Abstract: To drive the involvement of ecological partners in the upstream and downstream of the supply chain in the industrial decarbonization cycle and establish a sustainable green value chain, JD Logistics leverages its proprietary Supply Chain Emission Management Platform (SCEMP).to share supply chain carbon footprints with upstream and downstream partners, and employs an emission reduction approach based on shared responsibilities for mutually overlapping emissions-Concurrently, JD Logistics shares decarbonization technologies, aiming to minimize costs while maximizing carbon emission reductions. This strategy fosters collaborative decarbonization across the supply chain and contributes to sustainable development.

Challenge

The IPCC projects that global temperatures will rise 1.5°C by 2040 — a full 60 years earlier than once anticipated. Logistics is a major source of global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, with transport energy use and emissions set to grow rapidly alongside economic development. Offsetting alone can no longer deliver the 1.5°C target; cutting emissions at source through end-to-end supply chain collaboration is the only viable path. Breaking out of siloed corporate decarbonization to build a coordinated, full-chain mechanism is the defining industry challenge.

Solution

JD Logistics pioneered the concept of shared carbon footprinting and launched the Supply Chain Decarbonization Initiative, advocating a shift from isolated corporate decarbonization to a collaborative industry-wide carbon cycle. In July 2022, at the second Sustainable Consumption Summit, JD Logistics and the China Environmental Protection Federation’s Green Supply Chain Committee jointly unveiled the initiative with a pyramid pathway model: build mechanisms, focus on technology, and decarbonize together. 

The centerpiece is the self-developed Supply Chain Emission Management Platform (SCEMP) — the world’s first logistics platform to: integrate over 140 Chinese road transport vehicle emission factors; calculate logistics carbon footprints at the finest granularity based on actual vehicle trajectories; visualize the MRV (monitoring, reporting, and verification) of mobile emission sources; comply with ISO 14064/14067, PAS standards, and China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment disclosure requirements; and generate one-click carbon reports with carbon verification service applications. 

SCEMP went live on November 15, 2022, and within one month processed over 200,000 waybills for a single Decathlon scenario, precisely calculating shipment-level carbon footprints and verifiable GHG reductions to meet the client’s accuracy, granularity, and visualization requirements. In April 2023, JD Logistics joined Bureau Veritas, Magpie, and Changjiu Group among 11 firms in signing the Supply Chain Decarbonization Pledge, committing to end-to-end low-carbon, green, and circular practices. SCEMP received the 2023 China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing Science & Technology Award (second prize) and has been promoted at Gartner’s Global Innovative Supply Chain Organization and LogClub.

Impact & Value

Technological innovation: SCEMP fills the global gap in granular logistics carbon footprint management, resolving the long-standing challenge of mobile emission source monitoring. It delivers full-process MRV — from panoramic carbon emission graphics and fuel-type breakdowns to shipment-level carbon tracking and one-click report generation. 

Industry leadership: The shared carbon footprint concept innovatively decarbonizes overlapping emissions at the lowest cost per unit of carbon removed, enabling smaller-footprint enterprises to make a global impact while spreading decarbonization costs across the value chain and offering consumers a pathway to participate. 

Customer value: Decathlon noted that JD Logistics leveraged its green supply chain expertise and operational capabilities to enable low-carbon transport and carbon footprint management in China, and SCEMP now serves an expanding green ecosystem of global clients. 

Ecosystem co-creation: The eleven-company decarbonization pledge marks the formation of a green value chain spanning all scenarios, links, and lifecycle stages of industry and supply chains, with upstream and downstream collaboration continuously contributing to global climate action and sustainable supply chain development.