System for evaluating carbon footprint within full life cycle of product on basis of cloud platform, and implementation method

Abstract

The present application relates to the fields of cloud computing and big data. Disclosed are a system for evaluating a carbon footprint within a full life cycle of a product on the basis of a cloud platform, and an implementation method. The system comprises: a supply chain network cloud platform, which serves as a cloud platform directly connecting with an enterprise user, covers supply chain enterprises corresponding to a product life cycle of raw material acquisition, element manufacture, complete machine assembly, product distribution, product usage and recovery treatment, and consists of a front-end user UI, an external API and a rear-end data processing and analysis unit; a life cycle assessment cloud platform, which implements functions such as data management, calling and loading, and data mining and analysis, performs carbon footprint analysis, measurement and calculation, constructs a product life cycle list database, implements data access, and performs result auditing and arbitration on calculation data; and a cloud platform application enterprise, which enters a user UI interface of the supply chain network cloud platform by means of a cloud platform usage and management interface, and can perform operations such as registration, demand application, data exchange and data storage.

Description

Product life cycle carbon footprint evaluation system and implementation method based on cloud platform

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on December 5, 2023, with application number 202311654847.7 and invention name “Cloud Platform-Based Product Full Life Cycle Carbon Footprint Assessment System and Implementation Method”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] This application belongs to the field of cloud computing and big data, and in particular relates to a product full life cycle carbon footprint evaluation system and implementation method based on a cloud platform. Background Art

[0004] With the proposed "dual carbon" goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, energy conservation and emission reduction are receiving increasing attention and becoming a key factor influencing economic development and resource utilization. In 2020, China's carbon emissions reached 9.899 billion tons, accounting for approximately 30.7% of global carbon emissions. Achieving these "dual carbon" goals presents significant challenges. To achieve carbon reduction, an accurate method for assessing carbon footprint is essential. For the manufacturing industry, a product's carbon footprint refers to its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrogen oxides (N2O).

[0005] Among the many carbon footprint evaluation methods, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has the advantages of high accuracy and strong pertinence, so this method is widely used.

[0006] However, life cycle assessment methods require detailed carbon emission factors for upstream and downstream companies involved in production and at every stage of product use and disposal, placing significant demands on human and material resources. Digital technologies, such as cloud computing, big data, 5G, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence, can effectively empower energy conservation and emission reduction efforts. Digital technologies can build a platform for collecting, aggregating, analyzing, and making decisions about carbon footprint data throughout a product's life cycle, from raw material extraction and processing to recycling and reuse. A carbon assessment system based on a cloud service platform can share secure and reliable product and service process information in real time, facilitating improved resource utilization, reducing labor and material costs, and enhancing the accuracy, convenience, and intelligence of carbon footprint assessment management. Since supply chain activities encompass not only information flows such as logistics and capital, but also their corresponding carbon flows (i.e., carbon footprints), building a cloud platform for product manufacturing and production services can synergize supply chain and carbon footprint management, improving the accuracy of carbon footprint assessments.

[0007] With the launch of the national carbon emissions trading market, the lack of detailed, reliable, and real-time carbon emissions data for products has made carbon asset measurement and management difficult. Furthermore, many companies lack strong carbon management awareness and limited technical expertise, making it too costly to independently construct product life cycle inventories (LCIs). The lack of a unified, open-source, and highly accurate carbon footprint management and measurement platform has also made carbon emissions verification more difficult for regulatory authorities. Therefore, to improve the accuracy and efficiency of carbon footprint accounting, it is urgent to adopt digital technology to build a cloud-based, full-lifecycle carbon footprint assessment system for products to address these issues. This will improve resource and energy utilization efficiency, promote the optimization, transformation, and upgrading of industrial structures, achieve green and intelligent socioeconomic development, and ultimately reduce total energy consumption across society.

[0008] Existing patent literature still lacks examples that combine cloud platforms, supply chains, and full lifecycle measurement methods. Patent CN115809951A proposes a blockchain-based product carbon footprint management method. This solution adds a labeling code to the product, allowing the codes of the multiple components that make up the product to be scanned. The corresponding carbon footprint data can then be obtained from the blockchain, ultimately determining the target product's carbon footprint data. This solution focuses solely on obtaining the carbon footprint of the product and its components, and does not measure the carbon footprint across the product's entire lifecycle. It also lacks a carbon footprint calculation formula or method. Furthermore, it lacks a cloud platform and does not include the supply chain manufacturers involved in product production. Consequently, the measurement accuracy is low, and the real-time and accuracy of carbon footprint data is difficult to guarantee.

[0009] Although patent document CN114662781A discloses a cloud-based intelligent carbon footprint assessment and management system, it also does not adopt a full life cycle assessment method, does not obtain detailed carbon emission data for different product life cycles, does not build a co-built, shared, co-existing, and common carbon footprint measurement cloud platform, and does not reflect the role of the product supply chain. It only proposes a simple cloud-based system architecture and assessment process.

[0010] Patent document CN115150438A primarily emphasizes a hardware device for acquiring key carbon emissions data and reporting it to a cloud platform. It does not address product lifecycle assessment methods or the development of a shared cloud platform. The focus is on the design of a terminal device for carbon emissions collection.

[0011] At present, there is still no carbon footprint measurement method for product full life cycle assessment based on cloud computing and big data technology. This patent is an innovative invention that cross-integrates cloud manufacturing, cloud supply chain and life cycle carbon footprint measurement. Summary of the Invention

[0012] The technical problem to be solved by this application is to provide a product full life cycle carbon footprint evaluation system and implementation method based on a cloud platform in response to the shortcomings of the background technology. By combining cloud computing and big data technology, a product full life cycle carbon footprint evaluation system based on a cloud platform is proposed to improve the efficiency and accuracy of carbon footprint measurement.

