As global climate change worsens, governments worldwide are stepping up efforts to control carbon emissions by introducing carbon pricing mechanisms. These include emissions trading systems and carbon taxes, aiming to turn corporate carbon emissions into measurable economic costs under regulation.

The purpose of carbon pricing mechanisms is to limit carbon emissions through economic means, using pricing to control quantity and closely linking carbon flows with financial flows. As the global carbon market gradually matures, the trend of carbon being priced and monetized has made carbon management an essential aspect of business operations. Carbon emissions are no longer merely an environmental issue but have become a key economic factor that directly affects an enterprise’s financial performance.

To assess the impact of climate change on enterprises and develop effective response strategies, digitalization will play a crucial role. Through the application of technology and innovation, enterprises can more accurately track and manage carbon emissions, thereby improving operational efficiency and sustainability performance. The integration of digital transformation and sustainable development will be a key strategy for enterprises to maintain a leading position in the future market.

As global regulations on carbon emissions disclosure become increasingly stringent, the scope of corporate carbon management responsibilities is no longer limited to emissions directly related to production and operations (Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions). Instead, it is expanding to include indirect emissions generated by upstream and downstream activities across the supply chain. Scope 3 emissions primarily cover all indirect activities, such as emissions from suppliers' production, product logistics, product use, and disposal. These emissions are extremely broad and complex, making it challenging to apply a single calculation standard. For enterprises, they represent a critical but difficult-to-track source of emissions.

However, relying on manual carbon data management comes with many drawbacks and risks, including a high risk of data entry errors, low efficiency, challenges in keeping data updated in real time, and difficulties in processing large volumes of data, which can ultimately affect the company’s sustainability strategies.

As a result, more enterprises are adopting emerging carbon management Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms to calculate and manage their emissions. SaaS providers are also rapidly emerging. However, as competition intensifies, the services and technologies offered by these providers are becoming increasingly homogeneous, making it difficult to achieve differentiation and customization.

ASUS Group, as a multinational corporation, operates across a global business landscape, encompassing 122 subsidiaries and 800 suppliers. According to the latest annual greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory results, more than 90% of the emissions are attributed to Scope 3. The emissions under Scope 3 cover an extensive and complex range, indicating that the company must expand its management scope and gain deeper insights into the complete upstream and downstream carbon emissions across its supply chain. Furthermore, the collection, verification, and analysis of the vast amount of carbon data generated throughout the entire value chain present significant challenges in execution and management. To improve carbon management efficiency, ASUS needs to build a customizable and comprehensive carbon data platform to effectively monitor its own and its suppliers' carbon emissions. 

ASUS has developed a "Digital x Net-Zero Twin Transformation Three-Phase Roadmap" with the goal of leveraging digital platforms, advanced data application modules, and AI- empowered data insights, enhance the collection and analysis of more detailed activity data, and enable data-driven decision-making for data-driven measurement and technology-enabled management. The three-phase roadmap includes:

• Phase 1: Developing a digital platform with data trust and customization capabilities
• Phase 2: Developing Advanced Data Application Modules
• Phase 3: AI Empowerment

Phase 1: Developing a digital platform with data trust and customization capabilities

The ASUS Carbon Data Management Platform is built on a cloud-based architecture. Its core capabilities cover the collection, consolidation, and governance of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data, enabling subsidiaries and suppliers to systematically complete GHG inventories and conduct day-to-day self-management. Proactively aligning with international carbon accounting trends, the platform is fully consistent with the GHG Protocol methodology. It supports inventories of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from a company’s own operations, as well as all 15 categories of Scope 3 emissions across the value chain. In addition, it offers one-click generation of inventory registers and formal GHG inventory reports to help subsidiaries and suppliers efficiently complete third-party verification.

At the advanced application level, the platform enables multi-dimensional data analytics and decision-making, and supports product carbon footprint calculation and decarbonization target management. By importing bills of materials (BOM), revenue reports, and using automated optical character recognition (OCR) to extract key information from third-party test reports, the platform significantly accelerates the calculation of complete product carbon footprints. With visual dashboards, it can quickly identify critical suppliers and emission hotspots, helping enterprises formulate precise decarbonization strategies and supply chain management strategies.

Our platform has also undergone Agreed-Upon Procedures (AUP) assurance by an independent third-party verification body on its system processes. Every carbon data record generated by the platform is calculated in accordance with ISO 14064, ISO 14067, and GHG Protocol standards, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the carbon data computation process.
 

