Theory and practice of enterprise carbon asset management from the perspective of low-carbon transformation

Effective carbon asset management is necessary for decreasing carbon resource inputs and reducing carbon emission. Furthermore, carbon asset management is an important measure to realize low-carbon transformation and low-carbon competitiveness for enterprises. However, a systematic theoretical framework and an effective management method for carbon asset management are lacking. Therefore, the paper defines carbon assets as tangible and intangible assets that can help reduce carbon emission and create low-carbon value based on the essence of carbon resources. In order to demonstrate a carbon asset's positive role in reducing carbon emission, the paper constructs carbon asset management indicators including carbon fund turnover ratio, carbon emission rate, carbon turnover ratio, carbon technology transformation efficiency and fixed carbon asset profitability. The carbon asset management practice of Bao Steel Corporation shows that the indicator system can accurately reflect the efficiency and effect of carbon asset management. That is, carbon fund turnover ratio can reflect a carbon fund's utilization efficiency; carbon emission rate reflects the carbon materials’ different effects on carbon emission; carbon turnover ratio reflects the profit of carbon trading; fixed carbon asset profitability reflects the low-carbon earning power to some degree; and carbon technology transformation efficiency reflects the maturity of low-carbon technology. However, with carbon asset management in the forefront of the carbon accounting field, some issues, including the nature of the carbon asset, management pattern and comparative analysis of more cases, need to be explored in future research to deepen the understanding of the essence of carbon asset management.