[0013] This application adopts the following technical solutions to solve the above technical problems:

[0014] A cloud-based product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system, including a supply chain network cloud platform, a life cycle assessment cloud platform, and cloud platform application enterprises:

[0015] The supply chain network cloud platform is used as a cloud platform that directly connects with enterprise users, covering supply chain enterprises corresponding to the product life cycle from raw material acquisition, component manufacturing, whole machine assembly, product distribution, product use, and recycling.

[0016] The Life Cycle Assessment cloud platform is used to implement data management, retrieval, loading, data mining and analysis functions, conduct carbon footprint analysis and measurement, build a product life cycle inventory (LCI) database and implement data storage and access, and conduct calculation data result review and arbitration;

[0017] Cloud platform application enterprises are used to enter the supply chain network cloud platform user UI interface through the cloud platform usage and management interface, and can perform registration, demand application, data interaction, and data storage operations.

[0018] As an optional solution for the cloud platform-based product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system of this application, the supply chain network cloud platform includes a front-end user UI, an external API interface, and a back-end data processing and analysis unit;

[0019] Front-end user UI, used by enterprise users to log in to the cloud platform through the user UI and perform corresponding query, calculation, deletion, and modification operations;

[0020] External API interfaces include a cloud platform usage and management interface and a life cycle assessment (LCA) cloud platform interface. The cloud platform usage and management interface is connected to the front-end user UI; the LCA cloud platform interface is used to link the supply chain network cloud platform and the life cycle assessment cloud platform.

[0021] The back-end data analysis and processing unit includes cloud database components and cloud network security product components to support front-end user actions including adding, deleting, modifying, and checking.

[0022] As an optional solution for the cloud platform-based product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system of this application, the life cycle assessment cloud platform includes platform users, supply chain network cloud platform access identity authentication, life cycle assessment cloud platform interface, and life cycle assessment cloud platform calculation and analysis system;

[0023] Platform users, used to use and manage interfaces through the cloud platform of the supply chain network platform;

[0024] The supply chain network cloud platform access identity authentication is used to implement identity authentication and submit user requests using relevant technologies based on the web interface. Enterprise users are divided into categories such as raw material suppliers, production assemblers, transportation distributors, and resource recyclers based on their supply chain links. In addition, platform users also include other users such as regulatory authorities.

[0025] The life cycle assessment cloud platform interface is used to implement interactive operation functions such as data application and entry, data retrieval, data review, data modeling, data calculation and analysis, and data reporting by calling the LCA cloud platform interface. It has a multi-level network collaborative control system. Based on the request of the platform user, the platform user can request and download processed LCI data from the carbon emission factor database through the data application and entry and data retrieval functions in the LCA cloud platform interface. The data includes raw materials, energy utilization, and transportation and distribution links. The platform user can also choose to import the local LCI database into the cloud database of the life cycle cloud platform through the data application and entry function of the LCA cloud platform. First, the platform user's LCI local database needs to be verified by the cloud platform data verification module, including but not limited to the review of data string name, storage type, and version information factors. After the review is passed, the data is extracted and cleaned and loaded into the carbon emission factor database of the LCA cloud platform.

[0026] The life cycle assessment cloud platform computing and analysis system includes a carbon emission factor database, a carbon footprint analysis and calculation module, and a data verification and impact assessment module. The carbon footprint analysis and calculation module features elastic scaling and load balancing. By setting elastic scaling thresholds, when concurrent business increases and exceeds the threshold, the cloud host, memory, and GPU resources required for analysis and calculation are automatically increased; when business volume decreases and falls below the threshold, the cloud host, memory, and GPU resources required for analysis and calculation are automatically reduced.

[0027] A method for implementing a product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system based on a cloud platform specifically includes the following steps:

[0028] Step 1: The enterprise user or other user logs in and verifies their identity through a terminal device, including but not limited to a personal computer, tablet computer, mobile phone, or cloud computer. The supply chain network cloud platform confirms and distinguishes the logged-in user's identity and the supply chain link they are in.

[0029] Step 2: Enterprise users apply for carbon emission factor data for products or processes. Enterprise users can choose to communicate directly with enterprises. This request is fed back to the enterprise with the corresponding data through the supply chain network cloud platform. The enterprise extracts the required data from its internal data repository and returns it to the supply chain cloud platform to support the data requester's product carbon footprint accounting;

[0030] Step 3: The platform user chooses to call the LCA assessment cloud platform and conducts data query, data calculation, data review, and data cloud storage operations on the platform; the details are as follows:

[0031] Platform users can choose to query and retrieve data only on the LCA assessment platform, and then feed the data back to the platform's data requesting users through the supply chain network platform. Platform users can also choose to calculate and review data only on the LCA assessment platform, with the LCA assessment platform providing computing power support for on-demand services. The calculated products or carbon footprints will also be reviewed and arbitrated by the LCA assessment platform, and finally the data will be fed back to the platform application requester through the supply chain network platform. Platform users can also choose to apply the full-stack capabilities of the LCA assessment platform, that is, to utilize the LCA assessment platform's computing power, call the carbon emission factor database, data verification and impact assessment capabilities.

[0032] Step 4: Determine whether to call the LCA assessment cloud platform. The platform enterprise user's data or service application will be returned to the user's client. The platform user can choose to perform further calculations, data review and assessment locally, and store the carbon emission factor and product carbon footprint locally.

[0033] In step 5, the data calculated and updated by the LCA assessment cloud platform will be stored in the carbon emission factor database, making it easy for other platform users to call and analyze it. The data calculated and updated by the enterprise after local analysis will be stored locally and will also be synchronously updated to the database of the LCA assessment cloud platform.

[0034] As an optional solution for the implementation method of the cloud platform-based product full life cycle carbon footprint assessment system of this application, taking the processing and production of electronic products as an example, the carbon footprint life cycle of the product is calculated; the electronic products include mobile phones, tablets, personal computers, smart speakers, and television household products.

