Ask Chinese suppliers for purchased-goods emissions
Request product quantities, reporting dates, a clear emissions boundary, the calculation method and supporting records. Ask how shared factory emissions are allocated to your goods and which upstream inputs are missing. Cambridge China Bridge can help obtain and clarify these records with suppliers in China.
Agree the customer's reporting brief
Ask the customer for their reporting period, product list, required units and accepted calculation approach before contacting the factory. Establish whether they want emissions per product, a total for purchases during the period, or both. Ask whether estimates are acceptable and whether they expect independent verification.
Keep this request separate from import-tax documentation. Our UK carbon border adjustment guide covers that subject. An emissions document prepared for another purpose needs its boundary and method checked before you use it for the customer's request.
Request quantities that match the purchases
Send the supplier a worksheet listing your product codes, descriptions, material specifications, purchase references and reporting dates. Request quantities and units for each line, product mass where relevant, and packaging quantities separately. Agree how to treat returns, replacements and orders spanning reporting periods.
Reconcile the response with invoices, packing lists and receipt records. Do not multiply an emissions figure per kilogram by a quantity recorded in pieces without a documented conversion. Use our supplier batch records guide to connect the data to the goods actually supplied.
Define what the emissions figure includes
Ask for a written boundary stating the sites, products, processes and dates covered. For a figure covering production up to the factory gate, ask whether it includes raw-material extraction and processing, bought-in components, manufacturing, packaging and subcontracted work. Record exclusions explicitly.
Ask the customer where delivery transport belongs in their reporting, then request it separately if needed. Keep product use and disposal separate unless requested. For outsourced processes, identify the actual production site and data owner; our subcontracted production guide helps establish that chain.
Ask for a calculation you can follow
Request the calculation file, not just a certificate or final total. For supplier calculations, ask for measured inputs, emission-factor sources and versions, geographical relevance, allocation assumptions and output units. Ask whether the result covers greenhouse gases expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent or carbon dioxide alone.
Where product data is unavailable, agree an estimate with the customer: relevant quantities multiplied by a matching average emissions factor, or expenditure multiplied by an accepted spend-based factor. The UK guidance's purchasing table uses broad category averages. Government guidance says users should report their accounting methods. Label estimates and record currency, tax treatment and factor basis for expenditure calculations.
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Challenge factory totals and record gaps
A factory-wide total alone does not identify the emissions attributable to your purchases. Ask which emissions it includes, the production output over the same period and how shared energy and processes are allocated between products. A turnover-based allocation can distort comparisons where products have different prices or production demands.
Do not present allocated factory fuel and electricity as a complete purchased-goods footprint when materials or subcontracted processes are missing. Return a pack containing quantities, boundary, method, source records, assumptions and unresolved gaps. Ask the customer's reporting lead to accept the approach before submission, and retain the supplier's dated confirmation.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use the supplier's annual factory emissions?
Use them only with a documented allocation to your products and matching dates. Check for missing materials and outsourced processes before treating the result as a purchased-goods footprint.
What if my Chinese supplier has no product footprint?
Request quantities, materials, production energy records and known gaps. Agree an average-data or spend-based estimate with the customer and identify it clearly as an estimate.
Should purchased-goods emissions include shipping?
Ask the customer how they classify delivery transport. State where the product calculation ends and keep transport data separate so the same journey is not counted again.
What evidence should I send my UK customer?
Send purchase quantities, reporting dates, the emissions boundary, calculation file, factor sources, allocation explanation and exclusions. Include any verification report and its scope if available.