Congratulations to United Intelligence Certification Company for having its technical paper published in the authoritative journal "China Certification and Accreditation".

Recently, the technical paper "Differences and Connections between Green Product Certification and Green Building Material Product Certification," primarily authored by Li Lingling, a technical backbone of the Quality Management Department at Beijing United Zhiyie Certification Co., Ltd., was published in "China Certification and Accreditation" Journal Issue 5 of 2022. At the same time, this paper was also reposted by several official public accounts including China Certification and Accreditation, the Carbon Neutrality Special Committee, and the CCMSA Testing and Certification Branch.

"China Certification and Accreditation" is a journal jointly sponsored by the National Certification and Accreditation Administration and the China Certification and Accreditation Association, and it has been selected as a "Double Effect" journal in the China Journal Matrix.

Author Profile:

Li Lingling, a technical backbone of the Quality Management Department at United Zhiyie Certification Company, majored in Materials Processing Engineering and holds a master's degree. She entered the certification and accreditation industry in 2015, engaging in IATF 16949 automotive quality management system certification, accreditation, and quality management. Since 2019, she has been involved in service certification, management system certification, product certification research and development, training, personnel registration management, and capability evaluation. After joining Beijing United Zhiyie Certification Co., Ltd., she served as a research and development specialist in the Quality Management Department, responsible for the research, development, and training of green product certification and green building material product certification. During this period, her article "Differences and Connections between Green Product Certification and Green Building Material Product Certification" was included in the "China Certification and Accreditation" magazine.

The technical team of United Zhiyie Certification Company is supported by a strong group of industry experts and think tanks, providing service solutions for the entire industry chain in segmented markets. With over twenty years of deep industry experience, they have accumulated rich technical expertise covering all conventional industries. Through professional technical institution problem diagnosis, they offer "one enterprise, one policy" tailored assistance solutions to help enterprises improve management levels and capabilities, achieve product and service quality enhancement, effectively support enterprise improvement, facilitate industry resource flow, maintain good cooperative relationships with major associations, and have signed strategic cooperation agreements.

Below is the detailed content of this technical paper, shared for communication and exchange.

Differences and Connections between Green Product Certification and Green Building Material Product Certification

Both green product certification and green building material product certification belong to the national voluntary product certification system, which has attracted widespread attention in society. The national voluntary product certification system refers to certification projects implemented by certification bodies approved and qualified by the national certification and accreditation industry management department, following "unified certification standards, implementation rules, and certification procedures."

Introduction to the Green Product Certification System

Policy Background

In September 2015, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Overall Plan for Ecological Civilization System Reform," proposing to "establish a unified green product system, integrating currently separately established environmental protection, energy-saving, water-saving, recycling, low-carbon, renewable, organic, and other products into green products, and establish a unified system of green product standards, certification, and labeling."

In November 2016, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Establishing a Unified System of Green Product Standards, Certification, and Labeling," proposing to "unify the connotation and evaluation methods of green products, build a unified system of green product standards, certification, and labeling, and implement a unified list of green product standards and certification catalog."

In September 2017, the "Guiding Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Carrying out Quality Improvement Actions" mentioned in "Breaking the Bottleneck of Quality Improvement" to "improve the third-party quality evaluation system, carry out high-end quality certification, promote the quality evaluation from pursuing 'pass rate' to pursuing 'satisfaction,'" "accelerate the establishment of a unified system of green product standards, certification, and labeling," and "establish a quality grading system, advocate quality with premium price, and guide and protect enterprises' enthusiasm for quality innovation and improvement."

Certification Scope, Evaluation Standards, Certification Rules

In April 2018, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the first batch of green product evaluation standard lists and certification catalogs, covering 12 categories of products. Among them, artificial boards and wood flooring, coatings, sanitary ceramics, architectural glass, insulation materials, waterproof and sealing materials, and ceramic tiles (slabs) belong to building materials; solar water heating systems belong to renewable energy; furniture, textile products, wood-plastic products, paper, and paper products belong to light industry products.

