EPD的执行机构是非盈利组织，也有部分EPD执行机构是商业组织或者行业和企业。作为执行机构，他们的首要任务是建立、管理和组织EPD体系并确保其有效运行及应用，具体包括组织规则（GPI）的建立和执行，产品评估标准（PCR）的组织开发及管理，产品环境影响声明（EPD）及碳足迹评估（PCF）的开展和公布，授权咨询评价单位及审核单位及成员的招募及管理等等。 

不同于简单的产品评价或者认证行为，为什么各国要纷纷采取EPD的执行标准和模式开展产品的环境公开声明，包括碳足迹及碳减排声明和标签呢？这里其实无非是两个字：可信！让我们试着从几个角度看一下为啥EPD模式的数据值得信赖：

第一，  产品信息及依据可溯源：不同于其他模棱两可的声明或者标签，EPD要求企业一五一十地按照产品类别和规则进行产品信息的披露，包括产地、名称、主要功能及产品的型号等等，不可蒙混过关；

第二，  产品环境影响需遵守生命周期评价原则：无论是碳足迹还是水足迹，产品的环境影响需要考虑产品从原料一直到出厂或者使用和报废环节的影响，不产生遗漏；另外，开展影响声明，也需要按照产品评价标准（PCR）开展全面环境影响评估，不会产生所谓的污染转移（burden shift）问题——即仅披露对产品有利的环境影响，而忽略产品所造成的其他严重甚至更有害的环境问题——这个对于今天大家尤其关注碳足迹和碳中和的当下颇为重要，大家在关注产品的碳减排的同时，也需要知道：这个产品对于降低水资源消耗，生物多样性破坏以及毒性健康等影响方面，是不是也是和碳减排一样，名副其实，还是只是借碳中和之风，狐假虎威？

第三，  产品环境信息声明需要遵守严格的评价和披露流程：这个说起来就不是一两句话的功夫了，简而言之，首先产品的声明数据必须基于标准（PCR）——而标准PCR的开发本身需要遵守严格的开发和评审流程，确保PCR能充分考虑产品的属性以及其环境影响（LCA）；其次评价信息和结果必须有据可查——所有数据的来源、质量、检测都有相关的约束和要求；再次，评价结果需要接受独立第三方的评审和检阅，通过企业、评价单位及审核单位的多环节把控，减少数据的误差，提高准确性。

（来源：EPD中国）

更为关键的是，随着技术及管理水平的进步，以及市场对于进一步可信和透明数据的呼声的提高，EPD执行机构也需要保持评估标准及数据的及时更新，并研究和结合最新的数据技术和工具，确保企业和市场获得高效而可信的产品及服务环境影响数据信息。

其实，做好可信的数据不是一件容易的事，尤其是对于复杂的产品系统，需要花细致的功夫，当然，关于这点，古人先贤已经给了我们很好的建议，所谓天下大事，必做于细，天下难事，必做于易，我们相信，携诸君之力，定能共筑碳中和数据长城；EPD中国也会在数据、标准、评估以及公开等领域与大家展开合作，共同推进可信的碳中和建设，为中国的30/60目标作出积极的贡献，也为促进世界可持续发展事业，共同奋斗！

2022年2月10日，虎年伊始，欢迎各位参加EPD中国PCR开发研讨会——各位EPD中国已授权公布的的咨询顾问，评价机构，技术委员，以及支持开展科学碳数据，并有兴趣参与EPD中国建设的同仁们，我们元月初十见！

Carbon Neutrality - EPD China's Contribution 

Have you ever nearly missed a flight or train because of the wrong time? I have, when I was studying in Europe, I was about to take a low-cost flight from Paris to Stockholm. About two and a half hours before departure, I arrived at the airport bus station but couldn’t t find the airport bus, a taxi driver on the side reminded me attentively that the plane would take off in an hour and a half, and I realized that I had misremembered the departure time and I was in hence a full hour late now-in order not to waste the ticket (although it only cost more than 20 Euro, equivalent to about 200 RMB ), I rushed to the airport with this enthusiastic taxi driver, and finally caught up with the plane. The taxi costed me nearly 120 Euros, but what else can I do, otherwise, it is too late to buy another low-cost airline temporarily, not to mention the subsequent losses caused by delays in the itinerary.

Well, you must have guessed what I am going to say: carbon neutrality requires reliable data! So, the question is: how can we get reliable data? How can we not create a carbon neutral "big oolong" (a slang in Chinese, it means not the dark green tea, but big mistake) because of wrong carbon footprint or carbon emission reduction data?