[0035] Among them, the life cycle assessment of electronic products is divided into six stages: raw material acquisition stage, component manufacturing stage, whole machine assembly stage, product distribution stage, product use stage, and recycling and processing stage;

[0036] The raw material acquisition stage includes the mining, refining and forging of raw materials;

[0037] The component manufacturing stage includes primary processing, molding, and manufacturing of major components and other parts;

[0038] The whole machine assembly stage includes the assembly, welding, integration, unit testing and whole machine testing of electronic products;

[0039] The product distribution stage includes packaging, loading, transportation and delivery of electronic products;

[0040] The product use phase mainly refers to the use of electronic products by consumers. Due to the energy conversion characteristics of electronic products, their use phase mainly consumes electricity;

[0041] The recycling phase refers to the recycling process of electronic products after they have been updated, reached the end of their lifespan, or been damaged. Each of these six phases involves energy consumption, resource input, greenhouse gas generation, and waste emissions.

[0042] As an optional solution for implementing the product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system based on the cloud platform of this application, combined with the carbon emission accounting standards proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations, combined with the life cycle method and the emission factor method, the calculation formula in the product carbon footprint life cycle measurement method is as follows:

[0043] The formula for calculating the carbon footprint of the entire life cycle of electronic products is as follows: GHG = G M +G E +G F +G T +G U +G R (1)

[0044] Where GHG represents the total carbon footprint of the electronic product throughout its life cycle (kgCO2e); G M Indicates the carbon emissions during the raw material acquisition stage (kgCO2e); G E Indicates the carbon emissions during the component manufacturing phase (kgCO2e); G F Indicates the carbon emissions during the whole machine assembly stage (kgCO2e); G T Indicates the carbon emissions during the product distribution stage (kgCO2e); G U Indicates the carbon emissions during the product use phase (kgCO2e); GR Indicates the carbon emissions during the recycling and processing stage (kgCO2e).

[0045] As an optional solution for implementing the cloud-based product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system, the carbon footprint calculations for the raw material acquisition, component manufacturing, and complete machine assembly stages are as follows:

[0046] This stage mainly calculates the greenhouse gas emissions during the raw material acquisition, processing, manufacturing, and assembly process of an electronic product, as well as the indirect carbon emissions generated by energy consumption. The calculation formula is as follows:

[0047] Where G M Indicates the carbon emissions during the raw material acquisition stage (kgCO2e); G E Indicates the carbon emissions during the component manufacturing phase (kgCO2e); G F represents the carbon emissions during the assembly phase (kgCO2e); n represents the types of raw materials during the acquisition and processing of raw materials; A i Represents the activity data of the i-th material, generally refers to the mass of the material (kg); EF i represents the carbon emission factor of the i-th material; Q j Indicates the activity data of the jth gas in the manufacturing process, generally refers to the mass of the gas (kg); GF j It represents the carbon emission factor of the j-th gas; EF represents the carbon emission factor of electricity used in the process of obtaining raw materials or producing and manufacturing; W represents the energy consumption in the process of obtaining raw materials or producing and manufacturing.

[0048] As an optional solution for implementing the cloud-based product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system, the carbon footprint calculation for the product distribution stage is as follows:

[0049] The carbon footprint calculation at this stage includes the process of transporting raw materials of electronic products from suppliers to manufacturers, and distributing finished products to dealers. The calculation formula is as follows:

[0050] Where G T Indicates the carbon emissions during the product distribution stage (kgCO2e); D ij represents the distance (km) transported to location j by the i-th vehicle; η i It represents the average fuel efficiency of the i-th vehicle, which is a fixed value and is expressed by D ij / η i Calculate the fuel consumption L of the i-th transport vehicle transporting to the j-th place; Q i represents the net calorific value of fuel for the i-th vehicle (MJ / L); EF irepresents the carbon emission factor (kg / MJ) of the fuel used by the i-th vehicle.

[0051] As an optional solution for implementing the cloud-based product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system, the carbon footprint calculation for the product usage phase is as follows:

[0052] Carbon emissions during the product use phase mainly come from the power consumption of electronic products. Considering the power consumption of electronic products during daily use, standby, and charging: U =Y×(T1W1+T2W2+T3W3)×EF×365 (6)

[0053] Where G U It represents the carbon emissions during the product usage phase (kgCO2e); Y represents the lifespan of the electronic product; T1 represents the daily usage time of the product; W1 represents the power consumption of the product when in use; T2 represents the daily standby time of the product; W2 represents the power consumption of the product when in standby; T3 represents the daily charging time of the product; W3 represents the power consumption of the product when charging; EF represents the electricity carbon emission factor of the electricity used during the use of the product.

[0054] As an optional solution for implementing the cloud-based product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system, the carbon footprint calculation for the product recycling and processing stage is as follows:

[0055] This stage includes the decomposition, component recycling, parts reuse and remanufacturing of electronic products, which consumes energy and produces greenhouse gases. The carbon emissions calculation formula is as follows:

[0056] Where G R represents the carbon emissions in the recycling process (kgCO2e); n represents the type of raw materials in the product resource recycling process; A i Represents the activity data of the i-th material, generally refers to the mass of the material (kg); EF i represents the carbon emission factor of the i-th material; Q j Indicates the activity data of the jth gas during the product recovery process, generally referring to the mass of the gas (kg); GF j It represents the carbon emission factor of the j-th gas; EF represents the carbon emission factor of electricity used in the product recycling process; W represents the energy consumption in the product recycling process.

[0057] Compared with the prior art, the above technical solutions adopted in this application have the following technical effects:

[0058] 1. This application combines digital technologies such as cloud computing and big data with product carbon footprint management and supply chain carbon emission reduction, and proposes a cloud-based product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system to improve the accuracy and efficiency of carbon footprint measurement.

