Establishing a green certification system for express packaging is of great significance in promoting the green development of the express packaging industry.

Data shows that China's express delivery industry consumes more than 9 million tons of paper waste and about 1.8 million tons of plastic waste annually, with a rapid growth trend. "Reuse" as an important way to reduce express delivery waste is receiving increasing attention from all sectors of society.

Currently, China Post has set up packaging waste recycling devices at more than 11,000 business outlets; SF Express has set up standard express packaging waste recycling devices at 18,000 outlets and carries out packaging recycling in 40 regions; JD.com has set up express packaging recycling devices at nearly 30% of its outlets, and has recycled and reused 150 million cartons so far. Bian Zuodong, Deputy Director of the Market Supervision Department of the National Postal Administration, stated that recycling express packaging boxes is an important way to develop green express delivery, and hopes that users will recycle and reuse basically intact cartons as much as possible to make full use of resources.

Establishing a green product certification system for express packaging is of great significance in promoting the green development of the express packaging industry. Quality certification is a fundamental system to strengthen quality management and improve market efficiency under market economy conditions, and is also an important governance tool to promote supply-side structural reform and lead high-quality development. Its essential attribute is "conveying trust and serving development," vividly called the "physical examination certificate" of quality management, the "letter of credit" of the market economy, and the "passport" of international trade. The "Overall Plan for Ecological Civilization System Reform" by the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and the State Council General Office's "Opinions on Establishing a Unified Green Product Standard, Certification, and Labeling System" clearly regard green product certification as an important means to promote green, low-carbon, and circular development, cultivate a green product system, and foster a green market.

Besides the reuse of express packaging boxes, how to reduce excessive packaging of express parcels is also a key point that green express delivery urgently needs to improve. Consumers may have some intuitive feelings about excessive packaging, such as a small ornament only a few centimeters long having to be unpacked from layers of plastic bubble wrap, with the packaging weight often exceeding the product itself. The express packaging people commonly encounter mainly consists of cartons, plastic bags, fillers, and transparent tape. The production of cartons consumes a large amount of wood; plastic bags, fillers, and transparent tape are mostly buried or incinerated, causing great environmental pressure.

"Overall, the situation of excessive packaging is gradually improving within the industry, and green, simple express packaging and labels are being promoted step by step," said a relevant person in charge of ZTO Express. Taking ZTO Express as an example, the current usage rate of electronic waybills across the network exceeds 99.9%, reducing paper consumption by 80% compared to traditional waybills; the traditional 48mm tape has been replaced by "slim tape" under 45mm, with a sealing ratio over 90%; more than 6.37 million RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chip-enabled recyclable transit bags are in use, and full coverage of recyclable transit bags across the network is expected by the end of 2020.

Hou Yanbo, Deputy Director and Second-Level Inspector of the Office of the National Postal Administration, stated that this year the National Postal Administration proposed the "9572" project, aiming to achieve by the end of 2020 a 90% sealing ratio with "slim tape" under 45mm, a 70% rate of no secondary packaging for e-commerce parcels, a 90% usage rate of recyclable transit bags, and the addition of 20,000 postal and courier outlets equipped with standard packaging waste recycling devices.

By the end of August, the national sealing ratio with "slim tape" reached 94.3%, the rate of no secondary packaging for e-commerce parcels reached 68.5%, the usage rate of recyclable transit bags reached 87.2%, and 35,000 new postal and courier outlets were equipped with standard packaging recycling boxes. Hou Yanbo pointed out that there is no doubt that the year-end goals will be fully achieved at this pace, which also represents a significant improvement in the "green packaging" level of the express delivery industry.

To further promote the green development of the express packaging industry and increase the supply of green products, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Postal Administration have actively promoted the establishment of a green product certification system for express packaging to support the industry's green development.

On October 30, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Postal Administration jointly issued the "Express Packaging Green Product Certification Catalog (First Batch)" and the "Express Packaging Green Product Certification Rules" in the form of a joint announcement, officially implementing the green product certification system for express packaging.

According to Bo Yumin, Deputy Director of the Certification Supervision Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation, the first batch of the express packaging green certification catalog prioritized 10 products widely used in the express industry, such as packaging boxes and tapes, and evaluated them based on the "Technical Requirements for Express Packaging Green Product Certification" from aspects of resources, energy, environment, and quality.

"Express packaging products that obtain green certification mean they meet characteristics such as resource saving, environmental harmlessness, and consumer friendliness. For example, they use natural, degradable, or recyclable raw materials, strictly control heavy metal content, have no irritating odor, can be reused multiple times, use less tape, and are recyclable," said Bo Yumin. Taking common paper express packaging boxes as an example, packaging boxes certified as green products must use recycled paper or recycled plant fibers as base materials, strictly control the content of metals like lead and mercury, use designs such as buckles or zippers for sealing with little or no tape, meet national and industry standards for odor, and use environmentally friendly water-based inks with printing area not exceeding specified proportions.

To implement the relevant spirit of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on the green development of the express packaging industry, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Postal Administration jointly promoted the green product certification system for express packaging. This system is an important part of China's unified green product certification system. Establishing and implementing green product certification for express packaging is an inevitable requirement for practicing the green development concept and for enterprises to fulfill social responsibility; it is an important measure to increase the supply of green express packaging products and improve supply quality and efficiency; it is an effective way to promote the green transformation and upgrading and high-quality development of the express packaging industry. Currently, implementing green certification for express packaging is the first of its kind internationally. As a major manufacturing, exporting, and logistics country, China taking the lead in promoting green product certification for express packaging is also an important demonstration of China’s active fulfillment of international emission reduction commitments and its responsibility as a major country, providing a Chinese solution to promote the green development of the global express packaging industry. China will also actively contribute its excellent practices to the international mutual recognition system.

With the implementation of the green product certification system for express packaging, it is believed that consumers will soon see express packaging products such as envelopes, cartons, bags, and waybills printed with green product labels when sending and receiving parcels. 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 China to practice green development.