Green building materials: sanitary ware

Core Certification Content

The green building material certification for sanitary ware focuses on the green performance throughout the entire product lifecycle, with core evaluation covering the following four attribute dimensions:

Resource Attributes: This includes indicators such as the weight of a single toilet (excluding fittings), weight of a single squatting pan (excluding fittings), weight of a single wall-mounted urinal (excluding fittings), and weight of a single washbasin (excluding fittings). Enterprises are encouraged to reduce raw material consumption through lightweight product design, achieving resource conservation. For three-star certification, the weight of a single squatting pan must not exceed 25 kg, and the weight of a single washbasin must not exceed 20 kg.

Energy Attributes: This primarily focuses on comprehensive energy consumption per unit product. The comprehensive energy consumption during the production of sanitary ware must comply with the requirements of GB 21252 "The Norm of Energy Consumption per Unit Product of Architecture and Sanitary Ceramics," covering energy consumption control in raw material preparation, molding, drying, and firing stages. For three-star certification, the comprehensive energy consumption per unit product must not exceed 500 kg of standard coal per ton.

Environmental Attributes: This covers indicators such as limits of radionuclides, environmental product declaration reports, or product carbon footprint reports. Production enterprises must apply for a pollutant discharge permit in accordance with the law and discharge pollutants according to the permit's stipulations. The collection, storage, and disposal of general solid waste must comply with GB 18599 regulations; the storage of hazardous waste must comply with GB 18597 regulations. Three-star certification requires the provision of an environmental product declaration report or product carbon footprint report.

Quality Attributes: This involves testing key performance indicators of sanitary ware products according to relevant product standards, including toilet water consumption and service life. Toilet water consumption must comply with GB 25502 "Minimum Allowable Values of Water Efficiency and Water Efficiency Grades for Water Closets." For three-star certification, the average water consumption for toilets must not exceed 4.0 liters, for squatting pans must not exceed 5.0 liters, and for urinals must not exceed 2.0 liters. In terms of service life, inlet and outlet valves must withstand no less than 100,000 cycles, and pressure flushing devices must withstand no less than 200,000 cycles.

Certification Levels and Evaluation System

The green building material product tiered certification, based on T/CECS 10037-2019, divides products into three levels from low to high according to the evaluation indicator levels achieved:

One-Star: Meets basic green evaluation requirements and complies with national green building material standards. Enterprises must satisfy all control item requirements, and each evaluation indicator must reach the one-star baseline value.

Two-Star: Demonstrates good performance in resource conservation, energy consumption, and environmental protection, achieving an advanced industry level. Evaluation indicator requirements are stricter than for one-star.

Three-Star: Exhibits excellent green performance, with minimal impact on the ecological environment throughout the entire lifecycle, representing the highest level of green building material products. Evaluation indicator requirements are the most stringent.

Basic Certification Requirements

Enterprises and products applying for sanitary ware green building material certification must meet the following basic conditions:

Production and Operation Compliance Requirements: Production enterprises must comply with applicable national standards, local standards, and environmental impact assessment approval stipulations, and must obtain a local government pollutant discharge permit, with no major environmental pollution incidents or major safety accidents in the past three years.

Solid Waste Disposal Requirements: The collection, storage, and disposal of general solid waste must comply with GB 18599 regulations; the storage of hazardous waste must comply with GB 18597 regulations, and subsequent disposal must be handed over to units with hazardous waste operation permits.

Management System Requirements: Production enterprises must establish and operate a quality management system and an environmental management system in accordance with GB/T 19001 and GB/T 24001, respectively.

Product Compliance Requirements: The basic performance of sanitary ware must comply with standards such as GB/T 6952 and GB/T 31436. Products must provide a valid type inspection report within one year (issued by a testing institution with CMA qualifications).

Supporting Documentation Requirements: Must provide inspection reports for the weight of single toilets, squatting pans, urinals, and washbasins, as well as valid inspection reports on service life (issued by a testing institution with CMA qualifications).

Certification Process

The green building material product tiered certification implements a model of initial inspection plus product sampling inspection plus post-certification supervision:

Certification Application: Submit an application form (indicating the applied green building material level), business license, product process flowchart, factory organizational chart, key raw material filing list, product type inspection report valid within one year, management system-related documents, environmental product declaration report, carbon footprint report, and other materials.

Document Technical Review: The certification body reviews the completeness, suitability, and validity of the application documents. The review conclusion falls into three categories: compliant and can proceed to on-site inspection, basically compliant requiring supplementary improvements, and non-compliant preventing on-site inspection.

Initial Factory Inspection: Includes factory assurance capability inspection, product consistency inspection, and green evaluation requirement compliance verification. On-site inspection focuses on the operation of the enterprise's energy management system, production energy consumption control measures, operation of wastewater recovery systems, pollutant emission control measures, and solid waste disposal status.

Product Sampling Inspection: Conducted by a laboratory with CMA qualifications designated by the certification body, covering indicators such as single product weight, comprehensive energy consumption per unit product, water consumption, and service life. Inspection reports issued by a laboratory with CMA qualifications within the past 12 months that meet requirements may be accepted.

Certification Result Evaluation and Approval: After passing the document technical review, on-site inspection, and product sampling inspection, the certification body conducts a comprehensive evaluation, approves the certification decision, and issues the certificate. The certificate is valid for five years.

Post-Certification Supervision: After certification, supervision is arranged with intervals not exceeding one year. Supervision内容包括 factory assurance capability supervision inspection, product consistency supervision inspection, continuous compliance verification of green evaluation requirements, and product supervision inspection.

Re-certification Audit: Conducted before the certificate expires to renew certification eligibility, typically with a cycle of five years.

Certification Value

Enhancing Product Market Competitiveness: Green building material product certification is a nationally promoted voluntary certification. Certified products can gain priority procurement and application in government procurement, key projects, municipal public works, etc. In green building projects such as government public buildings, hospitals, and schools, green building material certification has become a mandatory qualification and bonus point for bidding and filing. Currently, the scope of green building material product certification has expanded to 6 categories and 72 products, with sanitary ware included under the category of doors, windows, curtain walls, and decoration.

Enjoying Policy Support and Financial Subsidies: Multiple provinces and cities provide financial rewards or fiscal support to enterprises that obtain green building material product certification. Certified enterprises can also enjoy tax incentives such as corporate income tax reductions. The policy supporting government procurement of green building materials has been implemented in 101 cities (municipal districts), including Chaoyang District, Beijing.

Strengthening Bidding Competitiveness: The green building material certification certificate can serve as a bonus point in project bidding procurement, enhancing enterprises' differentiated bidding capabilities. Obtaining green building material certification is a necessary condition and bidding bonus point for enterprises to participate in major projects, government-invested project bidding, and to enter the qualified supplier list of large clients.

Meeting Green Building Development Needs: With the implementation of the "Green Building Evaluation Standard" GB/T 50378-2019 and the promotion of green building creation actions, the application ratio of green building materials in newly built urban buildings is continuously increasing. Sanitary ware, as an important component of building decoration, makes certified products more easily enter the green building market.

Addressing Dual Carbon Strategy Requirements: Against the backdrop of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, green building material product certification requires enterprises to conduct carbon footprint accounting and environmental product declarations, helping enterprises respond to carbon emission control requirements and plan for low-carbon development in advance. Three-star certification requires providing an environmental product declaration report or carbon footprint report.

Building Corporate Social Responsibility Image: Certification can demonstrate the enterprise's commitment and actions in resource conservation and environmental protection, enhancing customer trust, improving brand reputation, and meeting consumers' demands for upgrading to green building materials.