[0059] 2. This application proposes a market-oriented unified measurement platform, which features an adaptive database and measurement model capable of real-time updating and error correction. This platform can acquire, track, and measure the carbon footprint of products on a cloud platform in real time, thereby improving the sophistication of carbon management and facilitating verification and management by regulatory authorities.

[0060] 3. This application breaks through the limitations of traditional carbon footprint management, which relies mainly on internal carbon emission factor databases and open-source carbon emission factor databases, by connecting the upstream and downstream of the product manufacturing industry chain. Through an open and shared cloud platform, it can obtain the full life cycle carbon footprint data of each industry chain of product manufacturing, providing strong data and computing power support for product carbon footprint measurement;

[0061] 4. This application aims to reduce the barriers and costs for small and medium-sized enterprises to establish their own product life cycle LCI databases by building a cloud platform, as product carbon footprint assessment and carbon emission factor collection are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly for enterprises. This makes product carbon footprint assessment more convenient, efficient, and reliable.

[0062] 5. This application proposes a new operation and management model, which balances the interests of different companies in the supply chain by building a carbon emission factor management community based on a cloud platform; the raw material suppliers, production assemblers, transportation distributors, etc. mentioned in this application are core stakeholders. The main stakeholders need to update the product carbon emission factor data and related information of their corresponding supply chain links in exchange for their rights to perform data retrieval, calculation, review and storage operations on the cloud platform. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0063] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0064] Figure 1 is an architecture diagram of the product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system based on the cloud platform of this application;

[0065] FIG2 is a diagram of a calculation and analysis scheme of the life cycle assessment cloud platform in this embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG3 is a flowchart of a product life cycle carbon footprint assessment based on a cloud platform in this embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG4 is a carbon footprint life cycle diagram of an electronic product in this embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] The technical solution of this application is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0069] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application. The present application is described in detail below based on the drawings and optional embodiments. The purpose and effect of the present application will become clearer. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described here are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0070] A cloud-based product lifecycle carbon footprint assessment system. Product carbon footprint measurement involves processes such as raw material acquisition, component manufacturing, complete machine assembly, product distribution, product use, and recycling. To calculate a product's carbon footprint, any company or organization must link the entire product lifecycle, involving multiple departments such as the manufacturer, parts supplier, transportation and logistics provider, distributor, and resource recycling companies.

[0071] This application combines digital technologies such as cloud computing and big data with product carbon footprint management and supply chain carbon emission reduction, and proposes a cloud platform-based product full life cycle carbon footprint evaluation system to improve the accuracy and efficiency of carbon footprint measurement.

[0072] By building a unified market-oriented measurement platform and proposing a database and measurement model that is adaptive and can be updated and corrected in real time, it is possible to obtain, track and measure the carbon footprint of products based on the cloud platform in real time, thereby improving the level of refinement of carbon management and facilitating verification and management by regulatory authorities.

[0073] By connecting the upstream and downstream of the product manufacturing industry chain, we can break through the limitations of traditional carbon footprint management, which is mainly based on the company's internal carbon emission factor database and open source carbon emission factor database for measurement. Through an open and shared cloud platform, we can obtain the full life cycle carbon footprint data of each industry chain in product manufacturing, providing strong data and computing power support for product carbon footprint measurement.

[0074] In order to achieve product carbon footprint measurement, this application adopts a technical solution to design a product full life cycle carbon footprint assessment system based on a cloud platform, which can provide enterprise users with measurement services and required resources. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the system includes:

[0075] Supply Chain Network Cloud Platform 101: This platform, directly connected to enterprise users, covers supply chain companies throughout the product lifecycle, from raw material acquisition and component manufacturing to complete machine assembly, distribution, use, and recycling. It can be considered a SaaS-based software product. The platform provides a user- and enterprise-friendly community where all supply chain companies can register and log in throughout the product lifecycle. All companies in the supply chain jointly support and maintain relevant information, including carbon emission factors.

[0076] The supply chain network cloud platform consists of a front-end user UI, an external API interface, and a back-end data processing and analysis unit. Enterprise users log in to the cloud platform through the user UI and perform corresponding operations such as query, calculation, deletion, and information change. The external API interface includes a cloud platform use and management interface and a life cycle assessment (LCA) cloud platform interface. The cloud platform use and management interface is connected to the front-end user UI; the LCA cloud platform interface is used to link the supply chain network cloud platform and the life cycle assessment cloud platform. The back-end data analysis and processing unit includes a cloud database component and a cloud network security product component to support the front-end user's addition, deletion, modification, and query actions. The supply chain network cloud platform does not involve data storage and carbon emission measurement. The main function of the platform is to build a virtual organization for information sharing and collaborative analysis among supply chain members to ensure that registered supply chain companies can open source product carbon footprint information and achieve the purpose of any supply chain company in the product life cycle to complete carbon footprint measurement.

[0077] The government or relevant regulatory authorities can also log in and register on the supply chain network cloud platform, and can also obtain audit elements such as data permissions and analysis results of the product life cycle to achieve supervision and management of the entire cloud platform.

[0078] Life Cycle Assessment Cloud Platform 102: This platform implements data management, retrieval, loading, data mining, and analysis. It conducts carbon footprint analysis and measurement, builds a product Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) database, implements data storage and access, and performs data auditing and arbitration. Product carbon footprint lifecycle data is collected and uploaded by every supply chain member. Enterprise users log in through the supply chain network cloud platform to communicate and transact. By invoking the LCA cloud platform interface, data storage, data migration, data exchange, data mining, and analysis are performed on the Life Cycle Assessment Cloud Platform. Functions such as product carbon footprint measurement and analysis, data auditing and calibration, and cloud-based storage of carbon emission factors are all implemented on this platform.

