Chinese Journal of Population, Resources and Environment 22 (2024) 367‒375

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Chinese Journal of Population, Resources and Environment

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Understanding carbon footprint: An evaluation criterion for

achieving sustainable development
Fang Yua, Qian Yuanb, Xuerou Shenga, Mengyue Liua, Leping Chena, Xueliang Yuana*,
Dantong Zhanga, Shuqi Daia, Zhinan Houa, Qingsong Wanga, Qiao Maa
a
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China
b
Shandong University Press, Jinan 250100, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Excessive greenhouse gas emissions lead to global warming, which poses a critical challenge for human soci‐
Carbon footprint ety. Worldwide consensus that carbon emissions must be reduced to achieve sustainable development has
Carbon accounting raised research interest on the topic of carbon footprint, an assessment standard for measuring greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas emissions
emissions. To shed light on this important topic, we introduce carbon footprint-related international standards
Bibliometrics
and domestic policies, and conduct quantitative and qualitative analyses to provide a comprehensive overview
Sustainable development
of the current carbon footprint literature. Specifically, through a bibliometric analysis of 13 203 carbon foot‐
print publications circulated over the past decade, we quantify the publication volume, influence, and collabo‐
ration networks of countries/regions, institutions, and journals. The results show that publications on carbon
footprint have been increasing since 2013, and more so after 2017. Regarding domain influence, China and its
academic institutions show a strong influence. In addition, a cluster analysis of the keywords of all publica‐
tions shows seven categories, encompassing carbon footprint accounting methods and research priorities. Fur‐
thermore, a qualitative analysis of the research methods and subjects related to carbon footprint reveals the
need to increase communication and collaboration among different disciplines and countries/regions to
strengthen the construction of carbon footprint systems. Accordingly, this study identifies popular topics and
development trends in the carbon footprint literature to provide research direction for promoting green and
low-carbon transformation of the social economy to achieve sustainable development.

1. Introduction (Gong et al., 2023). To this end, the Paris Agreement requires that all
parties make nationally determined contributions. China promises to
Climate change has brought about global crises, such as extreme achieve a carbon peak around 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.
weather, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, reduced food production, The United States plans to increase GHG emissions reduction by 50%–
and the spread of epidemics, posing severe challenges to human sur‐ 52% on a 2005 benchmark. Japan plans to reduce GHG emissions by
vival and development. These phenomena are exacerbated mainly by 46% from 2013 levels by 2030, and the European Union promises to
the carbon emissions generated by human activities (Abulibdeh et al., reduce GHG emissions to 55% of 1990 levels by 2030 (UNFCCC,
2024; Shi and Yin, 2021; Wang et al., 2022). Many climate experts be‐ 2023). Therefore, accounting for carbon emissions has become par‐
lieve that global temperatures will continue to increase over the next ticularly important.
100 years (Li and Zheng, 2020). Hence, the Intergovernmental Panel Carbon accounting, the first step in carbon management and
on Climate Change (IPCC) considers the reduction of greenhouse gas emission reduction, includes a series of activities related to carbon
(GHG) emissions important to mitigate climate change. Accordingly, emissions such as measurement, calculation, verification, reporting,
the Paris Agreement, adopted at the 21st Meeting of the Parties to the and so on (Liu et al., 2023). The concept of carbon footprint arose
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, estab‐ during the process of measuring GHG emissions, to help gauge the im‐
lished long-term temperature targets, limiting global average tempera‐ pact of GHG emissions on global climate change more accurately. The
ture rise to below 2 ℃ and actual temperature rise to within 1.5 ℃ term carbon footprint originates from the concept of ecological foot‐

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: yuanxl@[Link] (X. Yuan)

[Link]
Received 22 April 2024; Accepted 19 September 2024
2325-4262/© 2024 Shandong Normal University. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under
the CC BY-NC-ND license ([Link]
F. Yu et al. Chinese Journal of Population, Resources and Environment 22 (2024) 367–375

