Green building materials: prefabricated components

Core Certification Content

The Green Building Materials Certification for prefabricated components focuses on the green performance throughout the product's lifecycle, with core evaluation across the following four attribute dimensions:

• Resource Attributes: Include indicators such as the comprehensive utilization rate of solid waste during production, the degree of raw material localization, water consumption, and steel recycling rate. It encourages enterprises to use recyclable materials like high-strength concrete, high-strength steel bars, and recycled aggregates, while reducing environmental impact from transportation through localized procurement. As the core components of prefabricated buildings, the resource attributes of prefabricated components focus on the material's resource-saving performance and recyclability after disposal.
• Energy Attributes: Focus on the energy consumption per unit of product. The comprehensive energy consumption during the production process of prefabricated components must meet relevant energy consumption limit standards, including energy consumption control in processes such as component production, curing, and demolding. Three-Star certification requires production energy consumption to reach the industry's advanced level, encouraging enterprises to adopt energy-saving production processes and clean energy technologies.
• Environmental Attributes: Cover indicators such as air pollutant emissions, workplace dust concentration, wastewater discharge, noise control, and radioactive specific activity. Production enterprises must obtain a pollutant discharge permit according to law and discharge pollutants as stipulated by the permit. Environmental pollutant emissions must comply with national and local emission standards, and enterprises must have a sound environmental protection management system and an emergency plan for environmental incidents.
• Quality Attributes: Based on relevant product standards, key performance indicators of prefabricated components are tested, including concrete strength, steel reinforcement cover thickness, component dimensional accuracy, appearance quality, and structural performance, ensuring the product possesses excellent usability while meeting green requirements. Quality attributes also include key technical indicators such as component durability, crack resistance, and connection performance.

Certification Levels and Evaluation System

The Green Building Materials Product Grading Certification is based on the T/CECS 10025-2019 standard. According to the level of evaluation indicators met by the product, it is divided into three grades from low to high:

• One-Star: Meets basic green evaluation requirements and complies with national basic standards for green building materials. Enterprises must fulfill all requirements of the control items, and all evaluation indicators must reach the One-Star baseline value.
• Two-Star: Demonstrates good performance in resource conservation, energy consumption, and environmental protection, reaching the industry's advanced level. Requirements for all evaluation indicators are stricter than those for One-Star.
• Three-Star: Exhibits outstanding green performance, having the minimal environmental impact throughout its lifecycle, representing the highest grade of green building material products. Three-Star requires the energy consumption per unit product to meet the advanced value standard, with the most stringent requirements for all evaluation indicators. Building material products certified under China's Green Product Certification are equivalent to Three-Star green building materials.

The evaluation method also considers the inclusion of bonus items, such as: actively focusing on the environmental impact throughout the lifecycle (e.g., through environmental declarations using scientific methods like LCA), using green electricity or other clean energy sources, completing energy management system certification, and being recognized as a green factory.

Basic Certification Requirements

Enterprises and products applying for Prefabricated Component Green Building Materials Certification must meet the following basic conditions:

• Compliance Requirements for Production and Operation: The production enterprise must have had no major environmental pollution incidents or major safety accidents in the past three years. The collection, storage, and disposal of general solid waste must comply with the relevant provisions of GB 18599 "Standard for Pollution Control on the Storage and Disposal Site for General Industrial Solid Waste". The storage of hazardous waste must comply with the relevant provisions of GB 18597 "Standard for Pollution Control on Hazardous Waste Storage", and subsequent disposal must be entrusted to a unit holding a hazardous waste business license.
• Compliance of Production Equipment and Technology: Production enterprises should adopt advanced technologies and processes encouraged by the state and must not use technologies, processes, equipment, or related substances that have been eliminated or prohibited by the state or relevant departments.
• Management System Requirements: Production enterprises should establish and operate a quality management system and an environmental management system according to the requirements of GB/T 19001 and GB/T 24001, respectively. Enterprises are encouraged to establish an occupational health and safety management system according to GB/T 45001 and an energy management system according to GB/T 23331.
• Product Qualification Requirements: The basic performance of prefabricated components must comply with the requirements of relevant product standards. Products must provide a valid type inspection report issued within one year.