[0079] Supply chain companies involved in the product lifecycle process have the responsibility and obligation to provide key data, including product carbon emission factors, manufacturing, and operational status, for their respective links. This data is then stored in the LCI database of the LCI cloud platform. Supply chain companies can choose to utilize existing data from the LCI cloud platform for analysis and calculations, or update data for further analysis and calculations. Both the input data and the resulting carbon footprint results are stored in the LCI cloud platform database via multiple copies. Supply chain companies can also choose to simply access and update data.

[0080] Cloud Platform Application Enterprise 103: This section is the user module of the product lifecycle carbon footprint assessment cloud platform. Cloud platform application enterprises access the supply chain network cloud platform user UI through the cloud platform's usage and management interface, enabling registration, demand application, data exchange, and data storage. Cloud platform application enterprises can connect to the lifecycle assessment cloud platform through the supply chain network platform to obtain the required carbon emission factor data and perform carbon footprint analysis and calculations. The resulting data will be verified locally within the cloud platform application enterprise, and further analysis and calculation will be performed if necessary, before being stored on the enterprise user's local client. Cloud platform enterprise users can also choose to simply access and update data, while also supporting local completion of product carbon footprint analysis and calculation, as well as data review.

[0081] As shown in Figure 2, the computational analysis solution for the life cycle assessment cloud platform consists of platform users 201, supply chain network cloud platform access authentication 202, life cycle assessment cloud platform interface 203, and life cycle assessment cloud platform computation and analysis system 204. Platform users 201 use the cloud platform usage and management interface of the supply chain network platform, using web-based interface-based technologies to authenticate their identities and submit user requests. Enterprise users are categorized according to their supply chain links, such as raw material suppliers, production assemblers, transportation distributors, and resource recyclers. Platform users also include other users, such as regulatory authorities. The supply chain network cloud platform 101 utilizes the LCA cloud platform interface to implement interactive operations such as data application and entry, data retrieval, data review, data modeling, data computation and analysis, and data reporting, and possesses a multi-level network collaborative control system.

[0082] Based on the platform user's request, the platform user can request and download processed LCI data from the carbon emission factor database through the data application and entry and data retrieval functions in the LCA cloud platform interface 203. This data includes raw materials, energy utilization, transportation and distribution, and other aspects. The platform user can also choose to import the local LCI database into the cloud database of the life cycle cloud platform through the data application and entry functions of the LCA cloud platform. First, the platform user's local LCI database must be verified by the cloud platform data verification module, including but not limited to reviewing factors such as data string name, storage type, and version information. After passing the review, the data is extracted and cleaned before being loaded into the carbon emission factor database of the LCA cloud platform. The cloud platform user applies for data from the existing carbon emission factor database in the LCA cloud platform to make up for the lack of key data in the carbon emission calculation process, and calls the carbon footprint analysis and calculation module to perform carbon footprint analysis modeling for the entire life cycle of products and services. Based on the actual calculation situation, an adaptive algorithm is used to select the optimal calculation scheme and path to achieve cloud-based product life cycle carbon footprint calculation. The impact assessment of data runs through the entire calculation and analysis process of the life cycle assessment cloud platform. Combining the data in the carbon emission factor database and the results of carbon footprint analysis and calculation, the impact assessment tool audits the data to verify the rationality and authenticity of the calculation results, and finally provides data review and data reports through the LCA assessment platform interface to complete the final interpretation of the carbon footprint calculation results.

[0083] The life cycle assessment cloud platform computing and analysis system 204 mainly includes a carbon emission factor database, carbon footprint analysis and calculation, data verification and impact assessment functional modules. The carbon footprint analysis and calculation module of the life cycle assessment cloud platform has the functions of elastic scaling and load balancing. By setting an elastic scaling threshold, when the concurrent business increases and exceeds the threshold, the cloud host, memory or GPU and other resources required for analysis and calculation will be automatically increased; when the business volume decreases and falls below the threshold, the cloud host, memory or GPU and other resources required for analysis and calculation will also be automatically reduced. When one or more computing units of the analysis and calculation module fail, the business will be automatically allocated to the remaining computing units to avoid single-point computing failures.

[0084] The present application also provides an implementation method of the cloud platform-based product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system, as shown in FIG3 , including:

[0085] At step 302 , the enterprise user or other user first logs in and verifies their identity through a terminal device, including but not limited to a personal computer, tablet computer, mobile phone, or cloud computer. The supply chain network cloud platform confirms and distinguishes the logged-in user's identity and the supply chain link they are in.

[0086] 303. Enterprise users requesting carbon emission factor data for a product or process can choose to communicate directly with the enterprise. This request is then fed back to the enterprise with the corresponding data via the supply chain network cloud platform. The enterprise then extracts the required data from its internal data repository and returns it to the supply chain cloud platform to support the data requester's product carbon footprint calculation. Enterprise users can also choose to use the data retrieval function of the LCA assessment cloud platform to search the corresponding data within the platform's internal database.

[0087] 304. If the platform user chooses to call the LCA assessment cloud platform, he or she can perform operations such as data query, data calculation, data review, and data cloud storage on the platform.

[0088] 305. Platform users can choose to query and retrieve data only on the LCA assessment platform, and then feed the data back to the platform's data requesting users through the supply chain network platform; platform users can also choose to calculate and review data only on the LCA assessment platform, and use the LCA assessment platform to help platform users provide computing power support for on-demand services. The calculated products or carbon footprints will also be reviewed and arbitrated by the LCA assessment platform, and finally the data will be fed back to the platform application requester through the supply chain network platform; platform users can also choose to apply the full-stack capabilities of the LCA assessment platform, that is, to utilize the computing power of the LCA assessment platform, call the carbon emission factor database, data verification and impact assessment capabilities, etc.