print, which was first proposed by Canadian scientist William Rees in detailed principles and requirements for organizing GHG inventories
the 1990s. The ecological footprint quantifies the pressure and re‐ such as determining GHG emission and removal boundaries, identify‐
source consumption of human activities on the ecosystem by convert‐ ing and quantifying GHG emission sources, and improving GHG man‐
ing the resources consumed and waste generated by a certain popula‐ agement. ISO 14067 (ISO, 2018) is a quantitative requirement and
tion into the required biologically productive land area (Gao, 2020). guideline for product carbon footprint that provides a framework for
The currently recognized definition of carbon footprint is the total accounting for GHG emissions generated throughout the life cycle of
amount of GHGs directly and indirectly emitted by the studied prod‐ a product. PAS 2050, published by the British Standards Institute, is
uct, activity, or service throughout its life cycle, expressed in used to assess GHG emissions from products and is an important refer‐
CO2 equivalents. GHGs are categorized into six types specified in the ence for many organizations and countries for product carbon foot‐
Kyoto Protocol: CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs, and SF6 (Shan et al., print assessment (SMQ, 2022). The GHG Protocol is co-sponsored by
2024; Zhang et al., 2023). As research progressed, the definition of the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council
the carbon footprint has incorporated concepts such as implicit car‐ for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The core standards include
bon, carbon flow, and virtual carbon (Li, 2021). Carbon footprint ac‐ the “Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard” and the “Product
counting is the technological foundation for achieving green produc‐ Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard”, which are used by or‐
tion, promoting low-carbon consumption, and economic develop‐ ganizations to measure and report GHG emissions at the corporate
ment. It is also an important prerequisite for breaking down green and product levels. These standards are widely recognized and ad‐
trade barriers and achieving international exchange and mutual recog‐ opted internationally, and should be accurately assessed by selecting
nition of carbon footprint labels. The proposed carbon footprint re‐ the appropriate standard based on the specific needs and context of
veals the impact of human behavior on climate change from a unique the organization or industry.
perspective, thus providing an effective tool for the scientific measure‐ There are few relevant evaluation standards for carbon footprint
ment of carbon emissions. It has been accepted by governments, orga‐ in China currently (SMQ, 2022). The evaluation primarily cites two
nizations, and institutions in various countries and has gradually pen‐ standards: ISO 14067 and PAS 2050. However, multiple national stan‐
etrated various research fields. dards are currently being planned, such as Carbon Footprint of Products
At present, research on the accounting and evaluation of carbon —Requirements and Guidelines for Quantification, Carbon Footprint of
footprints has become relatively mature and complete, and has been Electrical and Electronic Products—Requirements and Guidelines for
applied in different scales, fields, and products. Scholars have re‐ Quantification, Guideline of Carbon Footprint Calculation and Report for
viewed the latest progress in single-dimensional carbon footprint re‐ Livestock Product, General Principles for Carbon Footprint Accounting of
search. Onat and Kucukvar (2020) reviewed the carbon footprint of Plastic Products, and so on. In addition, the State Council and various
the global construction industry from 2009 to 2020 and conducted a ministries have issued a series of policy guidance opinions on topics
macro supply chain analysis. They believe that carbon reduction poli‐ related to carbon footprints such as establishing carbon footprint stan‐
cies should consider not only limited regional impacts, but also the in‐ dards, conducting full lifecycle product carbon footprint accounting
direct, complex, and interrelated global supply chain effects of the and certification services, and meeting regulatory conditions to dis‐
construction industry. Xue et al. (2023) reviewed research progress close enterprises ’ carbon footprints and promote social responsibility
on the carbon footprint of food systems and summarized future re‐ construction. In November 2023, the National Development and Re‐
search content and hot spots. Li et al. (2022) reviewed the carbon form Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology,
footprint of the automotive battery life cycle, summarized the carbon State Administration for Market Regulation, Ministry of Housing and
emissions and the main factors influencing batteries at various stages Urban Rural Development, and Ministry of Transport jointly issued
of production, use, secondary utilization, and recycling, and made rel‐ the “Opinions on Accelerating the Establishment of a Product Carbon
evant suggestions. However, although the aforementioned review Footprint Management System”, which systematically deployed vari‐
elaborates on the research status of the carbon footprint of industries ous key tasks for managing product carbon footprint, including devel‐
or product systems in a certain region, it lacks a detailed summary of oping product carbon footprint accounting rules and standards,
carbon footprint-related research from an overall perspective. strengthening the construction of carbon footprint background data‐
To fill the aforementioned gap in the literature, we first outline bases, establishing a product carbon labeling and certification system,
the international standards and relevant domestic policies for carbon enriching product carbon footprint application scenarios, and promot‐
footprint and then conduct quantitative and qualitative analyses to ing international connection and mutual recognition of carbon foot‐
provide a holistic overview of the existing literature on carbon foot‐ prints.
print. We use bibliometric methods to quantify the publication vol‐
ume, influence, and collaboration network of countries/regions, insti‐ 3. Carbon footprint bibliometric analysis
tutions, and journals and conduct a cluster analysis on keywords to re‐
view the development and popular topics of carbon footprint re‐ Most studies use bibliometric tools to examine journals, disci‐
search. Subsequently, the methods and research scope of carbon foot‐ plines, and research hot spots in specific areas and detect trends and
print assessment are summarized, and future research directions are key features (Wang et al., 2022). CiteSpace, used in this study, is a
proposed. This study provides a comprehensive summary of knowl‐ common bibliometric analysis software that systematically draws a
edge in the field of carbon footprint, helping readers understand the knowledge graph; analyzes citation nodes to form a visual network,
popular topics and development trends of carbon footprint literature, effectively mines research hot spots, journals, and institutions distri‐
thus providing valuable reference for the selection of research meth‐ butions of specific topics, and tracks the forefront of technological de‐
ods and objects, and favorable tools for individuals and organizations velopment (Jiang et al., 2023).
to participate actively in climate change mitigation actions. Web of Science is the world ’ s leading citation database and in‐
cludes records of papers, conference proceedings, literature, and
2. Carbon footprint standards and policies books from the world ’ s most influential journals. This study con‐
ducted a literature search in the Web of Science core collection, using
International carbon footprint standards provide consistent meth‐ the search formula TS = (carbon footprint), with the search period
ods and requirements for promoting international cooperation and set from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2022. Literature from the
emission reduction actions. Founded in 1947, the International Orga‐ past decade provides better coverage of current key research and im‐
nization for Standardization (ISO) is the world ’ s largest standard- portant findings, thus offering significant reference value. The re‐
setting organization. The ISO 14064 (ISO, 2006a) it released provides search language and type were set to “English” and “Article”. After

