1、Chinas The Environmental Labeling Program of ChinaStatement of Professor Xia Qing, Director, and Ms. Yu Jie, Deputy Director of the Secretariat of Chinas Certification Committee forCommittee for Environmental Product Labeling Products (SCCEL)“Ecolabelling: Trade Opportunities and (2)secondly, To enh
2、ance the market competitiveness of Chinese enterprises through the production of in order that the environmental labeling will guide the enterprises to produce much more and much better green products.On March 31, 1993, the State Environmental Protection Administration of China issued a document, en
3、titled “Developing environmental labeling in China,“, to the local governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government.On August 25, 1993, the State Environmental Protection Administration of China published the mark of Chinas environmental label
4、ing, which is reproduced on the title page of this document. It is made up of green mountains, green water, and the sun in the center surrounded by ten rings. The green mountains, green water, and the sun in the center represent the environment that human beings depend on for their living. The surro
5、unding ten rings tightly interconnect with each other to indicate public participation in environmental protection. Besides, in the Chinese language, “ring“ is the same character as the first character in “environment.“. Its implied meaning is “all the people join hands in the protection of the envi
6、ronment upon which they depend for their living.“.On May 17, 1994, Chinas Certification Committee for Environmental Product Labeling Products (CCEL) was established with representatives from eleven State Council departments, such as CSBTS (State Bureau of Technical Supervision of China), SDPC (State
7、 Development Planning Commission), and SETC (State Economic and Trade Commission), and SCCEL became a third party certification guiding and managing body. Xie Zhenhua, administrator of the State Environmental Protection Administration of China wais the dDirector gGeneral of SCCEL, the . The work ent
8、ity of CCEL is the secretariat of which is, located inside the Chinesea 3Academy of Environmental Science. The dDirector of theSCCELs secretariat is Professor Xia Qing. The secretariat has organized research personnel in the formulation of a number of certification standards and the establishment of
9、 the conformity assessment procedures. Simultaneously, the secretariat is gradually builthas evolved into an independent certification entity. After nine years of efforts, SCCEL has developed from the original three full-time certification auditors to the only authoritative green product certificati
10、on body inside the country with over forty full-time staffs and nearly a hundred part-time personnel.2. Definition of prioritiesTheChinas environmental labeling program of China has absorbedstudied and utilized the experiences of other countries ecolabeling from the same programs, and has defined th
11、e following six priority categories of priorities are defined:2.1 The category of iInternational environmental agreements performance China has signed and is implementing For promotion of the 37 international environmental conventions and agreements, including the Montreal Protocol, which calls for
12、the elimination signed by the Chinese government, for instance, substitute products for the chlorofluorocarbonof chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). type substance represented by implementation of the Montreal Protocol. There are six standards in this category: (1) domestic refrigeration appliances househol
13、d refrigerators; (2) non-CFC industrial and commercial refrigeration equipment; (3) halon-free fire extinguishers substitute alkylogen fire extinguishers; (4) Substitutes for ozone depleting substances (ODS) products for ozone-depleting consumption substances; (5) non-CFC foam plastics; and (6) non-
14、CFC aerosols.2.2 Renewable and recyclable categoryThis is the most developed and concentrated category of environmental labeling product standards ofin all countries, including China. It guides the public into 4understanding that waste is a misplaced resource and promotes the resource orientation of
15、 waste. There are six certification standards in this category: (1) recycled paper products; (2) phosphorus gypsum building materials; (3) recycled plastic products; (4) disposable food and drink containers; (5) building blocks; and (6) building sheets.2.3 The category for improving rRegional enviro