In March 2020, the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) issued the "Announcement on Qualification Conditions for Green Product Certification Bodies and the First Batch of Certification Implementation Rules." The announcement requires: "Certification bodies applying for green product certification must be legally established, meet the basic conditions stipulated in the 'Certification and Accreditation Regulations' and 'Certification Body Management Measures,' and possess technical capabilities suitable for green product certification." "Certification bodies with qualification conditions may apply to CNAS within the scope of the first batch of green product certification catalogs, and upon approval, carry out green product certification according to the corresponding implementation rules."

In December 2020, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the "Announcement on the Second Batch of Green Product Evaluation Standard Lists," involving three major categories of products: plastic products, detergents, and express packaging products.

In June 2021, CNAS issued the "Announcement on the Implementation Rules of Green Product Certification." CNAS revised the first batch of green product certification implementation rules for 12 products including "Green Product Certification Implementation Rules for Artificial Boards and Wood Flooring" and formulated two second batch green product certification implementation rules: "Green Product Certification Implementation Rules for Plastic Products" and "Green Product Certification Implementation Rules for Detergents." Table 1 shows the green product evaluation standard lists, certification catalogs, and certification implementation rules (a total of 14 categories in two batches).

Certification Mark

In May 2019, to support the development of green product certification work, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the "Measures for the Administration of the Use of Green Product Marks," stipulating that for products included in the national unified green product certification catalog, certification activities carried out according to the standards in the green product evaluation standard list and the green product certification rules uniformly formulated and issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation apply to the green product mark for "Certification Activity One," as shown in Figure 1:

The introduction of the above catalogs, standards, rules, and marks marks the transition of China's green product certification system from planning to implementation. As of May 2021, 39 certification bodies have been approved for green product certification qualifications, and 449 green product certification certificates have been issued nationwide, including 313 certificates for building material products.

Introduction to the Green Building Material Product Certification System

Policy Background

In December 2017, the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, CNAS, and the National Standardization Administration jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Standardization, Certification, and Labeling of Green Building Material Products," requiring "to incorporate existing green building material certification or evaluation systems into the management of the green product standard, certification, and labeling system." It stipulates: "For building material products included in the unified standard list and certification catalog, those meeting relevant requirements shall be certified according to the unified green product certification system. Building material products that have obtained the three-star green building material evaluation mark may be reissued green product certification certificates within the validity period of the certificate." For building material products not included in the unified standard list and certification catalog, as well as those that have obtained one-star or two-star green building material evaluation marks within the unified standard list and certification catalog, voluntary product certification shall still be implemented according to the graded certification principle, conducted by certification bodies approved by CNAS. By 2020, the application rate of green building materials reached over 40%.

In October 2019, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the "Implementation Plan for Green Building Materials Product Certification," proposing the establishment of a working group to promote standards, certification, and labeling of green building materials products. This group, composed of responsible officials from the three departments, is tasked with coordinating and guiding national standards, certification, and labeling work for green building materials products, reviewing implementation rules for green building materials product certification and technical capability requirements for certification bodies, and guiding the acceptance of green building materials product certification. A technical committee was formed to provide decision-making consultation and technical support for green building materials certification work, and the following principles were established: "Certification bodies engaged in green building materials product certification shall be legally established, meet the basic requirements of the 'Certification Body Management Measures,' comply with relevant requirements of GB/T 27065 'Requirements for Certification Bodies for Products, Processes and Services' and RB/T 242 'Requirements for Green Product Certification Bodies,' and possess the relevant technical capabilities to conduct green building materials product certification activities." Certification bodies applying to engage in green building materials certification may be recommended by provincial housing and urban-rural development authorities or industry and information technology authorities and approved by the State Administration for Market Regulation in consultation with the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Green building materials product certification bodies may entrust qualified testing institutions to carry out testing activities related to green building materials product certification and are responsible for certification conclusions based on relevant testing data. The green building materials product certification catalog is jointly determined and published by the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology according to industry development and certification needs. Certification implementation rules are issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation in consultation with the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Green building materials product certification is conducted according to the "Guiding Opinions," "Implementation Plan," and "Management Measures for Green Building Materials Evaluation Labeling," implementing graded evaluation certification from low to high as one, two, and three stars. Building materials certified according to national green product evaluation standards within the certification catalog are equivalent to three-star green building materials.