Ten years ago, I participated in an building carbon footprint consulting and evaluation study, involving hundreds of building products and brands, ranging from concrete and steel bars to doors and windows, curtain walls, etc. There were not many public products carbon footprint on the market at that time. Manufacturers of building products with carbon footprints relied on the limited background database at that time, and the reliability and applicability of data were both problematic. The biggest problem is that the real estate company is unable to reduce emissions based on the limited data, not to mention carbon neutrality, which can be more pointless - several EU countries, such as France and Germany, have then started to develop and build databases for carbon footprints and environmental product declarations (EPD) of construction products. Over time, these countries have gradually formed their own environmental impact datasets of building products that are updated year by year, such as the Inies database in France  and IBU EPD database in Germany, and more importantly, these datasets are all first-hand data provided by building product manufacturers. Real estate companies can trace the source of embodied carbon in buildings, and further carry out carbon emission reduction management to lay the foundation for carbon neutrality

(Image source: https://infogram.com/constructionlcas-2020-guide-to-epd-1h7g6kgqx9zo4oy?live ) 

So how did they do it?

Now we have to mention EPD - the way to assess the environmental impact statement of products - whether it is FDES in France or IBU in Germany, or EPD implementing agency in China - EPD China - they all represent their country first and are the foremost organizations responsible for implementing product environmental impact assessments and product environmental labels and declarations in accordance with the international type 3 declaration standards. Most EPD executive agencies are non-profit organizations, and some EPD executive agencies are commercial organizations or industries and enterprises. As implementing agencies, their primary task is to establish, manage and organize the EPD system and ensure its effective operation and application, including the establishment and implementation of organizational rules, the organizational development and management of product evaluation criteria (PCR), and environmental product declaration (EPD) and carbon footprint assessment (PCF) development and publication, recruitment and authorization of consulting and evaluation bodies, etc.

Apart from simple product evaluation or certification, why do countries adopt EPD standards and models to carry out product environmental declarations, including carbon footprint and carbon emission reduction declarations and labels? There are actually nothing more than one word here: Reliable! Let's try to see why EPD schema data is trustworthy from several perspectives:

1.       Product information and traceability: Unlike other ambiguous statements or labels, EPD requires companies to disclose product information in accordance with product categories and rules, including manufacturing sites, product name, main functions, and product models, etc.

2.       The environmental impact of a product must comply with the principles of life cycle assessment: whether it is a carbon footprint or a water footprint, the environmental impact of a product needs to consider the impact of the product from raw materials to product delivery or use and disposal during end of life; Carry out a comprehensive environmental impact assessment according to the Product Category Rule (PCR) without the so-called burden shift issue—that is, only disclosing the favorable environmental impacts of the product, while ignoring other serious or even more harmful environmental issues caused by the product—this is very important today when everyone is particularly concerned about carbon footprint and carbon neutrality, while paying attention to the carbon emission reduction of the product, it is also necessary to know whether this product is reducing water consumption, avoiding biodiversity destruction and toxic health impact effects, or it is merely carbon neutral at the burden of cost of other environmental impacts.

3.       Environmental Product Declarations need to follow a strict evaluation and disclosure process. In short, first of all, the declaration data of the product must be based on the standard (PCR) - and the development of the standard PCR itself must follow a strict development and review processes to ensure that PCR can fully consider the properties of the product and its environmental impact (through LCA); secondly, the evaluation information and results must be well documented - all data sources, quality, and testing meet the relevant requirements; thirdly, the evaluation results need to be reviewed by an independent third party, the verifier. Through the multi-steps control by the enterprise, the consultants and the verification body, the error of the data is reduced and the level of accuracy is improved.

More importantly, with the advancement of technology and management, as well as the market's increasing calls for more credible and transparent data, EPD operators also need to keep evaluation standards and data updated in a timely manner, and research and combine the latest data technology and tools to ensure that companies and markets have access to credible data efficiently. 

In fact, it is not easy to get reliable data, especially for complex product systems, which requires meticulous efforts. Let us start the thousand miles on each small steps, on February 10 , 2022 , the beginning of the Year of the Tiger, we welcome you to attend the EPD China PCR Development Seminar – attendants include EPD China authorized consultants, evaluation agencies , technical committees , as well as people who support the development of scientific carbon data. 

Carbon neutral cannot be achieved without reliable data, in EPDChina, let’s explore what is possible, together.