16、nmental qualityThe environmental behavior of products. This category focuses on products, which improvecan be integrated into the scale effect of regional and local environmental quality improvement. There are eight certification standards in this category: (1) unleaded gasoline; (2) Hg-Cd-Pb- Ffree
17、 non-mercury cadmium and rechargeable lead batteries; (3) laundry detergents; (4) non-mercury dry-cell batteries; (5) low-emissions motorcycles; (6) low-emissions lightweight vehiclescars; (7) solar- powered watches and clocksself-winding wristwatches; and (8) dry type power transformers.2.4 The cat
18、egory for improving habitation environment qQuality of lifeEnvironmental behavior of products. This category focuses on products, whichpossesses the effect of reduceing indoor air and noise pollution. There are 13 certification standards in this category: (1) childrens toys; (2) low-noise washing ma
19、chines; (3) energy-saving and low-noise room air conditioners; (4) energy-saving and low-emission gas rangesovens; (5) sanitary disinfectant aerosols; (6) householddomestic microwave ovens; (7) adhesives; (8) fiberboard related products; (9) plastic waterbuilding tubes and sewage pipes; (10) photoco
20、pierss; (11) smokeless mosquito-repellent incense coils; (12) water-based paints; and (13) ceramics.2.5 The category for hHuman health protectionCompared with similar products, products in this category of products haves direct beneficial effects on protecting the physical health of users. There are
21、 ten certification standards in this category: (1) soft drinks; (2) energy-saving fluorescent 5lamps; (3) low-lead ceramics; (4) non-asbestos building materials products; (5) textiless; (6) non-aluminum pressure cookers; (7) safe mothproofing agentsprevention substances; (8) low-radiation color TVst
22、elevision sets; (9) fiber packaging desiccantsdryer for packages; and (10) flying saucer targets clay pigeons.2.6 The category for eEnhancing resources and energy efficiency；This category of products isare a response to the global climate framework convention. They reduce CO2 discharge, replace foss
23、il energy, and save resources and energy. There are four certification standards in this category: (1) energy-saving electronic ballasts; (2) microcomputers and displays; (3) electromagnetic anti-scale water treatment machines; and (4) energy-saving doors and windows.As of May, 2003, the State Envir
24、onmental Protection Administration of China issued a total of nearly 60 certification standards, 47 of which are still in the period of validity： The first category of certification standards are six: domestic refrigeration utensils, non - CFC industrial and commercial refrigeration equipment, subst
25、itute alkylogen fire extinguisher, substitute products for ozonosphere consumption substance, non - CFC foam plastic and aerosol;The second category of certification standards are six: recycled paper products, phosphorus gypsum building materials, recycled plastic products, one-time food and drink s
26、ets, building blocks and building sheets;The third category of certification standards are eight: leadless motor gasoline, non - mercury cadmium and lead charging battery, detergent, non - mercury dry battery, low-pollution motorcycle, low-pollution lightweight car, optical and kinetic energy wristw
27、atch, dry type power transformer;The fourth category of certification standards are thirteen: childrens playthings, low-6noise washing machine, energy-saving and low-noise room air conditioner, energy-saving and low-emission gas oven, sanitary disinsection aerosol, domestic microwave oven, adhesive,
28、 artificial board and product, building plastic tubes and pipes, xerographic printer, smokeless mosquito incense coil, water paint and sanitary ceramics;The fifth category of certification standards are ten: soft drink, energy-saving fluorescent lamp, low-lead ceramics, non - asbestos building produ
29、cts, ecological textile, non - aluminum pressure cooker, safety type moth prevention substance, low-radiation color television set, fiber dryer for packages and flying saucer target;The sixth category of certification standards are four: energy-saving electronic ballast, microcomputer and display, m
30、agneto electric antiscale water treatment machine and energy-saving door and window.3. Progress of certificationAs of May 2003, the State Environmental Protection Administration of China had issued a total of nearly 60 certification standards in the above six categories, 47 of which are still valid.