Certification Process

The Green Building Materials Product Grading Certification implements a model of initial inspection + product sampling inspection + post-certification supervision:

• Certification Application: Submit application materials including the application form (specifying the applied green building material grade), business license, product process flow chart, factory organization chart, list of key raw materials on record, valid product type inspection report within one year, and directory of management system related documents. The applying enterprise must pass the audit by the certification body.
• Documentation and Technical Review: The certification body reviews the completeness, suitability, and effectiveness of the application documents. Review conclusions fall into three categories: meeting requirements and eligible for on-site inspection; basically meeting requirements but requiring supplementation/improvement; not meeting requirements and ineligible for on-site inspection.
• Initial Factory Inspection: Includes factory assurance capability inspection, product conformity inspection, and verification of compliance with green assessment requirements. On-site inspection focuses on the operation status of the enterprise's energy management system, production energy consumption control measures, wastewater recovery system operation, pollutant emission control measures, and solid waste disposal situation.
• Product Sampling Inspection: The certification body designates a laboratory with CMA (China Metrology Accreditation) qualifications to conduct sampling and inspection. Inspection items, technical requirements, and sampling methods must comply with the certification implementation rules and green building materials assessment standards. Qualified inspection reports issued by a CMA-accredited laboratory within the past 12 months may be accepted.
• Certification Result Evaluation and Approval: After the documentation review, on-site inspection, and product sampling inspection are all passed, the certification body conducts a comprehensive evaluation, approves the certification decision, and issues the certificate. The certification certificate is valid for five years.
• Post-Certification Supervision: Supervision is arranged after the enterprise obtains certification, with intervals not exceeding one year for each supervision. Supervision content includes factory assurance capability supervision inspection, product conformity supervision inspection, continuous compliance verification of green assessment requirements, and product supervision inspection. For non-conformities found during supervision audits, the enterprise must complete corrections within a specified period.
• Recertification Audit: A recertification audit is conducted before the certificate expires to renew the certification qualification, typically on a five-year cycle.

Certification Value

• Enhances Product Market Competitiveness: Green Building Materials Product Certification is a nationally promoted voluntary product certification. Certified products can gain priority procurement and application in government procurement, key projects, and municipal public utility projects. Policies supporting green building materials in government procurement jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology explicitly require priority procurement of green building materials. Starting in 2025, mandatory procurement of green building materials for government projects (hospitals, schools, etc.) will be ≥80%, and non-certified products will lose significant market opportunities.
• Access to Policy Support and Financial Subsidies: Many provinces and cities provide financial rewards or fiscal support to enterprises that obtain green building materials product certification. Shanghai, Shenzhen, and other locations offer subsidies of 200,000 to 500,000 RMB for certification fees; certified enterprises can also enjoy preferential tax policies such as corporate income tax reduction, with rates reduced to 15% in some regions.
• Meets Green Building Development Demands: With the implementation of the "Assessment Standard for Green Building" (GB/T 50378-2019) and the advancement of green building initiatives, the required proportion of green building materials used in new urban buildings is continuously increasing. As core components of prefabricated buildings, certified prefabricated components gain easier access to the green building market.
• Enhances Bidding Competitiveness: The Green Building Materials Certification certificate can serve as a bonus point in project bidding and procurement. Three-Star building materials in municipal projects can add 5 to 10 points. This helps enhance an enterprise's differentiated bidding capability and establish its technology and quality brand.
• Addresses Dual Carbon Strategic Requirements: In the context of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, energy and construction have become main forces in achieving these goals. Green Building Materials Product Certification requires enterprises to conduct carbon footprint accounting, aiding them in meeting carbon emission control requirements and planning for low-carbon development in advance.
• Promotes International Trade: Certification results can serve as a "green passport" for exports to the EU/ASEAN. Some standards have mutual recognition internationally, helping to reduce green trade barriers for exports.
• Establishes Corporate Social Responsibility Image: Obtaining certification demonstrates an enterprise's commitment and actions in resource conservation and environmental protection, enhancing customer trust, improving brand reputation, and meeting consumer demand for upgraded green building materials.

Applicable Product Scope

The Prefabricated Component Green Building Materials Certification applies to prefabricated components with concrete as the primary material, used in prefabricated industrial and civil buildings manufactured in factories or on-site, including but not limited to:

• Prefabricated Concrete Columns: Rectangular columns, specially shaped columns, etc.
• Prefabricated Concrete Beams: Main beams, secondary beams, tie beams, etc.
• Prefabricated Concrete Walls: Exterior wall panels, interior wall panels, sandwich insulation wall panels, etc.
• Prefabricated Concrete Floor Slabs: Composite slabs, prestressed hollow core slabs, solid slabs, etc.
• Prefabricated Concrete Stairs: Prefabricated stair flights, landing platforms, etc.
• Prefabricated Balcony Slabs, Air Conditioning Slabs, etc.
• Prefabricated Concrete Composite Beams, Composite Slabs, and other composite components
• Other Prefabricated Concrete Components: Prefabricated piles, prefabricated foundations, prefabricated utility tunnels, etc., for municipal engineering.