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When I was pursuing my postgraduate studies in Nanjing, my major was computer science. At that time, I always had an IT dream in my heart – I must become a great programmer after graduation. I never expected that after writing code for half a year, I would switch to carbon emission management and have been doing it for 16 years.
Wu Yan is the general manager of Jiangsu Qingtian Industrial Internet Co., LTD. (hereinafter referred to as “Qingtian Industrial Internet”). Qinggong Internet is a high-tech enterprise dedicated to the digital service field for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Its predecessor was the Low-Carbon Product Business Group established by Qingtian Technology in 2009. When most people were still unfamiliar with the term “carbon emissions”, Wu Yan led a small team to venture into this field. Over the past 16 years, a small team of just a few people has grown into a company with nearly 200 employees, and Qinggong Internet has also become an important force in China’s green and low-carbon transformation wave.
Looking back on this past, Wu Yan smiled and said that everything began with “a stroke of luck”. Along the way, he and his friends have experienced doubts, confusion and many difficult moments. Fortunately, with passion and perseverance, they have continued to write the story.
Part 1 Employee No. 01 001
The story begins on a summer night sixteen years ago.
At that time, Wu Yan had just graduated not long ago and was working as a programmer at Qingtian Technology. He is passionate about technology and enjoys tinkering. He is full of curiosity about new technologies, new businesses and new scenarios. It was precisely because of his perseverance that one day before work, the chairman of the group called him to his office and solemnly entrusted him with a new task – “Tomorrow, you will start doing business related to carbon emissions. This is a very new direction. I believe you young people can do it well.”
Wu Yan recalled with a smile that although he was not familiar with this field, he had always been a smart and adventurous young man. In Nanjing dialect, he was very “jumping”, so he readily agreed. After work, he returned to his rented house and searched the entire Internet for “carbon emissions”, but found no useful information. Looking at the large blank information bar on the computer, he finally became a little panicked.
After a moment’s thought, Wu Yan switched to searching in English, and immediately a lot of relevant information popped up on the screen. After a careful reading, he found that in terms of carbon emission management, foreign countries already have relatively mature systems, while China is still in the earliest stage of exploration. Can one give it a try on a road that no one has ever walked before? With this curiosity, Wu Yan became the “001” employee of the Low-Carbon Products Business Group of Qingtian Technology.
Employee No. 001 sounds rather “arrogant”, but only Wu Yan himself knows how many challenges it implies behind the scenes.
“Saving one kilowatt-hour of electricity is easy for everyone to understand.” But how exactly is it calculated to reduce one ton of carbon emissions, something that is invisible and intangible? Wu Yan said that at that time, everyone’s concept of carbon emissions was very vague and there were no reference materials to draw upon. At that time, the company invited an Irish expert. For the following months, he spent time with this foreign expert in the company’s 203 meeting room.
Why does Europe do this? How did you do it? Why are standard rules formulated in this way? Which parts of a company’s carbon emissions should be included? I’m just like a primary school student, asking questions over and over again every day. Wu Yan said that during that period, he also found the framework agreement issued by the United Nations. The over 1,000-page document became his desk paper, and only then did he gradually build up a complete knowledge system.
After understanding the operational logic of carbon emission management, Wu Yan soon discovered another key issue: the set of standards and rules from abroad were not suitable for direct application in China. “We must find our own path and establish a carbon emission management system that suits China’s actual situation.” ” He sighed. From then on, a new task began.
Part 02 “Paint” a portrait of Carbon
Wuxi is the first city where Wu Yan’s team has put into practice the “Localized urban carbon management system”.
At that time, people did not have a concrete understanding of “carbon management”. After all, it was everywhere. Whether it was driving on the road, holding a meeting, or even drinking water or writing, the presence of “carbon” could be found everywhere in life.
But the direction is clear: To figure out how to manage carbon, the first thing to do is to “take stock” – do carbon accounting, that is, calculate the total amount of carbon emitted by this city. Just like when a person wants to lose weight, they must first know what their original weight is.
For this reason, this young man who was born and raised in Hunan and studied and worked in Nanjing has lived in Wuxi for another two years. During this period, he scrolled through all the gas stations, vehicle management offices, schools, factories and other places in the city, painting a super portrait of all the carbon in this city.
The result is undoubtedly successful, as this system report is not only feasible but also replicable. In the following years, many cities across the country, including Zhenjiang, Qingdao, Yan ‘an, Chongqing and Xinjiang, all developed their own urban carbon management systems, all of which were created by Wu Yan’s team.
After gaining experience on the government side, the enterprise side became the next target for Wu Yan’s team. I thought that with an example already in place, things would go more smoothly, but unexpectedly, there are still many people who don’t understand. Wu Yan said, “When we explain to enterprises why the future competitiveness lies in green and low-carbon development, after we finish, they all say, ‘What you said is quite right, but we don’t need it now. This will happen in two or three decades.'” “
Although business owners are not convinced and some enterprises even find it hard to open their doors, Wu Yan and his team still believe that this is something that needs to be persisted in. “As long as the direction is correct and the product is good enough, everyone will naturally understand.”
Their perseverance saw its value around 2020. At that time, with the proposal of the “dual carbon” goals, green transformation was written into the “roadmap” of enterprise development. Carbon emission management became a key for many enterprises to go global or even enter the industrial chain. Everyone needed a team proficient in carbon management to design related products for themselves.
At this time, Qinggong Internet, which has been deeply involved in the industry for many years, saw a turning point for rapid development, and many enterprises came to it voluntarily.
Part 03: Serving over ten thousand enterprises
Since the market was opened up, in recent years, Wu Yan has led his team to serve over ten thousand enterprises successively, covering more than 10 countries around the world and over 20 provinces in China, and involving key industries such as steel, automobiles, photovoltaic, and chemicals.
You might ask, exactly how do we serve enterprises? Wu Yan stated that in the current context where green and low-carbon development has become a globally recognized key principle, the business logic that enterprises have to confront has also undergone significant changes. For instance, when many products go global, the carbon emissions and carbon footprint levels during their production process have become an important measurement criterion.
For this reason, Qinggong Internet has developed an online system called “Carbon Engine” for small and medium-sized enterprises. Through this product, enterprises can quickly monitor and calculate the carbon emission source data of their products, and obtain carbon reports through the greenhouse gas accounting standard library. If the product is green enough, it can obtain the “carbon neutrality” label, which is an important “pass” for the product to enter the international market.
Not long ago, the upgraded version of Carbon Engine 3.0 was released to the public. This is the latest product that integrates AI technology into carbon footprint calculation. Wu Yan introduced that this product is similar to DeepSeek in the “dual carbon” field. Enterprises only need to input their various demands or questions in the chat box, and they can quickly obtain a clear carbon footprint report for their products to go global.
In addition, Wu Yan’s team has specially launched the world’s first carbon metering edge all-in-one machine for factories. They put the “knowledge system” of carbon management into a small box. Factories with data confidentiality requirements only need to connect to the internal network to use and monitor carbon emission data in real time, which is both safe and convenient.
At present, Qinggong Internet has established a full-process digital service system covering multiple scenarios such as carbon footprint accounting, green supply chain management, and green overseas expansion. Its annual output value can achieve a high growth rate.
Not only that, Wu Yan has also led his team to undertake a series of national and provincial-level key projects, including the National Carbon Market Information Management Platform, the National Carbon Factor Database, and the Jiangsu Province Carbon Footprint Public Service Platform, effectively enhancing the competitive position and say of “Made in China” in the global green trade system.
Having switched from a master’s degree in computer science to the green and low-carbon field, Wu Yan has been working there for 16 years. If you ask what has kept him going until now, “passion” has always been his top priority.
“This is a valuable and meaningful thing. I do it with great certainty and confidence.” ” In the interview, he admitted that along the way, there were moments of success and glory as well as moments of depression and confusion. There are external doubts as well as public recognition.
However, the support from his family and the company of his team have also added layer upon layer of “protective shields” to his “passion”. In the future, he will continue to walk firmly on this path, just like that summer night 16 years ago, full of curiosity and courage.
