Interpretation Material for the National Standard "Low-Carbon Assessment Method for Building Materials"

1. Standard Number and Standard Name

Standard Number: GB/T 44716-2024

Standard Name: "Low-Carbon Assessment Method for Building Materials"

2. Background of Standard Development

With the proposal of China's "Dual Carbon" goals, strengthening the evaluation and promotion of low-carbon products and forming green and low-carbon production and lifestyles have become key content and focal points for the development of various industries now and in the future. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Action Plan for Carbon Peak Before 2030," which calls for improving the testing, evaluation, and certification system for green and low-carbon products; the "National Standardization Development Outline" also points out the need to improve the low-carbon product standard labeling system.

Building materials are an important basic raw material industry supporting national economic development such as industrial and agricultural production and infrastructure construction. Due to the large scale of the industry and kiln production processes, the building materials sector is a key area for energy consumption and carbon emissions. According to the "China Building Materials Industry Carbon Emission Report (2020)," the carbon dioxide emissions of China's building materials industry reached 1.48 billion tons, accounting for 14.9% of the country's total carbon emissions, and energy consumption accounted for about 8% of the national total. It is one of the industries with the heaviest carbon reduction tasks in China. Additionally, building materials production is a major source of carbon emissions for downstream industries such as construction. To scientifically and uniformly assess the low-carbon level of building materials and promote the application of low-carbon materials, the development of the national standard "Low-Carbon Assessment Method for Building Materials" has been organized to promote low-carbon development across the entire industry chain and lifecycle of building materials and support the national goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

3. Main Content of the Standard

(1) Scope of Application

This standard specifies the assessment requirements, assessment methods, and assessment reports for low-carbon evaluation of building materials. It applies to enterprises or third parties analyzing and evaluating the difference between the carbon dioxide emissions during the production stage of building materials under given scenarios or the avoided carbon dioxide emissions during the use stage and the baseline carbon dioxide emissions (baseline value).

(2) Assessment Requirements

1. According to the application performance and carbon reduction potential of various building materials at different lifecycle stages, the assessment scope requirements are given. The assessment scope includes the production stage and the use stage. The appendix provides recommendations for the low-carbon assessment scope of different building materials. The use stage is optional and mainly targets materials that have energy-saving and carbon reduction benefits during the use stage through insulation, thermal insulation, or clean energy production, allowing evaluation of the low-carbon level during the use stage.

2. To ensure uniform basic assessment criteria and comparability of assessment results, the low-carbon assessment should clearly define the functional unit of the building material. The calculation methods, data statistical criteria, and assessment scope for the low-carbon assessment of the same building material should be consistent, and the performance should be the same.

3. To ensure consistency and operability of the building materials low-carbon assessment method, methods for determining baseline values for the production stage and use stage are respectively provided. The production stage baseline is based on the industry's average carbon dioxide emission level, and the use stage baseline is determined by scenario setting methods.

4. To improve the accuracy and effectiveness of assessment results, principles for selecting activity data and default data as well as the priority of selection methods are provided.

(3) Assessment Methods

This standard provides low-carbon assessment methods for the production stage and use stage separately, and includes a reference appendix for setting scenarios and determining baseline values for the use stage. For the production stage, carbon emission accounting methods for fossil fuel combustion emissions and raw material process emissions are given, coordinated with accounting methods in standards such as product carbon footprint and low-carbon product evaluation. For the use stage, carbon emission avoidance accounting methods are provided for building materials with insulation and clean energy functions, along with appendix examples calculating avoided carbon dioxide emissions for these two types of building materials for reference.

(4) Assessment Report

This standard specifies the content requirements for the building materials low-carbon assessment report, including basic information of the building materials, determination of baseline values, determination of carbon reduction during the production stage and avoided carbon dioxide emissions during the use stage, data sources, and result analysis.

4. Significance of Standard Implementation

The release and implementation of the national standard GB/T 44716-2024 "Low-Carbon Assessment Method for Building Materials" can provide methodological support for conducting low-carbon assessments of building materials, guide enterprises in low-carbon management of building materials, and provide references for downstream industries to select and identify and for consumers to purchase low-carbon building materials. It is of great significance for promoting the green and low-carbon development of the building materials industry and achieving the national "Dual Carbon" goals on schedule.