Phase 2: Developing Advanced Data Application modules

In alignment with international trends, the ASUS carbon data management platform focuses on addressing common carbon management challenges faced by enterprises. Data analysis application modules have been developed to target these pain points, including:

• WBCSD PACT Data Exchange Mechanism
• CBAM Reporting and Financial Analysis
• Internal Carbon Pricing
• Optimization of Renewable Energy Procurement Cost-Effectiveness
• SBT Carbon Reduction Pathway Simulation

Through in-depth analysis and application of carbon data, these modules help enterprises manage their emissions more precisely.
 

Case 1: WBCSD PACT Carbon Data Exchange Mechanism

The Partnership for Carbon Transparency (PACT), established by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), is an international standard for carbon data exchange. PACT provides consistent definitions and exchange standards for primary data and product carbon footprint calculations, enabling enterprises and suppliers to share standardized carbon footprint data. This improves the authenticity, accuracy, and efficiency of carbon data exchange, addressing challenges such as the lack of standardization, inconsistent calculation methods, and the absence of trusted exchange mechanisms.

ASUS has integrated the WBCSD PACT data exchange mechanism into its carbon data management platform and has successfully completed primary data exchanges with our suppliers. Furthermore, the platform has earned official certification from WBCSD as a PACT-compliant digital solution.
 

Case 2: CBAM Reporting and Financial Analysis

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is an EU policy designed to prevent carbon leakage and encourage global carbon reduction efforts by regulating the import of carbon-intensive products into the EU. 

The CBAM calculation and reporting process is complex, requiring data collection and calculation for regulated materials as defined by CBAM, which differs from the common ISO 14067 product carbon footprint calculation definitions. It necessitates tracking energy inputs at each stage of production, carbon footprints of regulated material precursors (raw materials), and involves multiple layers of the supply chain. This process even requires tracing back to the end raw material manufacturers, presenting new challenges for ASUS and its suppliers. 

The CBAM Reporting and Analysis Module within the ASUS carbon data management platform localizes technical terms and definitions into Chinese, making it easier for suppliers to understand. Through the platform, suppliers can quickly submit reports, with automatic verification and error-prevention mechanisms ensuring that the reported emissions align with CBAM definitions. Additionally, the module consolidates and analyzes the carbon competitiveness of suppliers across the entire supply chain, providing key parameters for future supplier evaluations. It also offers precise assessments of how CBAM taxes will impact product cost structures, helping drive suppliers to implement emission reduction strategies to mitigate potential tax burdens.
 

Phase 3: AI Empowerment

ASUS integrates Generative AI engines into the platform, leveraging the synergy between Generative AI and existing digital technologies to enhance the application of carbon management data. It further provides user-friendly interfaces such as a AI-powered service Chatbots, and AI-based emission factor recommendation, to assist users with GHG inventory data entry and carbon knowledge support, fully realizing the concept of AI empowerment.


 

Data Empowerment - Agile, Precise Decision-Making & Value Creation

By utilizing the platform’s data analysis capabilities, enterprises can move beyond intuition-based or experience-driven decision-making, relying instead on data-driven insights tailored to their specific needs., such as adopting renewable energy or recycled materials. This flexibility helps enterprises dynamically adjust their supply chain strategies to meet increasingly stringent environmental regulations.

Through AI, the platform can instantly analyze large volumes of sustainability-related carbon data, gaining deeper insights and developing comprehensive carbon management strategies. This ensures enterprises can make fast, accurate decisions to stay competitive and agile in response to the rapidly evolving global carbon landscape.

The platform has officially commenced operations. By continuously accumulating data and effectively optimizing the user experience of the platform, it will become a comprehensive carbon management solution (Total Solution) that can be directly adopted by external enterprises, assisting them in their transition to net zero.


 

Vision for the Future - Building a PaaS Ecosystem

The platform and its associated services become essential solutions for achieving this twin transformation. They effectively reduce the risks associated with the monetization of carbon emissions. Beyond facilitating carbon audits and data management, the platform empowers businesses through data-driven insights, fostering long-term competitive advantages and unlocking future business opportunities.

As Generative AI technology continues to advance, it will unlock new possibilities and services in sustainability management. ASUS envisions building a Platform as a Service (PaaS) ecosystem, encouraging value chain partners to adopt its carbon data management platform and diverse sustainability services. This strategy will foster a robust PaaS ecosystem, promoting collaborative efforts toward sustainable management and accelerating progress toward net-zero goals across the entire value chain.