Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Developing a Unified Standard, Certification and Identification System of Green Products

• Document Number：No. 86 [2016] of the General Office of the State Council
• Area of Law： Standardization Administration, Certification and Accreditation
• Level of Authority： Regulatory Documents of the State Council
• Date issued：11-22-2016
• Effective Date：11-22-2016
• Status： Effective
• Issuing Authority： General Office of the State Council

Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Developing a Unified Standard, Certification and Identification System of Green Products
(No. 86 [2016] of the State Council)
The people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government; all ministries and commissions of the State Council; and all institutions directly under the State Council:
Improving the green market system and increasing the supply of green products are an important constituent part of the reform of the ecological civilization system. Developing a unified standard, certification and identification system of green products is an inevitable requirement of promoting green, low-carbon and circular development and fostering a green market, an important measure to strengthen the supply-side structural reform and improve the quality and efficiency of the supply of green products, an urgent task to guide the transformation and upgrade of industries and improve the competitiveness of China's manufacturing industry, an effective path to lead green consumption and guarantee and improve people's life, and the realistic need of fulfilling the international commitment to emission cut and enhancing China's participation in the say over global governance regimes. For purposes of implementing the Overall Plan for the Reform of Eco-civilization System and establishing a unified standard, certification and identification system of green products, with the approval of the State Council, the following opinions are hereby offered.
I. General requirements
(1) Guiding ideology. We shall be guided by the spirit of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth Plenary Sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee, according to the overall layout for "economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological progress", Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy and the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, firmly develop the concept of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, set the supply-side structural reform as the strategic basis, make full use of the strategic, basic and guiding role of standards and certification, innovate on the ecological civilization systems and mechanisms, increase the effective supply of green products, guide green manufacturing and consumption, comprehensively improve the quality and effectiveness of green development, and improve the fulfillment of the general public.
(2) Basic principles.
Adhering to overall contemplation and improving top design. With an eye to the overall objectives of the construction of ecological civilization, in consideration of both the factors such as resources and environment, industrial foundations, consumers' demand and international trade, and the characteristics of resource conservation, environment friendly and consumer friendly, a package of solutions to the development of the standard, certification and identification system of green products based on the whole product life cycle shall be made.
Adhering to market orientation and sparking inherent driving force. The market-oriented reform direction shall be adhered to, the relations between the government and the market shall be dealt with effectively, full play shall be given to the effective role of standardization, certification and accreditation in regulating the market order and improving the efficiency of the market, and the standard, certification and identification system of green products shall be unified and improved to establish and pass on trust, trigger market vigor and promote the effective connection and structural upgrade of supply and demand.
Adhering to inheritance and innovation, and realizing steady transition. Based on existing foundations, through implementation by steps and orderly advancement, the transitional period of the market shall be reasonably determined, and through government guidance and market choice, unsuited systems shall be gradually scrapped and the objectives of integrating standards, certification and identification of green products shall be realized.
Adhering to joint establishment and sharing, and promoting social governance. Play shall be given to the functions and roles of the competent departments of all industries, all parties including the government, enterprises, universities, research institutes and users shall be promoted in participating, cooperating according to division of labor, and diversifying joint governance, mechanisms of admission by whole industries, public information disclosure, social supervision, etc. shall be established and improved, relevant laws, regulations and supporting policies shall be improved, the use and admission of standards, certification and identification of green products by whole society shall be promoted and the achievements in green development shall be shared.
Adhering to openness and cooperation, and strengthening connection to international standards. Based on China's actual circumstances, international rules shall be abode by, advanced foreign experience shall be fully learned from, international cooperation and exchange shall be deepened, China's right to development and say in the field of green products shall be protected, and the connection of China's standard, certification and identification of green products to international standards and mutual admission shall be promoted, so as to facilitate international trade, cooperation and exchange.
(3) Main objectives. According to principle of unifying catalogs, standards, appraisal and identifications, existing environment-friendly, energy-conservation, water-conservation, recyclable, low-carbon, renewal, organic, etc. products will be integrated as green products. By 2020, a systematic, scientific, open, integrated, authoritative and unified standard, certification and identification system of green products featuring advanced indicators will have been preliminarily established, the laws, regulations and supporting policies will have been improved, and the system integration objectives of one product category, one standard, one list, one-time certification and one identification will have been accomplished. The appraisal scope of green products will gradually cover product fields and categories having a big impact on ecology and environment and featuring booming consumption demand, strong industrial relation, great social attention and large volume of international trade, the market recognition and international influence of green products will constantly expand, the market share, quality and effectiveness of green products will have been significantly raised or improved, the existing gap between supply and demand of green products will have been effectively closed, and the fulfillment of consumers will have been dramatically enhanced.
II. Key tasks
(4) Unifying the meaning and appraisal methods of green products. Based on the concept of whole life cycle, in all stages of product life cycle such as resource attainment, production, sale, use and disposition, the meaning of green products shall include characteristics such as energy efficiency of resources and energy, low emission of pollutants, low toxicity and hazard, easy recycle and disposition, and high health safety and quality. By adopting the method of combining quantitative and qualitative appraisal, and product and organization appraisal, overall consideration shall be given to the characters of resources, energy, environment, quality, etc., key stages and indicators of green product appraisal shall be scientifically determined, an appraisal method and indicator system shall be established.