[0089] 306. Regardless of whether the LCA assessment cloud platform is called, the platform enterprise user's data or service application will be returned to the user's client.

[0090] 307. Platform users can choose to perform further calculations, data review and evaluation locally, and store carbon emission factors and product carbon footprints locally.

[0091] 308. Data updated and calculated by the LCA Assessment Cloud Platform will be stored in the carbon emission factor database, making it easy for other platform users to access and analyze it. Enterprises will also update their locally analyzed, calculated, and updated data to the LCA Assessment Cloud Platform database while storing it locally.

[0092] Specifically, taking the processing and manufacturing of electronic products as an example, the carbon footprint of the products during their life cycle is measured. The electronic products include mobile phones, tablet computers, personal computers, smart speakers, televisions and other household or common products.

[0093] As shown in Figure 4, the life cycle assessment of electronic products is divided into six stages: raw material acquisition 401, component manufacturing 402, complete machine assembly 403, product distribution 404, product use 405, and recycling 406. The raw material acquisition stage 401 includes the mining, refining, and forging of raw materials; the component manufacturing stage 402 includes primary processing, molding, and the manufacture of major components and other parts; the complete machine assembly stage 403 includes the assembly, welding, integration, unit testing, and complete machine testing of electronic products; the product distribution stage 404 includes the packaging, loading, transportation, and delivery of electronic products; the product use stage 405 primarily refers to the use of electronic products by consumers. Due to the energy conversion characteristics of electronic products, their use phase primarily consumes electrical energy; and the recycling stage 406 covers the recycling and disposal of electronic products after they have been updated, reached the end of their service life, or have been damaged. All six stages involve energy consumption, resource input, greenhouse gas generation, and waste emissions.

[0094] Optionally, in combination with the carbon emission accounting standards proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations, and in combination with the life cycle method and the emission factor method, the calculation formula in the carbon footprint life cycle calculation method of the product is as follows:

[0095] 1. Calculation of carbon footprint of electronic products throughout their life cycle: GHG = G M +G E +G F +G T +G U +G R (1)

[0096] In the formula, GHG represents the total carbon footprint of the electronic product throughout its life cycle (kgCO2e); G M Indicates the carbon emissions during the raw material acquisition stage (kgCO2e); G E Indicates the carbon emissions during the component manufacturing phase (kgCO2e); G F Indicates the carbon emissions during the whole machine assembly stage (kgCO2e); G T Indicates the carbon emissions during the product distribution stage (kgCO2e); G U Indicates the carbon emissions during the product use phase (kgCO2e); G R Indicates the carbon emissions during the recycling and processing stage (kgCO2e).

[0097] 2. Carbon footprint calculation for raw material acquisition, component manufacturing, and complete machine assembly

[0098] This stage mainly calculates the greenhouse gas emissions during the raw material acquisition, processing, manufacturing, and assembly process of an electronic product, as well as the indirect carbon emissions generated by energy consumption. The calculation formula is as follows:

[0099] In the formula, G M Indicates the carbon emissions during the raw material acquisition stage (kgCO2e); G E Indicates the carbon emissions during the component manufacturing phase (kgCO2e); G F represents the carbon emissions during the assembly phase (kgCO2e); n represents the types of raw materials during the acquisition and processing of raw materials; A i Represents the activity data of the i-th material, generally refers to the mass of the material (kg); EF i represents the carbon emission factor of the i-th material; Q j Indicates the activity data of the jth gas in the manufacturing process, generally refers to the mass of the gas (kg); GF j It represents the carbon emission factor of the j-th gas; EF represents the carbon emission factor of electricity used in the process of obtaining raw materials or producing and manufacturing; W represents the energy consumption in the process of obtaining raw materials or producing and manufacturing.

[0100] 3. Carbon footprint calculation during product distribution

[0101] The carbon footprint calculation at this stage includes the process of transporting raw materials of electronic products from suppliers to manufacturers, and distributing finished products to dealers. The calculation formula is as follows:

[0102] In the formula, G T Indicates the carbon emissions during the product distribution stage (kgCO2e); D ijrepresents the distance (km) transported to location j by the i-th vehicle; η i It represents the average fuel efficiency of the i-th vehicle, which is a fixed value and is expressed by D ij / η i Calculate the fuel consumption L of the i-th transport vehicle transporting to the j-th place; Q i represents the net calorific value of fuel for the i-th vehicle (MJ / L); EF i represents the carbon emission factor (kg / MJ) of the fuel used by the i-th vehicle.

[0103] 4. Calculation of carbon footprint during product use

[0104] Carbon emissions during the product use phase mainly come from the power consumption of electronic products. Here we mainly consider the power consumption of electronic products during daily use, standby, and charging: U =Y×(T1W1+T2W2+T3W3)×EF×365 (6)

[0105] In the formula, G U It represents the carbon emissions during the product usage phase (kgCO2e); Y represents the lifespan of the electronic product; T1 represents the daily usage time of the product; W1 represents the power consumption of the product when in use; T2 represents the daily standby time of the product; W2 represents the power consumption of the product when in standby; T3 represents the daily charging time of the product; W3 represents the power consumption of the product when charging; EF represents the electricity carbon emission factor of the electricity used during the use of the product.

[0106] 5. Calculation of carbon footprint during product recycling and processing

[0107] This stage includes the decomposition, component recycling, parts reuse and remanufacturing of electronic products, which consumes energy and produces greenhouse gases. The carbon emissions calculation formula is as follows:

[0108] In the formula, G R represents the carbon emissions in the recycling process (kgCO2e); n represents the type of raw materials in the product resource recycling process; A i Represents the activity data of the i-th material, generally refers to the mass of the material (kg); EF i represents the carbon emission factor of the i-th material; Q j Indicates the activity data of the jth gas during the product recovery process, generally referring to the mass of the gas (kg); GF j It represents the carbon emission factor of the j-th gas; EF represents the carbon emission factor of electricity used in the product recycling process; W represents the energy consumption in the product recycling process.