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CiteSpace deduplication and screening, 13 203 articles were identi‐ Table 1

fied. Publication volume, collaborative network, co-citation network, Top 10 countries/regions in carbon footprint research publications
and keyword clustering analyses were performed on the selected lit‐ Rank Countries/regions Number of publications Intermediary centrality
erature to showcase development trends, influence, and research hot 1 China 2 764 0.09
spots in this field.
2 United States 2 525 0.11

3.1. Analysis of publication volume 3 England 1 174 0.14

4 Spain 898 0.08
The filtered articles were categorized according to the year of 5 Australia 842 0.09
publication. Figure 1 illustrates the total number of publications and 6 Italy 841 0.03
publications by domestic authors on carbon footprint over the past de‐
7 Germany 826 0.11
cade. The figure shows that the number of carbon footprint articles
has been increasing annually, with the total number of publications 8 India 784 0.04
increasing from 483 in 2013 to 3 041 in 2022—an increase of more 9 Canada 679 0.02
than six times over the past decade. The year 2017 was a key mile‐ 10 Netherlands 523 0.06
stone in the growth of carbon footprint publications, as the Paris
Agreement officially entered its implementation phase on November
4, 2016. Since then, countries have formulated and strengthened their
carbon emission reduction commitments and related policies, making
the carbon footprint a popular research topic. The domestic author
publication volume has also been increasing annually, consistent with
the trend in total publication volume. In September 2020, China pro‐
posed the goal of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neu‐
trality. The number of articles published by domestic authors subse‐
quently increased rapidly from 377 in 2020 to 798 in 2022.

3 500 1 000
Total number of publications
Number of publications by domestic authors
Number of publications by domestic authors

3 000
800
Total number of publications

2 500

600
2 000

1 500
400

1 000
Figure 2. National or regional cooperation network for carbon footprint re‐
200
search from 2013 to 2022
500

work. Owing to the large number of institutions, only institutions

0 0
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 with intermediary centrality greater than 0.03 are displayed in Figure
Year 3 to demonstrate the network of connections between institutions
more clearly. Mediation centrality measures the sum of the probabili‐
Figure 1. Number of publications on carbon footprint research from 2013 to ties of nodes appearing on any of the shortest path in a network, and
2022 demonstrates the importance of node-bridging roles. The Chinese
Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and
3.2. Analysis of national and institutional cooperation networks Beijing Normal University were the top three research institutions in
terms of the number of papers issued. They published 375, 146, and
The samples of carbon footprint-related research for the period 136 carbon footprint articles and conducted academic cooperation
2013 to 2022 were published in 147 countries/regions. Table 1 lists with 25, 14, and 14 institutions, respectively. The Chinese Academy
the top 10 in terms of publication volume. The cooperation network of Sciences and the University of Maryland had high intermediary
shown in Figure 2 reveals the top-ranking countries/regions in terms centrality, indicating that these two institutions were most closely
of influence. In Figure 2, a node represents a country/region; its size connected to other research institutions and had the most cooperative
represents the number of publications, and the lines indicate coopera‐ opportunities.
tion with others. The top three countries/regions in the ranking and
their respective number of articles published (in parentheses) were 3.3. Analysis of journal co-citation network
China (2 764), the United States (2 525), and England (1 174). China
accounted for approximately 21% of the total number of articles pub‐ Figure 4 shows the results of a journal co-citation analysis con‐
lished and had cooperative relationships with 47 countries/regions ducted on the cited literature on carbon footprint over the past de‐
worldwide, whereas the United States and England cooperated with cade. The cited literature came from 914 journals, with 5 423 journal
64 and 76 countries/regions, respectively. citation links. Figure 4 shows only the influential journals. The Jour‐
Over the past decade, 542 institutions conducted carbon foot‐ nal of Cleaner Production (with 7 297 citations), Environmental Sci‐
print research. Figure 3 illustrates the institutional cooperation net‐ ence & Technology (3 768 citations), and Renewable and Sustainable

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the key focus of carbon footprint research over the past decade. The
two major clustering categories, LCA and IOA, were the main evalua‐
tion methods used for carbon footprint research. The relevant meth‐
ods are introduced in Section 4.

