ecoinvent recently published a featured interview with HiQLCD on its official website.

In this dialogue, ecoinvent Business Lead Ondrej Szabo and HiQLCD CEO Johnson Gui focused on a core topic: as carbon footprint accounting across global supply chains becomes increasingly essential, how China data and international data can achieve true complementarity and coordination.

🔗 ecoinvent original article: https://ecoinvent.org/blog/partner-spotlight-hiqlcd/

I. The world needs China carbon footprint data

In global supply chains, China is both a manufacturing center and a key source of carbon emissions. However, China-related data in international databases has long relied on global averages or limited estimates, making it difficult to reflect real differences.

For example:

• Aluminum smelting: significant emission intensity differences between Shandong (coal-based power) and Yunnan (hydropower)
• Steel: differences between blast furnace and electric arc furnace routes can exceed twofold

With the advancement of CBAM, the EU Battery Regulation, and increasing scrutiny of data sources by customers, “using averages instead of China data” has shifted from a temporary solution to a compliance risk.

As noted by ecoinvent in the dialogue:

Global databases struggle to capture the granularity of China’s industry, while China supply chain data has become essential.

Conversely, when Chinese companies assess export products, overseas raw materials and logistics still rely on international databases.

Therefore, China data and international data are not substitutes, but complementary and interdependent.

II. The prerequisite for complementarity: interoperability

The key to complementarity is not availability, but usability together. This depends on three factors:

• Methodological alignment
• HiQLCD supports mainstream models such as Cut-off, Consequential, and EN 15804, ensuring consistency with international systems so that data from different sources share aligned system boundaries and allocation rules.
• Technical interoperability
• Both HiQLCD and ecoinvent follow the ILCD framework and can be used together in tools such as openLCA and SimaPro, enabling seamless integration of “China data + international data” within a single model.
• Transparency and traceability
• The industry is shifting from result-oriented to process-auditable approaches. Data sources, modeling assumptions, and allocation methods must be explainable and verifiable. HiQLCD’s methodology has undergone international peer review, supporting this trend.

III. Intellectual property: the foundation of high-quality data

Databases are not open-source code. High-quality data require sustained investment, and without intellectual property protection, their maintenance and updates cannot be sustained.

On this point, HiQLCD and ecoinvent share a common understanding. As the official partner of ecoinvent in China, HiQLCD follows a strict intellectual property framework in data distribution and licensing, ensuring compliant use of international data while contributing to the long-term development of global data infrastructure.

Short-term non-compliant use ultimately undermines the industry’s ability to access high-quality data.

IV. Real value lies in application

Methodology, standards, and intellectual property form the foundation, but the value of a database is ultimately realized through application.

For databases to be widely used, they must not only meet quality standards but also align with local practices and technical ecosystems. While ecoinvent data is widely used globally, entering the China market requires compatibility with local software environments, user practices, and localization needs.

HiQLCD’s role is not limited to data distribution. It enables international data to be more effectively understood and applied by China users, while also allowing China data to be referenced and trusted globally in internationally recognized formats.

V. Conclusion

This article by ecoinvent provides an external perspective on the development of China carbon data. A clear trend is emerging:

China carbon footprint data is evolving from isolation to integration, from usability to credibility, and from standalone databases to active nodes within a global data network.

There is no shortcut to this transition.

• Methodology must withstand peer review
• Technical formats must align with international standards
• Data processes must be transparent and traceable
• Intellectual property must be effectively protected

Each of these is a strict requirement. Together, they form the essential conditions for China data to integrate into the global system.