Recently, Jiangsu Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology held a policy briefing on national-level zero-carbon factories in Nanjing. More than 130 representatives from industry and information technology authorities of cities across the province, key energy-consuming enterprises, and financial institutions attended the event.

The development of zero-carbon factories is a major strategic decision made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. The national action plan for carbon peaking during the 15th Five-Year Plan period specifies that around 500 national-level zero-carbon factories will be established within five years. At the event, Shi Xiaopeng, Deputy Director-General of Jiangsu Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, noted that factories are among the major sources of carbon emissions, with industrial enterprises accounting for around 60 percent of carbon emissions. Enterprises, therefore, must shoulder primary responsibility for carbon reduction.

The development of zero-carbon factories is a systematic undertaking involving multiple dimensions, including energy structure transformation, production process optimization, and digital management. Liu Jingyu, Deputy Director of the Technical R&D Department of the Certification Center of the China Electronics Standardization Institute, provided a comprehensive interpretation of the indicator system for national-level zero-carbon factories. Three enterprises, Envision Energy, Hengtong High-Voltage Submarine Cable, and Wincell Insulation Group, shared their experience in developing zero-carbon factories.

The Nanjing Branch of Huaxia Bank introduced its financial product portfolio supporting zero-carbon factory development, highlighting featured products such as low-cost, long-term on-lending loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank, zero-carbon industrial park loans, carbon footprint-linked loans, and loans secured by pledged carbon emission rights. Among them, the ADB on-lending scheme offers loan terms of up to 16 years with significant interest-rate advantages. Carbon footprint-linked loans tie interest rates to enterprises’ product carbon footprint performance, enabling companies with better carbon performance to access lower interest rates and effectively reduce financing costs.