Figure 3. Institutional cooperation network for carbon footprint research

from 2013 to 2022

Energy Reviews (3 724 citations) were the top three most-cited jour‐
nals in this field. Journal of Cleaner Production had the highest num‐
ber of citations, and its intermediary centrality was as high as 0.29,
making it a key-node journal. In addition, these three journals had co-
Figure 5. Keyword clustering diagram for carbon footprint research from
citation relationships with 29, 24, and 22 other journals, respectively.
2013 to 2022

4. Carbon footprint application and practice

4.1. Evaluation methods and tools

Carbon footprint assessment methods usually include “bottom-

up” LCA (Chew et al., 2023), “top-down” IOA (Jiang, 2022), and hy‐
brid LCA (Egilmez et al., 2017b), but emission factor methods (Xi et
al., 2021) can also be used to account for carbon emissions, generally
including direct emissions. Table 2 summarizes the advantages, disad‐
vantages, and corresponding research objects of these four methods.

4.1.1. Life cycle assessment

LCA is a systematic assessment of the entire life cycle of a prod‐
uct, including raw material extraction, transportation, production,
use, disposal, and recycling (Fenner et al., 2018). The ISO 14040
(ISO, 2006b) and ISO 14044 (ISO, 2006c) standards stipulate the nec‐
essary principles, frameworks, and guidelines. LCA comprises four
stages: goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assess‐
ment, and result interpretation (Zhao et al., 2023). In the goal and
scope stage, the research objectives are clarified, and appropriate sys‐
Figure 4. Journal co-citation network for carbon footprint research from tem boundaries and functional units are selected. Inventory analysis
2013 to 2022 is the process of determining the required material inputs and waste
outputs within the system boundary (Chen-Glasser et al., 2023). In
3.4. Analysis of keyword clustering the impact assessment step, the carbon footprint of a product through‐
out its life cycle is quantitatively evaluated based on the results of the
There were 29 899 keywords in the selected articles, occurring inventory analysis. Finally, the results are explained, possibilities and
60 114 times. Among these keywords, the term carbon footprint ap‐ potential ways to reduce carbon emissions are explored, and corre‐
peared most frequently (2 367 times), and 2.3% of the keywords ap‐ sponding improvement measures are proposed in the result interpreta‐
peared more than 10 times. A silhouette is a clustering evaluation in‐ tion stage (Xiao, 2022). LCA is a mainstream method in carbon foot‐
dicator used to describe the clustering quality. Usually, a silhouette print accounting and is more suitable at the micro level for evaluating
value greater than 0.5 indicates that the clustering results are reason‐ the carbon footprint of products or services. The European Commis‐
able. The silhouette value of this clustering was 0.759 8, indicating a sion recommends LCA as the best framework for product evaluation
good clustering effect. Figure 5 shows the keyword clustering results, (Pérez-López et al., 2017).
comprising seven cluster categories, namely, life cycle assessment LCA is widely used for product carbon footprint assessments,
(LCA), CO2 footprint, input – output analysis (IOA), carbon sequestra‐ with chemical, food, building material, battery, and energy produc‐
tion, CO2 capture, climate change, and ecological footprint, reflecting tion being popular topics in research. For example, Zheng and Suh

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Table 2
Carbon footprint assessment methods
Methods Advantages Disadvantages Objects
Uses a detailed calculation process Has inconsistent accounting boundaries
Life cycle assessment (LCA) Main product
Is targeted Presents difficulty in obtaining data
Lacks details in the calculation process
Has good system integrity
Input–output analysis (IOA) Excludes usage and completion stages Main industry or sector
Avoids truncation errors
Is susceptible to time lag
Presents difficulty in combining different data
Avoids truncation errors
Hybrid LCA Has high computational requirements Product, industry, region, or country
Provides accurate results
Lacks standard mixing methods
Makes it easy to obtain data May present imprecise emission factors
Emission factor method Product, industry, region, or country
Uses a simple calculation process Ignores indirect emissions