(5) Developing a unified standard, certification and identification system of green products. Top design and systematic planning of the standard system of green products shall be made, full play shall be given to the functions and roles of the competent departments of all industries, the framework of the standard system of green products and the detailed statements on standards shall be jointly compiled, and a standard system of green products guided by the appraisal sub-system of green products and supported by the supportive standard sub-system of green products shall be uniformly developed. By reference to international practice, a certification and identification system of green products conforming to China's actual circumstances shall be developed, the rules for the implementation of certification and certification identifications shall be uniformly formulated and the measures for the administration of the use of certification identifications shall be issued.
(6) Implementing a unified list of appraisal standards and certification catalog of green products. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine shall, in conjunction with relevant departments, uniformly issue identifications, standard list and certification catalog of green products, and organize and make identification of green products according to the standards in the standard list. The relevant parties shall be organized to assess relevant state standards, industrial standards, group standards, etc., and include such standards into the list of standards for the appraisal of green products in good time. A regular assessment and dynamic adjustment mechanism of the certification catalog of green products shall, in conjunction with the relevant departments, be established to avert repeated appraisal.
(7) Innovating on the supply mechanism of standards for the appraisal of green products. Products closely related to the life of consumers such as life supplies, final goods and food shall be selected in priority for the research and development of the standards for the appraisal of green products. Market resources shall be made full use of and societies, associations, chambers of commerce and other social organizations shall be encouraged to develop group standards for the appraisal of green products featuring advanced technology and highly mature market so as to increase market supply of the standards for the appraisal of green products.
(8) Improving the validity evaluation and supervision mechanism of certification of green products. The development of the credit system of green products shall be advanced, the primary responsibility of manufacturers for product quality and the joint and several liability of certification implementation institutions for the results of testing and certification shall be strictly implemented, a joint punishment mechanism of seriously dishonest persons shall be established, and a blacklist system of entities responsible for violation of laws and regulations shall be developed. Big data technology shall be used to improve the supervision mode of green products, a quantitative assessment mechanism of standards for the appraisal of green products and the indicators of the effect of certification implementation shall be established, and whole process collection and public disclosure of information on certification shall be enhanced, so as to publicly put the results of certification and appraisal and the products under market inspection and social supervision.
(9) Strengthening the development of the ability of technical institutions and information platforms. A technical supporting system of green products shall be established and improved, the development of standards and the ability of conformity assessment shall be enhanced, the ability assessment and qualification management of green product certification and testing institutions shall be conducted, a group of specialized service institutions of standards, certification and testing of green products shall be cultivated, and technical ability, work quality and services shall be improved. A unified green product information platform shall be established to issue the information such as policies and regulations relating to green products, standard list, rules and procedures, product catalog, implementation institutions, certification results and admission status.
(10) Promoting international cooperation and mutual admission. Centered on the service for opening up and the "one belt, one road" construction strategy, international exchange of and cooperation in standards, certification and accreditation, and inspection and testing of green products shall be advanced, comparison and analysis of standards for green products from home and abroad shall be made, the development of international standards and rules for conformity assessment shall be vigorously participated in, the consistency of standards shall be improved, and the international mutual admission of certification and identification of green products shall be promoted. The technical trade measures for green products shall be reasonably adopted, foreign green barriers shall be vigorously responded to, China's standard, certification and identification system of green products shall be promoted in heading overseas, and the international say for China to participate in the relevant international matters shall be improved.
III. Guarantee measures
(11) Strengthening interaction and cooperation between departments. An inter-ministerial coordination mechanism of standards, certification and identification of green products shall be established, consisting of member organizations including the departments relating to quality inspection, development and reform, industry and information, finance, environmental protection, housing and urban-rural development, transport, water resources, agriculture, commerce, etc., to coordinated in an overall manner the policies and measures with regard to the standards, certification and identification of green products, and join work forces.
(12) Improving supporting policies. The fiscal, tax and financial support policies in respect of the parts such as the research and development, manufacturing, transport and distribution, consumption and purchase of green products shall be implemented, the research and development of important standards for green products shall be enhanced, a standard promotion and certification admission mechanism of green products shall be established, and the implementation of policies on green finance, green manufacturing, green consumption, green procurement, etc. shall be supported. The green product pacemaker plan shall be implemented. A green government procurement system shall be researched and promoted and the size of government procurement shall be expanded. The goods transaction markets shall be encouraged to expand the transactions of green products, the group buyers shall be encouraged to expand the buying of green products, and the construction of the green market shall be promoted. The producer liability extension system shall be promoted and product recycle shall be prompted.
(13) Creating a development environment of green products. The development of a market credit and industrial self-regulatory mechanism shall be strengthened and all functional departments shall cooperate in strengthening interim and ex-post supervision, create a market environment of fair competition, further reduce institutional trading cost, and practically ease the burden on manufacturers of green products. All relevant departments and the local governments at all levels shall, based on the actual circumstances, accelerate function transformation and management mode, improve services and work styles, optimize market environment, guide and strengthen industrial regulation, expand social participation, promote the implementation of standards for green products, use of certification results and appraisal of effect, and promote the development of green products.
(14) Strengthening the publicity and promotion of green products. Through news media and the Internet, public service announcements on green products shall be vigorously made, the interpretation, publicity and promotion of the policies relating to the standards for, certification and dissemination of green products shall be promoted, outstanding cases of green products shall be promoted, the concept of green development shall be spread, green lifestyle shall be guided, and the right of the general public to know, to participate in, choose and supervise green consumption shall be protected.
General office of the State Council
November 22, 2016