On October 9, 2024, the State Administration of Market Regulation of China (SAMR) issued the draft of Administrative Measures for Green Product Certification and Labeling Management Measures (hereinafter referred to as “the Draft for Comments”) to call for comments. The deadline for submitting public opinion is October 23, 2024.

In May 2019, SAMR issued the Administrative Measures for the Use of the Green Product Labelling (hereinafter referred to as “the Administrative Measures”), which has been implemented since June 1, 2019, and are still effective. Up to now, China has nearly 100 institutions that are accredited for green product certification, and a total of more than 30,000 valid certificates are issued. However, with the continuous development of the economy and relevant sectors, the present Administrative Measures cannot meet the needs of green product certification activities and unified use of green product identification, so SAMR decided to make the revision. 

Specifically, the purpose of revising the Administrative Measures are:

·         Support a series of requirements for the country's green transition in recent years: including but not limited to the Action Plan for Carbon Peak before 2030 (issued by the State Council in October of 2021), and the Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Electronic and Electrical Sector Management System (issued by the State Council in September of 2022).

·         Establish and implement a unified green product certification and labeling system in China. 

The Draft covers a total of 7 chapters and 45 articles. It stipulates the green product certification and identification system management procedures. The Draft also standardizes the management process, clarifies the responsibilities of each regulatory body in all aspects of a certification system, such as certification implementation, certificate, green product identification, supervision and management and so on. In addition, it states legal responsibility that each participant should bear in violation of the Administrative Measures. 

It defines specific classification of green product certification:

·         Full green product certification: refers to the conformity assessment carried out by a certification body to determine whether a product fulfils all the green attributes required.

·         Itemized green product certification: refers to the conformity assessment carried out by a certification body to determine whether a product fulfils some items that the green attributes required. 

Other key elements include:

·         Standardize green product label: it lists the basic label pattern of green product certification and three label patterns under different conformity assessment methods, including that used for full green product certification, itemized green product certification and green product self-declaration.

·         Effective monitor on potential greenwashing: it requires that the certification body 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 the certified products and their manufacturers to ensure that the certified products continue to meet the certification requirements. For the certified products and their manufacturers that cannot continue to meet the certification requirements, the certification body shall, in accordance with the relevant circumstances and the provisions of the certification implementation rules, suspend or revoke the certification and announce it to the public.

·         Punishment scenarios: forgery, alteration, fraudulent use, trading and transfer of green product certification certificates, green product labels and other illegal acts in certification activities shall be punished in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. 

For foreign stakeholders and MNCs, the revision on the Administrative Measures may reduce the confusion and complex that exist in the green product management in the China market. But potential impact may be initiated when the draft is approved for implementation to replace the Administrative Measures. 

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