Certification Scope, Evaluation Standards, Certification Rules

In May 2020, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the State Administration for Market Regulation organized an expert demonstration meeting on green building materials product certification standards, approving 51 group standards including "Green Building Materials Evaluation—Prefabricated Components" as the technical basis for green building materials product certification.

In August 2020, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Notice on Accelerating the Promotion of Green Building Materials Product Certification and Production Application," releasing the "Green Building Materials Product Graded Certification Catalog (First Batch)," "General Rules for the Implementation of Green Building Materials Product Graded Certification," "Requirements for Green Building Materials Product Graded Certification and Business Transition," and the list of members of the first Green Building Materials Product Certification Technical Committee. The "Notice" stipulates: "Approved certification bodies may formulate corresponding product certification implementation rules based on the 'General Rules for the Implementation of Green Building Materials Product Graded Certification' and file them with the Certification and Accreditation Administration."

In May 2021, the Green Building Materials Product Certification Technical Committee formed a technical resolution on the preparation, filing, and review of implementation rules for green building materials product certification based on the "General Rules for the Implementation of Green Building Materials Product Graded Certification," the "List of Standards Involved in Laboratory Capability for Sampling Inspection of Green Product Certification (Building Materials)," and the "Green Building Materials Evaluation Standards" (T/CECS 10025–10075). The resolution requires approved certification bodies to prepare specific product certification implementation rules according to the "General Rules for the Implementation of Green Building Materials Product Graded Certification," the "Green Building Materials Evaluation Standards" (T/CECS 10025–10075), and the technical resolution, and file them with the Certification Supervision Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation. The Technical Committee will review the filed certification implementation rules according to the requirements of the Certification Supervision Department. Table 2 on the next page lists the green building materials product graded certification catalog, standards list, and implementation rules (first batch).

Certification Mark

Products that have obtained green building materials product certification shall apply the "Certification Activity II" green product label in accordance with the "Management Measures for the Use of Green Product Labels" and the "Management Measures for Green Building Materials Evaluation Labels," and mark the grading results as shown in Figure 2. The green building materials star rating is selected based on the star rating of the certified product.

The release of the above certification catalog, standards, general rules, technical resolutions, and labels marks a substantial step forward in the green building materials product certification system. Since November 2020, when the National Certification and Accreditation Administration opened the qualification approval channel for green building materials product certification bodies, 19 certification bodies have been approved for green building materials product certification qualifications as of May 2021.

Differences and Connections Between Green Product Certification and Green Building Materials Product Certification

Green product certification is a concrete implementation of the national "Overall Plan for Ecological Civilization System Reform." Green building materials product certification creatively integrates green product certification with the building materials industry, meeting the urgent needs for green development in the building materials sector and the transformation and upgrading of the construction industry. There are both differences and connections between the two. Based on research on these two certification systems, this article summarizes their differences and connections to help certification bodies and enterprises better implement "green" certification. See Table 3 for the differences and connections between green product certification and green building materials product certification.

From the comparison in Table 3, it is not difficult to see that although green product certification and green building materials product certification belong to two different national voluntary product certification systems, their essence is to improve the manufacturing level and product quality of products/industries by establishing high-quality and reasonable evaluation indicator systems, meeting the upgrading consumption needs of the people, ensuring healthy living, avoiding international green trade barriers, enhancing the international influence of products, and reducing the development and evaluation costs of green-related products for enterprises. For certification bodies and enterprises, how to choose between green product certification and green building materials product certification requires accurately identifying and grasping the differences and connections between the two to both reduce enterprise burdens and control certification risks.

Conclusion

With the advancement of the national green, low-carbon, and circular development policies, conducting green product certification and green building materials product certification has become an important means to guide green production and consumption. Certification bodies and enterprises should join hands to jointly create a "green" blueprint and contribute to the realization of the national carbon neutrality goal.