Green building materials: ready-mixed concrete

Core Content of Certification

The Green Building Materials Certification for ready-mixed concrete focuses on the green performance throughout the product's entire lifecycle, primarily examining the following four attribute dimensions:

• Resource Attributes: Include indicators such as the comprehensive utilization rate of solid waste, wastewater recycling rate, and degree of raw material localization during production. Enterprises are encouraged to utilize solid wastes like fly ash, slag powder, and phosphogypsum, while reducing environmental impact from transportation through localized procurement. Resource attribute indicators require enterprises to establish wastewater recycling systems to achieve zero discharge or recycling of production wastewater.
• Energy Attributes: Focus on the energy consumption per unit product. Production energy consumption for ready-mixed concrete must meet the requirements of the GB 36888 "Energy Consumption Quota per Unit Product of Ready-mixed Concrete" standard. The Three-Star certification requires production energy consumption to reach the Level I (advanced value) specified in the standard, i.e., ≤0.30 kgce/m³. Energy attributes also require enterprises to establish and operate an Energy Management System according to GB/T 23331, conducting energy reviews and continuous improvement.
• Environmental Attributes: Cover indicators such as air pollutant emissions (particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, etc.), wastewater discharge, and noise control in the plant area. Both organized and unorganized emissions must comply with the GB 4915 "Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Cement Industry" and relevant local standards. Enterprises are encouraged to conduct product certifications and submit Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) reports and product carbon footprint reports.
• Quality Attributes: Based on standards like GB/T 14902 "Ready-mixed Concrete", key performance indicators of concrete such as compressive strength, slump, and durability are tested to ensure the product possesses excellent performance while meeting green requirements. The ratio of the measured strength value to the design value and the strength dispersion coefficient are important evaluation indicators for quality attributes.

Certification Levels and Evaluation System

The Green Building Materials Product Tiered Certification is based on the T/CECS 10047-2019 standard. According to the level of evaluation indicators achieved by the product, it is divided into three tiers from low to high:

• One-Star: Meets basic green assessment requirements and complies with national basic standards for green building materials. Enterprises must meet all requirements of the control items and obtain corresponding scores in the scoring items.
• Two-Star: Demonstrates good performance in resource conservation, energy consumption, and environmental protection, reaching an advanced industry level. The requirements for each evaluation indicator are stricter than those for the One-Star level.
• Three-Star: Possesses excellent green performance, with minimal impact on the ecological environment throughout the entire lifecycle, representing the highest grade of green building materials product. The Three-Star level requires unit product production energy consumption to meet the Level I standard in GB 36888 (≤0.30 kgce/m³), with the strictest requirements for all evaluation indicators.

The evaluation indicator system is divided into control items, scoring items, and bonus items. Participating products and their enterprises must meet all control item requirements. The total score for scoring items is 100 points, and the total score for bonus items is 5 points. The green building materials level is determined by the total evaluation score.

Basic Certification Requirements

Enterprises and products applying for the Ready-mixed Concrete Green Building Materials Certification must meet the following basic conditions:

• Management System Requirements: Should establish and operate a Quality Management System, Environmental Management System, and Occupational Health and Safety Management System respectively according to GB/T 19001, GB/T 24001, and GB/T 45001; and establish and operate an Energy Management System according to GB/T 23331.
• Work Safety Requirements: Work safety standardization should meet relevant regulations, with no major safety incidents or environmental pollution events in the past three years. The enterprise should not have experienced significant or above production safety and quality accidents, or Class III (significant) or above sudden environmental pollution incidents.
• Environmental Compliance Requirements: Pollutant emissions from the production enterprise should comply with relevant environmental laws and regulations. Hazardous waste storage should comply with GB 18597, and general industrial solid waste storage should comply with GB 18599. The enterprise should not be included in the energy conservation inspection rectification list or the list of失信被执行人 (dishonest judgment debtors).
• Product Performance Requirements: The product should meet the requirements of standards such as GB/T 14902 "Ready-mixed Concrete" and provide a valid product type inspection report issued within one year. The strength grade should reach C20 or above (excluding pervious concrete).
• Resource Comprehensive Utilization: Enterprises are encouraged to utilize industrial solid wastes, such as fly ash, slag powder, phosphogypsum, etc., to enhance the level of solid waste resource utilization, scaling, and harmless treatment.
• Wastewater Recycling: Enterprises should establish a wastewater recycling system to achieve the recycling of production wastewater, reducing water resource consumption and environmental pollution.

