Can mushrooms be made into textiles, leather, and soundproof building materials? A Japanese team has successfully extracted mycelial pulp fiber.
Standard architecture:
This document provides a standardized approach to achieving and demonstrating carbon neutrality, and its applicable subject matter is organizations and products (e.g. goods and services, including events and buildings).
Table 1. Carbon Neutrality Standard Framework
Figure 1. Carbon Neutrality Implementation Framework
Major differences from PAS 2060:
1. Carbon footprint reduction must be achieved through greenhouse gas emissions reductions (e.g., energy efficiency measures) or greenhouse gas removal increases (e.g., forest carbon sinks, carbon capture, storage, and reuse (CCUS)), and then carbon neutrality can be achieved through offsets.
2. Carbon credits used for offsets must meet certain criteria and can only be used in accordance with a carbon neutrality management plan after greenhouse gas emissions reductions and greenhouse gas removal increases have been achieved.
3. As mentioned above, the end year in which an entity can use carbon credits cannot be earlier than five years before the start of the carbon neutrality declaration.
Note 1: Net Zero refers to "efforts to minimize human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, offsetting them through carbon-negative technologies, forest carbon sinks, and other methods to achieve net zero emissions."
Note 2: Carbon neutrality refers to a reduction in a carbon footprint due to reduced greenhouse gas emissions or increased greenhouse gas removals over a specified period, balanced by offsets if the reduction is greater than zero.
Note 3: From the publication date of the international ISO 14068-1:2023 (November 2023), the original PAS 2060:2014 standard will be withdrawn within 24 months (November 2025).
Conclusion:
ISO 14068-1:2023 provides a more comprehensive carbon neutrality implementation framework for the world and businesses. It prioritizes greenhouse gas emissions reduction and enhanced greenhouse gas removal, clearly defines the difference between carbon neutrality and net zero emissions, and provides guidance on how to achieve carbon neutrality through short-term and long-term goals. Companies should continue to monitor the development of this standard to ensure their emission reduction strategies are aligned with international standards.
In addition, to achieve carbon neutrality for organizations or products, companies should clearly define a carbon neutrality management plan. Specific actions include setting short- and long-term carbon neutrality goals based on scientific foundations such as the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the IEA (International Energy Agency), and the SBTi (Science-Based Targets Initiative), developing a carbon neutrality roadmap, and listing methods for quantifying carbon footprints, greenhouse gas reduction and removal measures, and finally achieving carbon neutrality goals through carbon offsets and carbon neutrality verification.
By actively adopting and practicing carbon neutrality standards, companies can enhance their environmental responsibility, strengthen their market competitiveness, and accelerate the achievement of the global goals of carbon neutrality and net zero emissions.
References:
1. ISO, November 30, 2023, Climate Change Management - Net Zero Transition - Part 1: Carbon Neutrality (14068-1:2023),https://www.iso.org/standard/43279.html
1. BSI, April 30, 2014, implementation of carbon neutrality reference specification (PAS 2060:2014)
3. BSI, from the date of publication of the international ISO 14068-1:2023, the original PAS 2060:2014 standard will be withdrawn within 24 months.https://www.bsigroup.com/zh-TW/PAS-2060-Carbon-Neutral/PAS-2060-training-courses/
By Wu Yongjun, Consultant, Corporate Sustainability Group, Quality, Environment and Safety Department, Plastics Industry Technology Development Center
