Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs

What Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs does

Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE, 公众环境研究中心) is a Beijing-based non-profit environmental research organization founded in 2006 that builds and operates China's most comprehensive open environmental data infrastructure. Its flagship product, the Blue Map (蔚蓝地图) platform, integrates multiple digital maps covering air quality, water quality, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, plastic recycling, supply chain accountability, and renewable energy assets, alongside mobile application functionality and citizen science campaigns. The technical core combines environmental data aggregation, IT and mapping technologies, and analytical tooling such as a Corporate GHG Emissions Accounting Platform (covering 24 industries under PRC GHG accounting guidelines), a Product Carbon Footprint Accounting Platform aligned with GHG Protocol, PAS 2050, and ISO 14067, and a Company Carbon Target Setting Tool built on SBTi methodology.

IPE monetizes primarily through professional research and advisory services and platform/data services, publishing proprietary evaluation indices — most notably the Pollution Information Transparency Index (PITI) with NRDC, the Green Supply Chain CITI Index, the Corporate Climate Action CATI Index, the City Green and Low-Carbon Transparency Index (CGTI), and the Chinese Provincial and City Carbon Peak & Carbon Neutrality Indices (PCNI, CCNI). As a non-profit, it does not publicly disclose pricing; funding appears to derive from foundation grants, government and institutional partnerships (Energy Foundation, Vanke Foundation, UNDP, NRDC, CDP, CRAES, ICCT), and engagement with corporate and financial institution clients using its data for ESG assessment, supply chain decarbonization, and green credit evaluation. Its customer base spans global brands and their Chinese suppliers (LUXSHARE-ICT, Puma, Primark, LONGi, Jinko Solar, Tongwei), financial institutions, Chinese listed companies subject to mandatory disclosure, government agencies, and the general public via the Blue Map APP.

Name

Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs

Legal name

Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE)

Website

https://wwwen.ipe.org.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) is a Beijing-based non-profit founded in 2006 that operates the Blue Map environmental data platform, providing corporate carbon accounting tools, supply chain transparency indices, and citizen science tools to brands, financial institutions, regulators, and the public across China.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental and ESG Data Analytics Software

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (541620)

akta.pro primary industry

Emissions Factors, LCA & Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Platforms (EUABAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Environmental Monitoring, Data & Reporting (Air/Water/Soil) (BPAIAMAC)

Keywords

• Environmental data platform
• ESG data services
• Carbon accounting software
• Supply chain transparency
• Corporate climate indexes

Headquarters

HQ city

Beijing

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Research and Advisory Services: IPE generates revenue through publishing research reports, conducting evaluations (CATI, CITI indices), and providing data services to corporations, financial institutions, and government agencies seeking environmental and climate data analysis
2. Platform and Data Services: The organization provides environmental data infrastructure, carbon management tools, and digital solutions to enterprises and financial institutions for ESG performance tracking, carbon accounting, and supply chain decarbonization

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) operates the Blue Map environmental information platform, aggregating official pollution, emissions, and compliance records to publish searchable digital maps and corporate ESG/climate performance databases. It sells corporate and financial-institution access to these databases, provides climate and supply-chain research and advisory services, and produces ranking indexes such as CITI, CATI, CGTI, PCNI, and CCNI that benchmark corporate environmental and climate performance.

Product overview

IPE operates the Blue Map environmental data platform as its primary product, which functions as a comprehensive digital infrastructure combining multiple environmental mapping tools (Air Quality Map, Water Map, Carbon/Zero Carbon Map, Biodiversity Map, Corporate Map, Solar Map, Wind Power Map, Transportation Carbon Emission Map, Plastic Recycling Map, Green Supply Chain Map). The platform includes three core analytical tools: the Corporate GHG Emissions Accounting Platform, the Product Carbon Footprint Accounting Platform (with associated Products Carbon Footprint Factors Database), and the Company Carbon Target Setting Tool. IPE also develops and publishes multiple evaluation indices including the Green Supply Chain CITI Index, Corporate Climate Action CATI Index, City Green and Low-Carbon Transparency Index (CGTI), Chinese Provincial Carbon Peak & Carbon Neutrality Index (PCNI), and Chinese City Carbon Peak & Carbon Neutrality Index (CCNI). The Blue Map mobile application incorporates AI capabilities for Q&A and species identification, supporting citizen participation campaigns for environmental monitoring.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Blue Map (蔚蓝地图): IPE's flagship environmental data platform providing maps and digital tools for air quality, water quality, carbon emissions, biodiversity, and supply chain tracking.