Certification Process

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

• Certification Application: Submit application materials including the application form (indicating the applied green building materials level), business license, product process flowchart, factory organizational chart, key raw material filing list, valid product type inspection report issued within one year, and management system-related document catalog, etc. The applying enterprise needs to pass the review by the certification body.
• Document Technical Review: The certification body reviews the completeness, suitability, and effectiveness of the application documents. Review conclusions are divided into three situations: meets requirements and can proceed to on-site inspection; basically meets but requires supplementation and improvement; does not meet requirements and cannot proceed to on-site inspection.
• Initial Factory Inspection: Includes factory assurance capability inspection, product consistency inspection, and verification of compliance with green assessment requirements. On-site inspection focuses on the operation of the enterprise's energy management system, production energy consumption control measures, operation status of the wastewater recycling system, etc.
• Product Sampling Inspection: Sampling inspection is completed by a laboratory with CMA accreditation determined by the certification body. Inspection items, technical requirements, sampling methods, etc., should comply with the certification implementation rules and green building materials assessment standards. Inspection reports meeting requirements issued by a laboratory with CMA accreditation within the last 12 months 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 certification certificate is valid for five years.
• Post-Certification Supervision: Supervision is arranged after the enterprise obtains the certificate, with intervals not exceeding one year for each supervision. Supervision content includes factory assurance capability supervision inspection, product consistency supervision inspection, continuous compliance verification with green assessment requirements, and product supervision inspection. For non-conformities found during supervision audits, the enterprise must complete rectification within a specified period.
• Re-certification Audit: A re-certification audit is conducted before the certificate expires to renew the certification qualification, typically with a cycle of five years.

Certification Value

• Enhance 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, municipal public works, etc. The green building material procurement support policy jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology explicitly requires government procurement projects to prioritize purchasing green building materials. Local housing and urban-rural development departments are actively carrying out green building materials product information registration, and ready-mixed concrete is a priority category for registration.
• Enjoy Policy Support and Financial Subsidies: Multiple provinces and cities provide financial rewards or fiscal support to enterprises that pass Green Building Materials Product Certification, while also enjoying preferential financial services and tax policy support. Taking Yichang City, Hubei Province as an example, the local government explicitly requires that green building materials be included in the government procurement catalog starting from 2025, promoting enterprises to obtain green building materials certification.
• Reduce Operational Costs and Energy Consumption: By establishing and operating an energy management system, enterprises can effectively reduce production energy consumption. Case practices show that after implementing energy-saving and consumption-reduction management plans, enterprises can achieve energy savings of up to 30,000 kgce/year, saving funds of 200,000 yuan/year. Through refined management, vehicle maintenance, driving technique training, and centralized production arrangements, energy utilization efficiency can be significantly improved.
• Meet Green Building Development Needs: With the implementation of the "Assessment Standard for Green Building" (GB/T 50378-2019) and the promotion of green building creation actions, the required application proportion of green building materials in newly built urban buildings is continuously increasing. As a priority registration category for green building materials, certified ready-mixed concrete products find easier access to the green building market.
• Address Dual Carbon Strategy Requirements: Under the background of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, energy and construction have become the main forces in practicing the dual carbon goals. The Green Building Materials Product Certification requires enterprises to conduct carbon footprint accounting, helping them address carbon emission control requirements and plan for low-carbon development in advance. Through the construction of an energy management system, enterprises can identify main energy improvement factors and continuously reduce carbon emissions.
• Establish Corporate Social Responsibility Image: Obtaining certification can demonstrate 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 consumption. Promoting green building materials helps raise employees' awareness and environmental consciousness regarding green energy conservation.
• Improve Product Quality Stability: By establishing and operating a green building materials management system, enterprises can achieve stable improvement in building material quality. Using energy review methods to analyze energy consumption, identifying main energy improvement factors, and adopting process methods combined with the PDCA cycle make building material quality more stable, meeting the Three-Star requirements for green building materials.

Applicable Product Scope

The Ready-mixed Concrete Green Building Materials Certification applies to ready-mixed concrete with a strength grade of C20 and above (excluding pervious concrete). The certification covers various ready-mixed concrete products produced by mixing stations (towers), including standard products and special products. Enterprises are encouraged to develop and apply low-carbon products such as ready-mixed steel slag concrete, and solid waste resource utilization products such as phosphogypsum comprehensive utilization concrete.