(2019) conducted a study on the lifecycle GHG emissions of 10 tradi‐ Zhang et al. (2021) used a demand-driven IOA to explore, for the first
tional plastics and five bio-based plastics worldwide. They found that time, the historical consumption-based carbon emissions trajectory of
if the current development trajectory continues, GHG emissions by Tianjin, a typical industrial city. Zhou et al. (2019) proposed a carbon
2050 will be more than four times those in 2015. However, the active analysis framework for the information and communication technol‐
application of renewable energy, recycling, and demand management ogy industry that accounts for the carbon emissions of different sub‐
strategies may make emissions in 2050 comparable to those in 2015. sectors, thus revealing the mechanisms of formation and change by
Dalgaard et al. (2014) calculated the carbon footprint of milk produc‐ determining their source sectors, transfer paths, and economic driv‐
tion in Denmark and Sweden, and proposed a model that could apply ers. MRIO considers resource flows and trade activities between differ‐
different modeling assumptions or carbon footprint standards for ad‐ ent regions or countries, and is commonly used to study issues such
justment and switching. Sameer et al. (2019) tested two scenarios of as industrial transfer between regions, global supply chains, and inter‐
conventional and ultra-high-performance concrete designs for bridges national trade (Su and Ang, 2014). Yang et al. (2024) used an MRIO
and compared their carbon footprints, demonstrating that ultra-high- model to track the environmental costs and economic benefits im‐
performance concrete reduced the carbon footprint by 14%. plicit in inter-provincial trade in the construction industry, and con‐
Meanwhile, batteries are widely used in mobile electronic de‐ structed a regional environmental index to assess the degree of in‐
vices, electric vehicles, and renewable energy-storage systems, and equality between regions. Lin and Guan (2023) identified the main
calculating the carbon footprints of batteries can guide relevant trading partners and corresponding industries in China ’ s food manu‐
policy formulations. In this regard, Chen et al. (2022b) investigated facturing industry, using an MRIO model to estimate domestic and in‐
the carbon footprint of lithium-ion batteries produced in China using ternational carbon footprints. They then decomposed the determining
the cradle-to-cradle LCA method and proposed battery recycling as factors of carbon footprint changes, eventually making policy recom‐
the short-term carbon reduction measure and power greening as the mendations.
long-term carbon reduction measure. In terms of energy production, IOA is often combined with methods such as network and struc‐
Oni et al. (2022) calculated the blue hydrogen carbon footprint and tural decomposition analyses to determine the key sectors and factors
found that among the three different technologies of natural gas re‐ influencing the carbon footprint. For example, Xu et al. (2021) com‐
forming, self-thermal reforming, and natural gas decomposition, self- bined IOA with ecological network analysis to develop energy, water,
thermal reforming had the lowest GHG emissions. and carbon ecological networks, searching for complex relationships
In summary, LCA research identifies key processes and sub‐ between different departments in water use, energy consumption, and
stances from the perspective of the entire lifecycle of products or ser‐ carbon emissions. Ma et al. (2019) explored carbon emissions in
vices, and proposes emission reduction measures to provide scientific China ’ s power industry through a structural decomposition analysis
support for environmentally friendly and sustainable development. and found that consumption was the main driving factor for carbon
LCA can be applied to quantify the carbon footprint of specific prod‐ emission growth, whereas power generation efficiency and internal in‐
ucts or services and compare related products or technologies, dustrial structure were key factors for emission reduction. Yuan et al.
thereby helping to select more environmentally friendly production (2022) accounted for the carbon footprints of nine provinces in the
methods. It is also flexible in that the scope and precision of the evalu‐ Yellow River Basin and used social network analysis to identify key
ation can be adjusted to improve the model according to specific cir‐ industries in the inter-provincial transfer of implied carbon emissions,
cumstances. However, process-based LCA relies on inventory data and thus providing a theoretical basis and data support for the develop‐
requires a comprehensive consideration of data collection, measure‐ ment of carbon emission reduction planning in the Yellow River Ba‐
ment, and processing activities to improve data density and accuracy. sin.
SRIO is generally used to quantify industry carbon footprints to
4.1.2. Input–output analysis determine the contribution of each sector; it can also evaluate eco‐
IOA was originally proposed by American economist Leontief in nomic structure, inter-industry relationships, and the effectiveness of
1936. This is an analytical method that reflects the relationships be‐ environmental policies. By contrast, MRIO considers economic con‐
tween inputs and outputs in various sectors. By transforming the eco‐ nections between multiple regions, and is typically used to analyze
nomic relationship between production sectors into a physical rela‐ global or inter-regional carbon transfer and related impacts. There‐
tionship of GHG emissions, IOA reflects the exchange process of di‐ fore, IOA is not suitable for micro-level product research, but is more
rect and indirect emissions and allocates them to various sectors or re‐ suitable for considering the carbon footprint from a macro-level per‐
gions (Zhang et al., 2018). IOA models include single-region input – spective such as the national, urban, industrial, or inter-industry level
output analysis (SRIO) and multi-region input-output analysis (MRIO), because it can reflect the economic and technological structures and
which are currently well developed (Wang et al., 2017). relationships between various departments and provide strong data
SRIO considers the economic system of a specific region, divides support for formulating relevant policies and strengthening macroeco‐
it into different industrial sectors, and evaluates the resource demand nomic management.
and environmental impacts of each industrial sector. For example,

