The chemical industry is a core source of industrial carbon emissions. As fundamental raw materials, the accurate accounting of chemical products' Carbon Footprint (PCF) directly determines the reliability of carbon data across the entire industrial chain. However, the chemical industry's characteristics—large-scale equipment, lengthy reaction chains, and high coupling of energy and material flows—make PCF accounting a global challenge. Universal standards such as ISO 14067 and GHG Protocol often lead to poorly comparable and controversial results due to insufficient adaptability and excessive flexibility. The Together for Sustainability (TfS) initiative, launched by global chemical buyers, has emerged as a key solution with its industry-tailored accounting framework.

Before the TfS guidelines, the field of chemical carbon footprint accounting was chaotic: enterprises calculated based on their own methodologies, assumptions, and data sources, resulting in a market flooded with non-comparable PCF data. In 2022, TfS launched the PCF Guideline for the Chemical Industry for the first time, which, based on international standards such as ISO 14067 and GHG Protocol, clarified data boundaries, allocation rules, and quality systems tailored to chemical industry characteristics. The 2024 updated version further integrates feedback from enterprises and stakeholders, optimizes waste management guidance, and aligns with frameworks such as PACT and Catena-X, fully responding to regulatory requirements like CSRD.

The dual demands of cost reduction, efficiency improvement, and compliant disclosure have made digital carbon management tools "value creators" for enterprises. On one hand, optimizing energy efficiency and identifying resource waste nodes through intelligent algorithms allows enterprises to reduce carbon emissions while lowering operational costs—data shows that enterprises deploying digital carbon management systems can achieve an average of 15%-20% energy cost savings; on the other hand, the platform supports one-click generation of disclosure reports compliant with global mainstream regulations such as CSRD and SEC, avoiding fines or market access restrictions due to delayed compliance. In addition, digital tools can integrate Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) resources, connecting high-quality carbon credit projects such as VCS and Gold Standard, providing enterprises with flexible ways to supplement emission reduction gaps and avoid "greenwashing" risks.
Recognized by over 100 major global chemical buyers, TfS's core advantage lies in "industry adaptability". Its "Cradle-to-Gate" accounting boundary accurately covers the entire chemical production chain—from raw material extraction and energy supply to logistics and in-plant reaction purification—while explicitly excluding downstream use and end-of-life stages to avoid double counting. This refined design eliminates the need for enterprises to make repeated investments to adapt to different regional rules; one accounting process can meet compliance requirements in markets such as the EU, U.S. SBTi, Japan, and South Korea.

The professionalism of the TfS guidelines lies in their precise solution to the pain points of the chemical industry. Two key norms—"cut-off criteria" and "data priority"—have completely addressed the excessive flexibility of universal standards. In terms of cut-off, TfS explicitly requires the inclusion of over 97% of mass and energy inputs, while specially stipulating that "materials with high environmental footprints, such as precious metal catalysts, must be accounted for even if their mass proportion is less than 1%", ensuring both efficiency and no omission of key emission sources.
In data management, TfS establishes a "primary data priority" principle, encouraging enterprises to use process-level and facility-level measured data, and only adopt secondary data from databases such as Ecoinvent when primary data is unavailable. This requirement drives enterprises to identify real emission hotspots: a German specialty chemical company used TfS data traceability to discover that steam consumption in solvent production accounts for 42% of total carbon emissions. After waste heat recovery transformation, unit carbon emissions decreased by 28%, saving 1.2 million euros in annual energy costs.

Carbon cost allocation for chemical waste disposal and material recycling is a recognized accounting challenge in the industry. TfS provides targeted and diverse solutions that not only align with the "polluter pays" principle but also encourage resource recycling.
1. Waste-to-Energy Recovery: Three approaches are provided: cut-off, reverse cut-off, and substitution. For example, the substitution method converts the environmental benefits of recovered energy into "carbon credits", which are deducted from the carbon footprint of the product generating the waste, reflecting emission reduction value while complying with European standards such as EU PEF;
2. Material Recycling and Reuse: Cut-off method is recommended for open-loop recycling, so that recycled materials only bear the carbon cost of the recycling and processing stage; technologies with high environmental benefits such as chemical recycling can reflect their carbon benefits of "avoiding end-of-life disposal" through the Upstream System Expansion method, promoting low-carbon technology adoption;
3. Standard Priority Adaptation: TfS establishes a six-tier standard system, placing TfS-recognized PCR at the top, followed by ISO 14067, PACT and other standards. When norms conflict, priority is followed to ensure accounting results are comparable and verifiable in the global supply chain.

Today, TfS is no longer a mere accounting tool but a core competitiveness for chemical enterprises to win supply chain trust and seize market opportunities. It solves the adaptability problems of universal standards with industry-tailored norms and supports emission reduction decisions with accurate data, transforming carbon footprint from a "compliance cost" into a "value asset".
Following the TfS standard means keeping pace with the global low-carbon transformation of the chemical industry—allowing your products to stand out in international bidding with "verifiable low-carbon data" and gain a firm foothold in the era of carbon constraints.