[0109] Those skilled in the art will understand that the above descriptions are merely optional examples of the application and are not intended to limit the application. Although the application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned examples, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned examples or replace some of the technical features therein with equivalents. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the application shall be included in the scope of protection of the application. All technical features in this embodiment can be freely combined according to actual needs.

[0110] Finally, it should be noted that the above is only an optional embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system based on a cloud platform, characterized by: Includes supply chain network cloud platform, life cycle assessment cloud platform, and cloud platform application enterprises: Among them, the supply chain network cloud platform is used as a cloud platform that directly connects with enterprise users, covering the supply chain enterprises corresponding to the product life cycle of raw material acquisition, component manufacturing, whole machine assembly, product distribution, product use, and recycling; The life cycle assessment cloud platform is used to implement data management, retrieval, loading, data mining and analysis functions, conduct carbon footprint analysis and measurement, build a product life cycle inventory LCI database and implement data storage and access, and conduct calculation data result review and arbitration; Cloud platform application enterprises are used to enter the supply chain network cloud platform user UI interface through the cloud platform usage and management interface, and can perform registration, demand application, data interaction, and data storage operations.

2. The product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system based on a cloud platform according to claim 1 is characterized by: The supply chain network cloud platform includes a front-end user UI, an external API interface, and a back-end data processing and analysis unit; Front-end user UI, which is used by enterprise users to log in to the cloud platform through the user UI and perform corresponding operations such as query, calculation, deletion, and modification of information; External API interface, including cloud platform use and management interface, life cycle assessment LCA cloud platform interface, the cloud platform use and management interface is connected with the front-end user UI; the LCA cloud platform interface is used to link the supply chain network cloud platform and the life cycle assessment cloud platform; The back-end data analysis and processing unit includes cloud database components and cloud network security product components to support front-end user actions including adding, deleting, modifying and checking.

3. The product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system based on a cloud platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The life cycle assessment cloud platform includes platform users, supply chain network cloud platform access identity authentication, life cycle assessment cloud platform interface, life cycle assessment cloud platform calculation and analysis system; Platform users, for using and managing interfaces through the cloud platform of the supply chain network platform; The supply chain network cloud platform access identity authentication is used to implement identity authentication and make user requests using related technologies based on the Web interface. Enterprise users are divided into categories such as raw material suppliers, production assemblers, transportation distributors, resource recyclers, etc. according to the supply chain link they are in. In addition, platform users also include other users such as regulatory departments; The life cycle assessment cloud platform interface is used to implement interactive operation functions such as data application and entry, data retrieval, data review, data modeling, data calculation and analysis, and data reporting by calling the LCA cloud platform interface. It has a multi-level network collaborative control system. Based on the request of the platform user, the platform user can request and download the processed LCI data from the carbon emission factor database through the data application and entry and data retrieval functions in the LCA cloud platform interface. The data includes raw materials, energy utilization, and transportation and distribution links. The platform user can also choose to import the local LCI database into the cloud database of the life cycle cloud platform through the data application and entry function of the LCA cloud platform. First, the platform user's LCI local database needs to be verified by the cloud platform data verification module, including but not limited to the review of data string name, storage type, and version information factors. The data after the review is extracted and cleaned, and loaded into the carbon emission factor database of the LCA cloud platform. The life cycle assessment cloud platform computing and analysis system includes a carbon emission factor database, a carbon footprint analysis and calculation module, and a data verification and impact assessment functional module; the carbon footprint analysis and calculation module has the functions of elastic scaling and load balancing; by setting an elastic scaling threshold, when the concurrent business increases and exceeds the threshold, the cloud host, memory and GPU resources required for analysis and calculation will be automatically increased; when the business volume decreases and is lower than the threshold, the cloud host, memory and GPU resources required for analysis and calculation will also be automatically reduced.

4. A method for implementing a product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system based on a cloud platform according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The specific steps include: Step 1: Enterprise users or other users log in and verify their identities through terminal devices, including but not limited to personal computers, tablet computers, mobile phones, and cloud computers; the supply chain network cloud platform confirms and distinguishes the identity of the logged-in user and the link of the supply chain; Step 2: Enterprise users apply for carbon emission factor data of products or processes. Enterprise users can choose to communicate directly with enterprises. The request is fed back to enterprises with corresponding data through the supply chain network cloud platform. Enterprises extract the required data from their internal data repository and return it to the supply chain cloud platform to support product carbon footprint accounting of the data requester. Step 3: The platform user chooses to call the LCA assessment cloud platform and conducts data query, data calculation, data review, and data cloud storage operations on the platform; the details are as follows: Platform users can choose to query and retrieve data only on the LCA assessment platform, and then feed the data back to the platform's data requesting users through the supply chain network platform; platform users can also choose to calculate and review data only on the LCA assessment platform, and use the LCA assessment platform to help platform users provide computing power support for on-demand services. The calculated products or carbon footprints will also be reviewed and arbitrated by the LCA assessment platform, and finally the data will be fed back to the platform application requester through the supply chain network platform; Platform users can also choose to apply the full stack capabilities of the LCA assessment platform, that is, to use the computing power of the LCA assessment platform, call the carbon emission factor database, data verification and impact assessment capabilities; Step 4: Determine whether to call the LCA assessment cloud platform. The data or service application of the platform enterprise user will be returned to the user's client. The platform user can choose to perform further calculations, data review and evaluation locally, and store the carbon emission factor and product carbon footprint locally. Step 5: After the data is calculated and updated by the LCA assessment cloud platform, it will be stored in the carbon emission factor database for easy access and analysis by other platform users. After the data is analyzed, calculated and updated locally by the enterprise, it will be stored locally and simultaneously updated to the database of the LCA assessment cloud platform.