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4.1.3. Hybrid life cycle assessment factor values based on the IPCC guidelines, constructed a carbon emis‐
Although LCA has been widely used to study GHG emissions ac‐ sion accounting method for the entire life cycle of animal husbandry,
counting for products or services, a comprehensive LCA is often time- quantitatively estimated the carbon footprint, and offered carbon re‐
consuming and laborious for complex systems. Hybrid LCA is a combi‐ duction suggestions.
nation of input–output (IO) and process-based LCA and currently has The emission factor values can be determined by referring to per‐
three forms: tiered hybrid LCA (TH LCA), IO-based hybrid LCA (IOH tinent data published by the IPCC or according to data published by
LCA), and integrated hybrid LCA (IH LCA) (Wang et al., 2015). Hy‐ relevant institutions in China such as the Chinese Academy of Sci‐
brid LCA integrates technical processes into the macroeconomic sys‐ ences and the Energy Research Institute of the National Development
tem, ensuring the comprehensiveness of the IO and specificity of the and Reform Commission (Kong et al., 2017). However, these data use
process LCA. statistical averages, and variations exist in the emission factors de‐
Among the three forms of hybrid LCA, the TH LCA is the most pending on the technological level, production condition, and energy
commonly used. This approach selects different methods based on the use. Therefore, when using the emission factor method for calcula‐
characteristics of the activity data. A process-based LCA is used for tions, factors such as geography and time must be considered.
clearer process data, whereas an IO-based LCA is used for unknown
processes. For example, when comparing the carbon footprint of soil 4.2. Research scope and object
core rockfill dams and concrete gravity dams of the same scale, Zhang
et al. (2015) used process-based LCA to analyze the material transpor‐ Carbon footprint accounting can be conducted on different re‐
tation and construction stages, and IO to analyze the complex up‐ search scales. This study roughly divides the research objects into
stream production part. The results showed that rockfill dams have a three categories according to research scope: individuals and house‐
greater environmental advantage throughout their lifecycle and can holds, products and industries, and regions and countries.
help decision-makers choose the appropriate type of hydroelectric sys‐
tem during the design phase. Heinonen and Junnila (2011) also used 4.2.1. Individuals and households
TH LCA to compare and analyze the carbon footprint of consumers in A household ’ s carbon footprint includes emissions associated
four different urban structures in Finland. The results showed much with direct energy consumption such as lighting, cooking, showering,
higher per capita carbon emissions in cities than in suburban and ru‐ and heating, as well as emissions associated with the production of all
ral areas. However, migration from cities to rural areas may not re‐ goods consumed by the household in the supply chain (Long et al.,
duce carbon emissions. The main issue is understanding the signifi‐ 2017). Household consumption accounted for more than 60% of
cant impact of income on the overall carbon consumption. By con‐ global GHG emissions and 50%–80% of the total resource use in 2016
trast, IOH LCA is a method that better corresponds with the product (Ivanova et al., 2016). An in-depth analysis of GHGs showed an in‐
or service being evaluated, as it further divides the existing IO table creasing trend of household carbon footprint contributions, indicating
into sectors or add new sectors, thereby effectively combining the IO that individual and household carbon footprint accounting is impera‐
system with process-specific analytical data (Chen et al., 2022a; tive (Huang et al., 2023). O ’ Malley et al. (2023) conducted a study
Wang et al., 2015). Guan et al. (2016) developed an IOH LCA model on the dietary choices of a nationally representative sample of Ameri‐
to quantify the embodied energy of buildings, using IO tables and pro‐ can consumers and analyzed the nutritional quality and carbon foot‐
cess analysis data for major building materials, and ultimately pro‐ print of different dietary types. Valdelamar-Villegas and Fajardo-
posed various measures to limit the embodied energy of buildings Herrera (2023) estimated the personal carbon footprint of the city of
based on the identification of the most intensive energy flows. Mean‐ Cartagena through a carbon footprint calculator and social networks
while, the third combined form, IH LCA, requires both high-matrix op‐ and described its relationship with socio-demographic and spatial di‐
erations and dense process data, and has fewer applications than the mensions. Owing to differences in consumption scales and patterns be‐
first two types of hybrid LCAs (Wang et al., 2015). tween individuals and households, most household carbon footprint
In short, hybrid LCA can be conducted at different levels—prod‐ studies have focused on analyzing inequality issues and exploring its
uct, industry, and region. However, compared with LCA and IOA, the drivers. Wiedenhofer et al. (2017) proposed a distributed carbon foot‐
application of mixed LCA is not widespread, mainly because of the print for Chinese households and used the carbon footprint ’ s Gini co‐
lack of a unified mixed framework and the difficulty of data integra‐ efficient to quantify inequality. Mi et al. (2020) estimated the house‐
tion. Nonetheless, a hybrid LCA ensures the completeness of the hold carbon footprints of 12 income groups in 30 regions of China
evaluation boundary while improving the accuracy of the evaluation and measured the carbon inequality of households in each province.
results. It remains a vital tool for carbon footprint accounting and an Liang et al. (2023) measured inequality in household carbon foot‐
important development direction for LCA methodology in the future. prints in terms of income and consumption categories. Yu et al.
(2022) compared the household carbon footprint and its drivers be‐
4.1.4. Emission factor method tween China and Japan and explored the impact of economic develop‐
The emission factor method uses emission factors to calculate the ment level on the household carbon footprint.
emissions and determine the carbon footprint of a research object In essence, both economic development and urbanization lead to
(Zhang et al., 2018). Jiang et al. (2020) conducted in-depth research higher household-related carbon emissions, and as the family is the
and analysis on the direct carbon footprint of residents in Inner Mon‐ basic unit of society, the sustainable development of society requires
golia Autonomous Region from 2000 to 2016 based on an IPCC the participation of every family. Therefore, accounting for the car‐
method and a logarithmic mean division index decomposition model. bon footprint of families and analyzing the carbon footprint behavior
Their results showed that energy efficiency and economic develop‐ of residents and families from the perspective of consumption, it
ment are important factors in stimulating residents ’ direct carbon helps guide families to choose healthy and reasonable consumption
footprints. Qiu et al. (2022) established a GHG emission inventory for patterns and encourage low-carbon behaviors such as green travel.
urban sewage treatment plants in five major urban agglomerations in
China from 2015 to 2019 based on the emission factor method. They 4.2.2. Products and industries
conducted an in-depth analysis of the spatiotemporal distribution, per- China is increasingly focusing on the establishment of carbon la‐
capita production, and influencing factors, thus providing basic data bels for products. Multiple industries, such as textiles and clothing,
and a reference for carbon reduction in the sewage treatment indus‐ daily consumer goods, and electrical appliance manufacturing, have
try. The emission factor method is typically used as a basic tool, in begun to promote carbon labels. Moreover, the calculation and evalu‐
conjunction with other methods. Ma et al. (2024) redefined emission ation of products ’ carbon footprints are becoming increasingly com‐

