On October 9, 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation of China (SAMR) released a draft of the Administrative Measures for Green Product Certification and Labeling Management Measures (hereinafter referred to as the Draft for Comments) to solicit public opinions. The deadline for submitting opinions is October 23, 2024.

In May 2019, SAMR issued the Administrative Measures for the Use of the Green Product Labeling (hereinafter referred to as “the Administrative Measures”), which have been in effect since June 1, 2019. As of now, China has nearly 100 institutions accredited for green product certification, issuing a total of over 30,000 valid certificates. However, with the continuous advancement of the economy and related sectors, the current Administrative Measures cannot meet the needs of green product certification activities and the unified use of green product identification. Therefore, SAMR decided to revise them.

Specifically, the purposes of revising the Administrative Measures are:

  • To support a series of recent national green transition requirements, including but not limited to the Action Plan for Carbon Peak before 2030 (issued by the State Council in October 2021) and the Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Electronic and Electrical Sector Management System (issued by the State Council in September 2022).
  • To establish and implement a unified green product certification and labeling system in China.

The Draft comprises a total of 7 chapters and 45 articles, stipulating the management procedures for the green product certification and identification system. It also standardizes the management process, clarifies the responsibilities of each regulatory body in various aspects of the certification system, such as certification implementation, certificates, green product labeling, supervision, and management. Additionally, it outlines the legal responsibilities that each participant should bear in violation of the Administrative Measures.

The Draft defines specific classifications for green product certification:

  • Full green product certification: refers to the conformity assessment conducted by a certification body to determine whether a product meets all required green attributes.
  • Itemized green product certification: refers to the conformity assessment conducted by a certification body to determine whether a product meets some of the required green attributes.

Other key elements include:

  • Standardizing the green product label: it lists the basic label pattern for green product certification and three label patterns under different conformity assessment methods, including those for full green product certification, itemized green product certification, and green product self-declaration.
  • Effective monitoring for potential greenwashing: it requires that certification bodies shall, in accordance with the provisions of the certification implementation rules, adopt an appropriate and reasonable manner and frequency to implement effective post-certification supervision on certified products and their manufacturers to ensure that the certified products continue to meet the certification requirements. For certified products and their manufacturers that cannot continue to meet the certification requirements, the certification body shall, according to the relevant circumstances and the provisions of the certification implementation rules, suspend or revoke the certification and announce it to the public.
  • Punishment scenarios: acts such as forgery, alteration, fraudulent use, trading, and transfer of green product certification certificates, green product labels, and other illegal activities in certification shall be punished in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.