31、On the basis of stringent surveillance, annual re-inspection, and disqualification certificate withdrawals for atinfor violation of standards and quality guarantees, from 1994 to May, 2003, there are presently 527 Chinese enterprises, and a total of 3,426 products, have been certified to maintaining
32、 the qualification of useing the environmental labeling ten-ring mark. with a total of 3426 products. The status of yearly progress is as follows:Year Number of new participants Number of disqualified participants719941995199619971998199920002001200221027414249559721916142250200Starting from ince 20
33、01, Chinas environmental labeling program has taken on a good momentum of doublinged in size each year. for successively two years. This corresponds with the good development of momentum ofor environmental labeling in all countries in recent years. In the economically developed provinces and cities
34、of China, the development of environmental labeling is especially prominent. Of the 527 enterprises having been granted the environmental labeling, 103 are in Guangdong, 62 in Shanghai, 57 in Zhejiang, 45 in Jiangsu, 44 in Shandong, 40 in Beijing, 23 in Hebei, and 16 in Liaoning. Since Tthese eight
35、provinces and cities account for 78% of the total number of the Chinese enterprises, it bodes well for a positive correlation between a boomingpredicting a booming future of Chinese economy and the robust growth of . The brilliant prospect of envirenvironmental labeling is in step with the economy o
36、f the country.8II. The Chinas environmental labeling program of China cconforms with international standards1. Introductioncorporation of foreign experiences into theChinas conformity assessment proceduresHaving absorbedlearned from the experiences of Canada, Germany, and Japan, the conformity asses
37、sment procedures of environmental labeling in China are being carried out in two phases with multiple steps.2. The first phase is category selection and standard formulation2.1 New category selectionProduct category selection is to ensure that products with similar service objectives or similar func
38、tions are covered in the same category so that the consumers can be provided with accurate and comparable information. In accordance with the selected product category, industry experts will conduct technical and economic evaluation, evaluate the impact of environmental labeling on the trade activit
39、ies, environmental behavior and price of products against ISO 14020, and determine whether the principles of transparency and information publicity and fair competition has ve been followed.Particular attention has been paid to those international standards that can be conversted equivalently or equ
40、ally, and full consideration is given to laying the foundation for international mutual recognition, e.g., the published standards for office supplies (printers, facsimile machines, computers and printer paper) and ecological textile standards, etc.2.2 Issuance of new standards9After the category fe
41、asibility study report is examined and approved, the State Environmental Protection Administration of China issues the assignment for formulation of the environmental labeling technical requirements. A standard compilation team is formed. The team, first of all, produces the draft standard, and send
42、s it to relevant experts and departments for comments fora 50 -days comment period. According to the feedbacks received, the team amends the draft, and submits it for further discussionreview. The State Environmental Protection Administration of China chairs the discussionreview process. The draft i
43、s further amended in accordance with the expert opinions, and is then submitted to the State Environmental Protection Administration of China for approval. After being signed by the MinisteraAdministrator, the final standard is issued to the whole country. The review mechanism of three drafts (i.e.,
44、 draft for soliciting comments, draft for discussion, and draft for approval), based on the feasibility report, guarantees that the environmental labeling standards are authoritative, scientific, and practicable.（2）3. The second phase is conformity assessment3.1 The enterprises at home and abroad th
45、at satisfy the certification application conditions submit written applications to the SCCEL.Certification application conditions: (A). Within one year prior to the application date, the enterprise hasmust not have been fined by environmental protection authorities; (B). Tthe processes of procuremen
46、t, production, use, sale of raw materials, or recovery, clearance and treatment of waste, must all conform with national standards and arebe effective in reducing environmental pollution, or are have energy-saving and resource-saving characteristics; and (C). Tthe products must conform with the nati
47、onal quality and environmental labeling product standards.Chinas The environmental labeling program of China allows foreign production enterprises to apply for certification of their products sold on the Chinese market through their dealers or file an application directly by themselves.103.2 After d
48、ocument review by SCCEL, on-site inspectors will be sent for verification of the application at the location of the applicants plantenterprise and for examination of its environmental labeling product quality assuranceguarantee system. They will seal thetake a sample of the applied products for whic
49、h application has been made on -site at the production line, or inside the warestorehouse, and fill in and submit the commission test sheet.3.3 SCCEL will select a laboratorytesting body that , which has to be accredited bypassed national laboratory accreditation system, forto takinge up the product testing commission and issuinge the an effective test report.3.4 SCCEL will integrateuse the reports of document review, on-site inspection, and sample tests, in writing and write an integrated evaluation report. The report, attached with relevant evidence attached to it, wil