5. The implementation method of the product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system based on the cloud platform according to claim 4 is characterized by: Taking the processing and production of electronic products as an example, the carbon footprint of the products throughout their life cycle is calculated; the electronic products include mobile phones, tablet computers, personal computers, smart speakers, and television household products. Among them, the life cycle assessment of electronic products is divided into six stages: raw material acquisition stage, component manufacturing stage, whole machine assembly stage, product distribution stage, product use stage, and recycling stage; The raw material acquisition stage includes the mining, refining and forging of raw materials; The component manufacturing stage includes primary processing, molding, main components and other parts manufacturing; The whole machine assembly stage includes the assembly, welding, integration, unit testing and whole machine testing of electronic products; The product distribution stage includes packaging, loading, transportation and delivery of electronic products; The product use stage mainly refers to the use of electronic products by consumers. Due to the energy conversion characteristics of electronic products, their use stage mainly consumes electrical energy; The recycling and processing stage refers to the recycling and processing process of electronic products after they are updated, reach the end of their service life, or are damaged; the six stages all involve energy consumption, resource input, greenhouse gas generation, and waste emissions.

6. The implementation method of the product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system based on the cloud platform according to claim 5 is characterized by: In combination with the carbon emission accounting standards proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations, the life cycle method and the emission factor method, the calculation formula in the carbon footprint life cycle calculation method of the product is as follows: The formula for calculating the carbon footprint of the electronic product throughout its life cycle is as follows: GHG=G M +G E +G F +G T +G U +G R (1) Where GHG represents the total carbon footprint of the electronic product over its entire life cycle (kgCO2e); G M Indicates the carbon emissions during the raw material acquisition stage (kgCO2e); G E Indicates the carbon emissions during the component manufacturing stage (kgCO2e); G F Indicates the carbon emissions during the whole machine assembly stage (kgCO2e); G T Indicates the carbon emissions during the product distribution stage (kgCO2e); G U Indicates the carbon emissions during the product use phase (kgCO2e); G R Indicates the carbon emissions during the recycling process (kgCO2e).

7. The implementation method of the product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system based on a cloud platform according to claim 5 is characterized by: Carbon footprint calculations for raw material acquisition, component manufacturing, and machine assembly are as follows: This stage mainly calculates the greenhouse gas emissions during the raw material acquisition, processing, manufacturing, and assembly process of a certain electronic product, as well as the indirect carbon emissions generated by energy consumption. The calculation formula is as follows: In the formula, G M Indicates the carbon emissions during the raw material acquisition stage (kgCO2e); G E Indicates the carbon emissions during the component manufacturing stage (kgCO2e); G F represents the carbon emissions during the whole machine assembly stage (kgCO2e); n represents the type of raw materials during the raw material acquisition and processing and manufacturing process; A i Represents the activity data of the i-th material, generally refers to the mass of the material (kg); EF i represents the carbon emission factor of the i-th material; Q j Indicates the activity data of the jth gas in the manufacturing process, generally refers to the mass of the gas (kg); GF j It represents the carbon emission factor of the j-th gas; EF represents the carbon emission factor of electricity used in the process of raw material acquisition or production and manufacturing; W represents the energy consumption in the process of raw material acquisition or production and manufacturing.

8. The implementation method of the product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system based on a cloud platform according to claim 5 is characterized by: The carbon footprint calculation of the product distribution stage is as follows: The carbon footprint calculation at this stage includes the process of transporting raw materials of electronic products from suppliers to manufacturers, and distributing finished products to dealers. The calculation formula is as follows: In the formula, G T Indicates the carbon emissions during the product distribution stage (kgCO2e); D ij represents the distance (km) transported to the jth place by the i-th vehicle; η i represents the average fuel efficiency of the i-th vehicle, which is a fixed value and is expressed by D ij / η i Calculate the fuel consumption L of the i-th transport vehicle transporting to the j-th place; Q i represents the net calorific value of fuel for the i-th vehicle (MJ / L); EF i Represents the carbon emission factor (kg / MJ) of the fuel used by the ith vehicle.

9. The implementation method of the product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system based on a cloud platform according to claim 5 is characterized by: The carbon footprint calculation of the product use phase is as follows: Carbon emissions during the product use phase mainly come from the power consumption of electronic products. Considering the power consumption of electronic products during daily use, standby, and charging: G U =Y×(T1W1+T2W2+T3W3)×EF×365 (6) In the formula, G U It represents the carbon emissions during the product use stage (kgCO2e); Y represents the service life of the electronic product; T1 represents the daily usage time of the product; W1 represents the power consumption of the product when it is in use every day; T2 represents the daily standby time of the product; W2 represents the power consumption of the product when it is in standby every day; T3 represents the daily charging time of the product; W3 represents the power consumption of the product when it is charged every day; EF represents the electric carbon emission factor of the electric energy used during the use of the product.

10. The implementation method of the product life cycle carbon footprint assessment system based on a cloud platform according to claim 5, characterized in that: The carbon footprint calculation of the product recycling stage is as follows: This stage includes the decomposition, component recycling, parts reuse and remanufacturing of electronic products, which consumes energy and produces greenhouse gases. The carbon emission calculation formula is as follows: In the formula, G R represents the carbon emissions in the recycling process (kgCO2e); n represents the type of raw materials in the product resource recycling process; A i Represents the activity data of the i-th material, generally refers to the mass of the material (kg); EF i represents the carbon emission factor of the i-th material; Q j Indicates the activity data of the jth gas in the product recovery process, generally refers to the mass of the gas (kg); GF j It represents the carbon emission factor of the j-th gas; EF represents the carbon emission factor of electricity used in the product recycling process, and W represents the energy consumption in the product recycling process.

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