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mon. Liu et al. (2018) constructed a universal carbon-footprint calcu‐ to track the carbon flow and stock changes in global cities and their
lation model and quantified the carbon footprints of household appli‐ potential impacts on future climate change. Considering the inequal‐
ances using a cloud service platform. Luo et al. (2022) conducted car‐ ity and heterogeneity among different regions of the country, Yu et
bon footprints on three types of jeans, and identified garmenting and al. (2023) developed a national energy technology model and a re‐
weaving as key processes and electricity as the main source of carbon gional collaborative emission reduction path optimization model to
emissions. study the carbon emissions and energy consumption paths of each re‐
In addition, enterprises are the producers of products and poten‐ gion, thereby providing a scientific basis for the design of national
tial bearers of carbon emission costs, which makes corporate carbon and local carbon emission dual-control policies.
accounting essential. Zhang et al. (2023) tracked carbon emissions in In short, identifying the factors that influence carbon emissions
the value chain of listed Chinese companies and found that their car‐ and understanding the related mechanisms can help clarify the rela‐
bon footprints showed an increasing trend from 2010 to 2019. Fur‐ tionship between various factors and carbon emissions, and thus re‐
thermore, industry sectors are interconnected from a macroeconomic veal the key development direction. The study of carbon footprint spa‐
perspective; therefore, it is important to analyze the carbon footprint tial patterns can help identify key emission reduction areas for devel‐
of an entire industry. In this regard, Egilmez et al. (2017a) developed oping targeted carbon reduction paths according to the characteristics
a time-series carbon footprint estimation model to analyze the annual of different regions. Overall, carbon footprint analysis at the regional
and cumulative carbon footprints of the US manufacturing industry, and national levels best serves policymaking, as it provides decision-
and thereby identified industries with the highest carbon emissions making reference for accurately implementing “common but differ‐
and carbon-intensive sectors. An evaluation of the entire industry can ent” carbon reduction goals and policies.
reveal the overall characteristics or development trends of the carbon
footprint. Dai et al. (2024) conducted a comprehensive bottom-up as‐ 5. Conclusion and policy implication
sessment of the net GHG emissions of the domestic papermaking in‐
dustry in 30 major countries from 1961 to 2019. Their results This article provides an overview of the literature on carbon foot‐
showed that by 2050, all countries can achieve net zero emissions prints through a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses.
from the pulp and paper-making industry. Lenzen et al. (2018) quan‐ The release of carbon footprint-related standards and policies demon‐
tified the global carbon footprint of the tourism industry and pre‐ strates the global emphasis on carbon footprint accounting. China, in
dicted that it would account for an increasing proportion of global its recent policies, has made systematic arrangements to promote and
GHG emissions. implement further the carbon footprint of key products. A quantita‐
In summary, quantifying a product ’ s carbon footprint can force tive analysis of the literature shows that the number of studies on car‐
companies to manage and improve supply chain sustainability more bon footprints has been continuously increasing over the past decade,
appropriately, and thus prompt them to improve technology and opti‐ with Chinese authors accounting for 21% of the total number of publi‐
mize processes to enhance market competitiveness. An overall analy‐ cations. Appropriate carbon footprint assessment methods can be se‐
sis of the industry can determine the intensity of the carbon footprint lected based on the specific research content. LCA methods are often
and development trends, reveal ways to adjust the industrial structure used to evaluate micro-perspectives, whereas IOA and other methods
from a macro perspective, and encourage various departments to un‐ are often used to evaluate the macro-perspectives of departments, in‐
derstand and manage the carbon footprint and take corresponding dustries, countries, and so on. Both these methods are widely used.
