Explain year-on-year China sourcing emissions
Explain the change in total emissions, then separate purchasing volume and product mix from operational changes, calculation updates and reporting coverage. Show a comparable baseline and label any restatement, estimates or gaps. Ask Cambridge China Bridge to coordinate the factory and shipment records.
Agree what the comparison covers
Before calculating the change, agree the reporting period, products, factories and activities covered with your customer. Write down whether the estimate includes materials, manufacturing, packaging, freight and onward delivery. Match the activity cut-off across years, such as goods manufactured or goods received, rather than mixing approaches.
Prepare a coverage checklist for each year. Identify added suppliers, missing factory records and newly included freight legs. Describe an expanded estimate as wider coverage before drawing conclusions about performance. Use batch traceability to connect orders, production batches and shipping records. For missing supplier records, see our guide to requesting purchased-goods emissions data.
Separate volume from performance
Present total emissions alongside purchased quantities and a clearly defined intensity measure, such as emissions per unit within a comparable product family. A lower total following fewer orders does not establish cleaner production. A lower intensity can coexist with a higher total when purchasing grows.
The UK guidance says production output and product mix changes do not themselves require base-year recalculation. Explain those changes separately. Split unlike products before comparing intensity, and distinguish changes in materials, factory energy use and transport. For freight planning, see switching from air to sea.
Explain calculation updates
Keep a change log of calculation methods, factor sources and versions, allocation rules and estimated inputs. Replacing a spending estimate with factory activity data can change the result without any production change. Where records allow, calculate the earlier period using the updated approach and show the effect separately.
Government conversion-factor guidance says to report the methods used. Check whether each factor fits the activity and geography before applying it to Chinese production. Label unavailable data as missing or estimated, and explain the basis of any estimate. Do not describe a calculation update as a factory emissions saving.
Keep the baseline comparable
The UK guidance recommends a consistent recalculation policy with a significance threshold. Methodology changes, improved accuracy and discovered errors can trigger recalculation under that policy. Assess changes against it rather than rewriting the baseline whenever the result becomes inconvenient.
Keep the original published baseline and any restated version, labelled with the reason for the revision. Distinguish an organisational boundary change, such as an acquisition, from adding previously unmeasured supplier data. If earlier records cannot support a comparable calculation, explain the break in the series and avoid an unqualified reduction claim.
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Send an explanation the customer can check
Use this structure: “The reported total changed because purchasing volume and product mix changed, transport arrangements changed, and the estimate now includes additional activities. The comparison uses the stated reporting boundary and calculation method. The earlier figure has been restated where supporting records allow; remaining gaps are identified.” Replace each explanation with what your records actually support.
Attach the coverage checklist, quantity reconciliation, calculation change log and baseline reconciliation. Name the record owner and mark factory measurements separately from estimates. Ask Cambridge China Bridge's staff in China to request supporting factory records, using the sourcing brief guide to define the evidence needed.
Frequently asked questions
Do fewer China orders mean we cut emissions?
They may reduce the reported total, but do not establish cleaner production. Explain purchasing volume separately and compare intensity within comparable product families.
Should I recalculate the baseline every year?
Apply your stated recalculation policy consistently. Output and product mix changes alone do not require recalculation; methodology changes and errors need assessment under the policy.
What if we added more factories to the report?
Explain the coverage change. Recalculate the earlier comparison where records support it, or state that the totals have different coverage and cannot establish a comparable reduction.
What should I send with the emissions explanation?
Send the reporting boundary, purchase quantities, factor and method details, change log and baseline reconciliation. Identify estimates, missing records and who supplied the evidence.