Enterprises Now Have a "Carbon Ledger" for Energy Consumption

This article is reprinted from: Economic Daily

As a traditional high energy consumption and emission industry, the textile industry’s green and low-carbon transformation is of great significance for China to achieve its peak carbon and carbon neutrality goals. At the same time, because green electricity and low-carbon certification are becoming “tickets” to enter high-end markets, textile companies that do not meet environmental standards will face export risks and international competitive pressure.

In recent years, Zhejiang has continuously prioritized greening as an important direction for industrial transformation and upgrading, increasing efforts for green transformation, building a green manufacturing system, and pioneering cross-regional relocation and clustering of dyeing and printing enterprises. A total of 236 dyeing and printing companies have been consolidated into 108, and six national-level green parks and 39 national-level green factories have been established. Breakthroughs have been made in key technologies such as green and low-carbon preparation of chemical fibers and eco-friendly dyeing and finishing.

By the end of 2024, Zhejiang’s textile and wooden products projects successfully became the first batch of national product carbon footprint labeling certification pilots. Among them, the textile pilot was implemented in Shaoxing. The Zhejiang Provincial Market Supervision Administration coordinated with relevant departments to promptly introduce relevant plans and systematically establish a carbon footprint standard certification system. Shaoxing Market Supervision Bureau also issued three local standards for chemical fibers, silk, and others, starting from key links such as measurement, testing, and certification, to unify carbon footprint accounting methods and evaluation rules. Relying on the integration of provincial and municipal quality infrastructure, a localized carbon footprint database has been built, collecting over 5,000 data points, and constructing 18 localized models. This provides enterprises with practical and traceable carbon footprint accounting tools, helping 58 companies obtain international eco-certifications. The first batch of pilot products saw an average reduction of 7% in carbon emissions, achieving coordinated efforts in regulation and service.

“A certificate becomes a pass for corporate green development. When customers see the carbon footprint certificate, they proactively include us in their supplier list,” said Xiao Xing-shui, General Manager of Zhejiang Qianyong Textile Co., Ltd. The company was one of the first to receive certification. Through digital printing with nano-ink technology, water usage in dyeing and printing has been reduced by 90%, and wastewater discharge dropped to 10% of traditional processes. The certification not only increased orders but also promoted the construction of a low-carbon new factory and the formation of a green cycle.

Today, artificial intelligence has also become a helpful tool for the textile industry’s green transformation. In Keqiao, Shaoxing, the State Grid Shaoxing Power Supply Company and State Grid Zhejiang Information & Communication Co., Ltd. jointly developed the “CarbonSeek”—a carbon business intelligent platform based on large model technology. It has been gradually providing energy-saving technical renovation solutions to textile dyeing and printing companies in Keqiao. The platform relies on Zhejiang Energy Big Data Center to monitor enterprise energy consumption and carbon emissions dynamically, allowing real-time visibility into where each kilowatt-hour of electricity and ton of steam is used, and how much carbon is emitted, generating a clear “carbon ledger.” Through detailed “energy checkups,” it precisely identifies opportunities for carbon reduction. For example, Zhejiang Xinyi Dyeing and Printing Co., Ltd. has used the platform to develop a residual heat utilization plan for its aging machines, saving over 3,000 tons of standard coal annually.

“Green finance guides the flow of funds toward the green upgrading of textile companies,” said Weng Kedi, head of retail finance at Dinghai Ocean Rural Commercial Bank, part of Zhejiang Rural Commercial Bank. The bank provided 28 million yuan in working capital loans to Zhejiang Jinying Group Co., Ltd., specifically for purchasing environmentally friendly raw materials like linen yarn, effectively ensuring the stability and smoothness of the company’s supply chain.

“Taizhou Sanmen County is the ‘China Shell Jacket Industry Base.’ Banks proactively connect with local textile and apparel industry clusters to meet their transformation needs and have launched the ‘Shared Prosperity Shell Certification Loan,’ a dedicated financial product to help companies transition to green development,” said Ye Li, head of retail finance at Sanmen Rural Commercial Bank, also part of Zhejiang Rural Commercial Bank. This product incorporates ISO management system certification and green product certification into credit scoring. Currently, textile companies supported by loans have seen an average production efficiency increase of over 32%, energy consumption per unit output decrease by 19%, and equipment overall efficiency improve by 26%, effectively solving the traditional problems of labor shortages, low efficiency, and high energy consumption in textile enterprises.

In recent years, Zhejiang’s support for green finance has continued to strengthen. The province has issued the “Guiding Opinions on Supporting the Green and Low-Carbon High-Quality Development of the Textile Industry through Transformation Finance,” guiding the establishment of a transformation project database and innovating financial products such as carbon-effect-linked loans for the textile industry. To date, the province has approved over 8 billion yuan in transformation loans for the textile sector.