emission reduction measures to promote sustainable development. Mixed LCA evaluation results are relatively more reliable and repre‐
sent an important direction for future development. In terms of the
4.2.3. Regions and countries scope and objects of carbon footprint research, individual and house‐
Regional- and national-level carbon footprint research not only hold carbon footprint research focuses on exploring inequality issues
focuses on carbon emission accounting but also pays greater attention and their drivers. Product and industry carbon footprint research typi‐
to factors affecting carbon emissions, the spatial patterns of carbon cally identifies key processes or sectors from a supply chain perspec‐
footprints, and optimization of carbon reduction pathways. Regarding tive. Meanwhile, regional- and national-level research has mainly ex‐
factors that affect carbon emissions, Bruckner et al. (2022) estab‐ plored spatial development patterns and emission reduction paths of
lished multiple scenarios for studying the impact of poverty reduction the carbon footprint.
on carbon emissions. Their study emphasized the differences between Based on these findings, suggestions for future carbon research
countries, highlighting the need to take action to prevent a significant on footprints are proposed. Firstly, encourage cooperation and ex‐
increase in carbon emissions due to poverty alleviation. Ribeiro et al. change between countries, especially between developed and develop‐
(2019) proposed a general framework to reveal the coupling effect of ing ones, to minimize obstacles caused by unbalanced development
population and density on carbon emissions, showing that emission between regions and countries and establish a framework for jointly
changes related to population density changes not only depend on the addressing the challenges of carbon footprint. Concurrently, reinforce
magnitude of the changes, but also on the initial level of population interdisciplinary cooperation, such as the environment, energy,
density. economy, management, and sociology, to provide more comprehen‐
Furthermore, dynamic information on the spatiotemporal pat‐ sive perspectives and solutions for the formulation and implementa‐
terns of carbon footprint is crucial for formulating effective national tion of policies. Moreover, strengthen data quality and standardiza‐
carbon reduction policies. Zhang et al. (2022) applied an exploratory tion in carbon footprint accounting and develop more accurate and ef‐
spatiotemporal data analysis framework and an improved Tapio de‐ ficient measurement and calculation methods, especially the applica‐
coupling model to analyze the spatial patterns and dynamic spatio‐ tion of artificial intelligence and big data analytics. Additionally, im‐
temporal interactions of China ’ s carbon footprint from 2001 to 2013. prove the carbon footprint system, develop certification and labeling
Yang et al. (2020) mapped the hot spot map of China ’ s carbon foot‐ services, and accelerate the establishment of an online carbon foot‐
print distribution driven by global trade with a high spatial resolution print service platform—this involves accelerating the construction of
of 10 km × 10 km. They found that the export-driven carbon foot‐ a data infrastructure and compiling accurate emission factors that are
print is concentrated in key manufacturing centers such as the Yang‐ in line with the country, province, and even city. Furthermore, it is es‐
tze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and the North China Plain. sential to consider additional factors such as water footprint, land
Chen et al. (2020) revealed the global low-carbon development path use, and energy consumption alongside the carbon footprint to pro‐
of cities from a metabolic perspective, and for the first time combined vide a more comprehensive assessment of sustainability.
the gas carbon footprint derived from physical carbon and fossil fuels

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Disclosure statement of input – output analysis. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 29,
39515–39527.
Jiang, Y.L., Yang, G., Li, H.J., Zhang, T., 2023. Knowledge driven approach for smart
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. bridge maintenance using big data mining. Automation in Construction 146,
104673.
Kong, F.W., Wang, X.N., Tian, X., 2017. Comparative study on carbon emission in con‐
Funding
struction phase between prefabrication and traditional residence based on carbon
emission factor method. Ecological Economy 33(8), 81–84.
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