[New Qualification] United Intelligence Industry Obtains Three More Green Product Certification Qualifications

Currently, China's green product certification catalog includes 15 categories of products (artificial boards and wooden flooring, coatings, sanitary ceramics, architectural glass, solar water heating systems, furniture, insulation materials, waterproof and sealing materials, ceramic tiles (plates), textile products, wood-plastic products, paper and paper products, plastic products, detergents, express packaging materials), among which artificial boards and wooden flooring, coatings, sanitary ceramics, architectural glass, insulation materials, waterproof and sealing materials, ceramic tiles (plates), and wood-plastic products are related to the building materials field.

So, what is the difference between building material products in green product certification and green building material product certification? Simply put:

1. Policy Background

Green product certification is a voluntary product certification system promoted by the state based on the "Overall Plan for Ecological Civilization System Reform by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council" and the "Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Establishing a Unified System of Green Product Standards, Certification, and Labeling."

Green building material product certification is a tiered certification system jointly launched by the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

2. Labeling

According to Document No. 20 of 2019 from the State Administration for Market Regulation, "Measures for the Administration of the Use of Green Product Labels":

Green product certification belongs to Certification Activity One, referring to the certification activities conducted by certification bodies on products listed in the national unified green product certification catalog, based on the standards in the green product evaluation standard list, following the green product certification rules uniformly formulated and issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation. The label is

Green building material product certification belongs to Certification Activity Two, referring to the certification system jointly promoted by the State Administration for Market Regulation and relevant departments of the State Council involving green attributes such as resources, energy, environment, and quality (e.g., environmental protection, energy saving, water saving, recycling, low carbon, regeneration, organic, restriction on harmful substances, hereinafter referred to as green attributes). Certification bodies conduct certification activities according to the certification rules and evaluation basis specified by the relevant system. The label is

3. Certificate Validity Period

The validity period of the green product certification certificate is 5 years, and the certificate's validity is maintained through annual supervision and inspection.

The validity period of the green building material product certificate is 3 years. If continued use is required after expiration, a reapplication must be submitted before the expiration date.

4. Certificate Renewal

According to the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Standards, Certification, and Labeling of Green Building Material Products" (Document No. 544 [2017] of the National Quality Inspection and Certification Union) and the "Notice of the General Offices of the State Administration for Market Regulation, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Issuing the Implementation Plan for Green Building Material Product Certification" (Document No. 61 [2019] of the Certification and Accreditation Administration), green building materials implement tiered evaluation certification from low to high as one, two, and three stars. Building materials certified according to the national green product evaluation standards within the certification catalog are equivalent to three-star green building material evaluation; for building materials included in the unified standard list and certification catalog that meet relevant requirements, green product certification is conducted according to the unified green product certification system. Building materials that have obtained the three-star green building material evaluation label can renew the green product certification certificate within the certificate validity period.