Green certification of express packaging brings opportunities for high-quality development of enterprises

China is a major country in express delivery and packaging. Green governance of express packaging is an inherent requirement for industry transformation, upgrading, and sustainable development. The guiding opinions previously issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation and seven other departments clearly stated that by 2022, mandatory national standards for harmless express packaging materials should be formulated and implemented, basically establishing a comprehensive, focused, and well-structured green packaging standard system for express delivery. Previously, the "9571" and "9792" projects promoted green governance of express packaging, but the lack of authoritative green certification and unified labeling became bottlenecks.

Against this backdrop, green certification is the current focus. The first batch of green product evaluation standards and certification catalogs released in 2018 included 12 categories such as furniture and building materials in the initial green product certification and labeling system. This time, including express packaging in the green product certification scope will further promote government procurement's trust in certification results. Applying for green certification not only helps companies proactively resolve passive situations but also brings tangible benefits.

Green certification is a quality certification. Express packaging that obtains green certification means it meets characteristics such as resource saving, environmental harmlessness, and consumer friendliness, serving as a "health check certificate" for enterprise quality management. It not only proves that the products provided by the company are green and healthy but also that they are of the highest quality. For packaging manufacturers, quality inspections by third-party organizations also help promptly address discovered issues and continuously improve packaging quality.

From a broader perspective, as a major manufacturing and exporting country, China taking the lead in implementing green product certification for express packaging is an important demonstration of actively fulfilling international emission reduction commitments and showing great power responsibility, providing a Chinese solution to promote green development in the global express packaging industry.

To implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on green governance of express packaging, promote green development in the express packaging industry, and increase the supply of green products, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the State Post Bureau actively promote the establishment of a green product certification system for express packaging to support the industry's green development.

Focus on the top-level design of the green product certification system for express packaging Combining the development status of the express packaging industry, after comprehensive research and extensive adoption of opinions, on March 25 this year, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the State Post Bureau issued the "Implementation Opinions on Carrying out Green Product Certification for Express Packaging." According to the "Implementation Opinions," the State Administration for Market Regulation and the State Post Bureau, following the principles of "unified management, joint regulation, government guidance, and market operation," strengthen coordination and management according to departmental responsibilities and jointly organize and promote green product certification for express packaging.

Accelerate the implementation of the green product certification system for express packaging. On October 30, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the State Post Bureau jointly announced the "Green Product Certification Catalog for Express Packaging (First Batch)" and the "Green Product Certification Rules for Express Packaging," officially implementing the green product certification system for express packaging.

The first batch of the green certification catalog for express packaging prioritized 10 products widely used in the express industry, such as packaging boxes and adhesive tapes. The certification rules clarify the standards and certification models on which certification is based and optimize arrangements to reduce certification costs.

Certification bodies engaged in green product certification for express packaging shall be legally established and, according to certification business needs, entrust testing institutions with corresponding qualifications to carry out related testing activities. Certification bodies and testing institutions shall respectively establish traceability mechanisms for the entire certification and testing process to ensure traceability of all links and results.

Strengthen effective supervision and trust application of the green product certification system for express packaging. Market supervision departments at all levels shall strengthen supervision and management of green product certification activities and results for express packaging according to laws, regulations, and rules; postal management departments at all levels shall actively promote the trust of green express packaging certification results, inspect and urge the industry's trust and application, fully leverage the role of quality certification, and serve green governance and green development of express packaging.

With the implementation of the green product certification system for express packaging, we believe that soon when sending or receiving express deliveries, we will see express packaging products such as envelopes, boxes, bags, and waybills printed with green product labels. At the same time, express packaging bearing the China Green Product label will carry Chinese-made export goods to all parts of the world, and the green label will become an important carrier for us to practice green development.