Products and services

• Blue Map Environmental Information Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 80,000 enterprises tracked for environmental information disclosure compliance
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered key and core.

• International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)keyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025ICCT provided support for developing the 'Shipper Company Green Logistics CATI Index' in 2025 to guide shipper companies in focusing on and reducing carbon emissions in logistics activities.
• United Nations Development Program (UNDP)keyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Provided support for developing the 'Plastic Recycling Map' and promoting plastic circularity and plastic pollution control through multi-stakeholder participation.
• Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint development of City Green and Low Carbon Transparency Index (CGTI), Chinese Provincial Carbon Peak & Carbon Neutrality Index (PCNI), and Chinese City Carbon Peak & Carbon Neutrality Index (CCNI). Ongoing collaboration on climate action research and China's pragmatic actions to address climate change reports.
• Vanke FoundationkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint development of waste map and 'Snapshot Lightens Up Neighborhood Garbage Sorting' campaign launched in May 2020 to promote waste separation systems in 46 key cities in China.
• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership since 2008 for developing and releasing Pollution Information Transparency Index (PITI) evaluations for Chinese cities, establishing baseline performance on environmental transparency.
• CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Supply Chain Climate Action SCTI Index, evaluating GHG emissions management of brands and companies. Released joint reports in 2018, 2019, and ongoing collaboration on climate disclosure standards.
• WildAidkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint launch of 'Climate Action' campaign on Blue Map APP to enable the public to learn about climate change and join climate actions through daily life activities.
• Energy FoundationkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided technical guidance and support for developing the City Green Synergy Index and public participation platform for evaluating urban green and low-carbon transition.
• Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution VictimskeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-stakeholder monitoring of legally mandated corporate environmental information disclosure progress. Organizations track disclosure rate and compliance since February 2023.
• Lvse Jiangnan (Green Jiangnan)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental NGO partner in multi-stakeholder monitoring of mandatory corporate environmental information disclosure. Co-released Photovoltaic Enterprise Environment and Low-Carbon Evaluation Report 2025.
• China Forum of Environmental JournalistskeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnder guidance of this forum, launched multiple public participation campaigns including 'Environmental Protection at Your Fingertips', biodiversity snapshot campaign, and plastic reduction initiatives.
• Friends of the Earth (HK)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research team with CRAES and IPE published 'China's Pragmatic Actions to Address Global Climate Change' report analyzing China's ten major climate actions and carbon peaking/neutrality commitment.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Watershed: Enterprise carbon accounting platform with deep measurement, reporting, and verification capabilities. Competes with IPE's product carbon footprint and corporate GHG accounting tools in the commercial market.
• Persefoni: Commercial carbon accounting and climate management platform serving enterprises. Comparable to IPE's Corporate GHG Emissions Accounting Platform but commercial, SaaS-based, and globally focused.
• South Pole Group: Global climate solutions provider offering carbon advisory, climate data, and supply chain decarbonization services — directly comparable to IPE's CATI/CITI supply chain evaluation work.

Direct peers

• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Long-standing IPE partner since 2008 for the PITI city-level environmental transparency index. NRDC and IPE share the same environmental NGO mission with overlapping methods for environmental information disclosure and accountability.
• Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi): SBTi provides the methodology that powers IPE's Carbon Target Setting Tool. Both organizations enable corporate science-based decarbonization target-setting, with SBTi operating globally and IPE localizing the methodology for Chinese SMEs.
• CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project): Global non-profit running the leading carbon and environmental disclosure system; IPE and CDP co-developed the Supply Chain Climate Action SCTI Index. CDP serves as IPE's most direct international counterpart in supply chain environmental disclosure.
• Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES): Government-affiliated research institute co-developing CGTI, PCNI, and CCNI indices with IPE. Closest public-sector peer for environmental data analytics and policy-driven climate indices in China.

Regional players

• Friends of Nature (中国自然之友): One of China's oldest environmental NGOs operating domestically on environmental protection, advocacy, and public participation — overlapping IPE's public engagement mission in the Chinese market.

Broad incumbents

• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): Global environmental consulting firm offering sustainability, climate, and ESG advisory services. Comparable to IPE's research and advisory services arm but operating commercially worldwide.
• S&P Global Trucost: Commercial ESG and carbon data division of S&P Global serving institutional investors. Comparable to IPE's corporate environmental performance tracking but operating commercially with global investor-grade data products.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs