Green building materials: insulation system materials

Core Content of the Certification

The Green Building Material Certification for Insulation System Materials focuses on the green performance throughout the product's entire lifecycle, with core examination centered on the following four attribute dimensions:

• Resource Attributes: Includes indicators such as the comprehensive utilization rate of solid waste during production, the degree of raw material localization, and water resource consumption. Enterprises are encouraged to utilize industrial solid waste and reduce environmental impacts from transportation through localized procurement. Water consumption must comply with the "Water Quota—Thermal Insulation Materials" regulations. Enterprises generating wastewater during production should install wastewater recovery and treatment facilities and must not engage in unauthorized extraction of groundwater.
• Energy Attributes: Focuses on the energy consumption per unit product. The comprehensive energy consumption per unit of rock wool product should meet the access value requirements of the "Energy Consumption Limits per Unit Product of Rock Wool, Slag Wool and Their Products." For other products, it should meet the green product value requirements of "Green Product Assessment—Thermal Insulation Materials." The Three-Star certification requires the comprehensive energy consumption per unit of rock wool product to meet the advanced value requirements of the aforementioned standard, and other products to meet the green benchmark product value requirements.
• Environmental Attributes: Covers indicators such as air pollutant emissions (particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, etc.), wastewater discharge, factory boundary noise control, and specific activity of radionuclides. Enterprises are required to obtain a pollutant discharge permit according to law and discharge pollutants in accordance with the permit's stipulations. Environmental pollutant emissions must comply with national and local emission standards. Enterprises must have a sound environmental protection management system and establish a comprehensive emergency plan for environmental incidents.
• Quality Attributes: Based on relevant product standards, key performance indicators of insulation system materials such as thermal conductivity, compressive strength, water absorption rate, and combustion performance are tested to ensure the products possess excellent performance while meeting green requirements. Insulation system materials include various types such as rock wool, slag wool, glass wool, expanded perlite, foam glass, expanded polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS), and rigid polyurethane foam.

Certification Levels and Assessment System

The Green Building Material Product Grading Certification, based on the T/CECS 10032-2019 standard, divides products into three levels from low to high according to the level of assessment indicators met:

• One-Star: Meets basic green assessment requirements and complies with national basic standards for green building materials. Enterprises must satisfy all mandatory requirements, with each assessment indicator reaching the One-Star baseline value.
• Two-Star: Demonstrates good performance in resource conservation, energy consumption, and environmental protection, reaching an advanced industry level. The requirements for each assessment indicator are stricter than those for One-Star.
• Three-Star: Exhibits excellent green performance, having the minimal impact on the ecological environment throughout its entire lifecycle, representing the highest grade of green building material product. The Three-Star level requires the energy consumption per unit product to meet advanced value standards, with the most stringent requirements for all assessment indicators.

The assessment method also considers the inclusion of encouraging requirements. Encouraging requirements include: actively focusing on the environmental impact throughout the lifecycle (e.g., through scientific methods like LCA for environmental declarations), using green electricity from solar, wind, biomass, etc., completing energy management system certification, promoting efficient cascading use of energy, achieving recycling of production wastewater within the factory premises, achieving efficient comprehensive utilization of industrial solid waste, and establishing a green factory, among others.

Basic Requirements for Certification

Enterprises and products applying for the Green Building Material Certification for Insulation System Materials must meet the following basic conditions:

• Compliance Requirements for Production and Operation: The production enterprise must hold a valid business license issued by the administrative department for industry and commerce and possess independent legal person status. The enterprise must not have experienced any major or above-level environmental incidents, environmental pollution accidents, or ecological damage events in the past two years, nor any product quality liability accidents or work safety accidents in the past three years.
• Environmental Impact Assessment and Permits: Compliance with requirements for environmental impact assessment, "three simultaneous" for environmental protection facilities, and acceptance inspection upon completion of environmental protection facilities. The enterprise must obtain a pollutant discharge permit according to law and discharge pollutants in accordance with the permit's stipulations.
• Compliance of Production Equipment and Technology: The production enterprise should adopt technologies and equipment recommended by relevant national departments and must not use technologies, processes, equipment, or related substances that are eliminated or prohibited.
• Management System Requirements: Enterprises included in national and local key energy-consuming management should establish an energy management system according to the "Energy Management Systems—Guidelines for Phased Implementation." Enterprises are encouraged to establish and operate a quality management system, an environmental management system, and an occupational health and safety management system according to GB/T 19001, GB/T 24001, and GB/T 45001, respectively.
• Product Qualification Requirements: Products must meet the requirements specified in their applicable standards, which is the prerequisite for enterprises to pursue producing green products. Products must provide a valid type test report issued within one year.

Certification Process

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

• Certification Application: Submit the application form (specifying the applied green building material level), business license, product process flowchart, factory organizational chart, list of key raw materials for record, valid product type test report within one year, directory of management system related documents, etc. The applying enterprise must pass the review by the certification body.
• Document and Technical Review: The certification body reviews the completeness, appropriateness, and validity of the application documents. Review conclusions are categorized as: meeting requirements and proceeding to on-site inspection; basically meeting requirements but needing supplementation/improvement; not meeting requirements and unable to proceed to on-site inspection.
• Initial Factory Inspection: Includes factory assurance capability check, product consistency check, and verification of conformity with green assessment requirements. The on-site inspection focuses on the operation of the enterprise's energy management system, production energy consumption control measures, operation status of wastewater recovery systems, pollutant emission control measures, etc.
• Product Sampling Inspection: The certification body designates a laboratory with CMA accreditation to conduct sampling inspection. Inspection items, technical requirements, sampling methods, etc., must comply with the certification implementation rules and green building material assessment standards. A qualified inspection report issued by a CMA-accredited laboratory within the past 12 months may be accepted.
• Certification Result Evaluation and Approval: After passing the document and 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 Surveillance: Surveillance is arranged after certification, with intervals not exceeding one year for each surveillance. Surveillance content includes factory assurance capability supervision inspection, product consistency supervision inspection, verification of continuous conformity with green assessment requirements, and product supervision inspection. Enterprises must complete corrections for any non-conformities found during surveillance audits within the specified timeframe.
• 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.

Value of Certification

• Enhancing Product Market Competitiveness: Green building material product certification is a nationally promoted voluntary product certification. Certified products can gain priority procurement and application in government procurement, key projects, municipal public utility projects, etc. Policies supporting green building materials in government procurement jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology explicitly require priority procurement of green building materials for government procurement projects. Housing and urban-rural development departments across various regions are actively carrying out green building material product information registration, with insulation system materials being a prioritized product category.
• Enjoying Policy Support and Financial Subsidies: Multiple provinces and cities provide financial rewards or fiscal support to enterprises that have passed green building material product certification, while also offering preferential financial services and tax policy support. Cities like Lanzhou, Nanchang, and Taizhou have already initiated green building material product information registration work, requiring that production enterprises have no major environmental pollution incidents, work safety accidents, or product quality liability accidents in the past three years.
• Meeting the Needs of Green Building Development: With the implementation of the "Assessment Standard for Green Building" (GB/T 50378-2019) and the advancement of green building creation initiatives, the required application proportion of green building materials in newly built urban buildings is continuously increasing. As a key material for building energy efficiency, certified insulation system materials find easier access to the green building market.
• Addressing the Dual-Carbon Strategic Requirements: In the context of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, energy and buildings have become main forces in practicing these goals. In January 2026, five departments—the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Emergency Management, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the National Fire and Rescue Administration—jointly issued and implemented the "Specification Conditions for the Building Insulation Materials Industry (2025 Edition)." Environmental protection and green attributes have become important indicators, implementing a two-tier evaluation of "Compliant Enterprises" and "Leading Compliant Enterprises" for businesses.
• Establishing Corporate Social Responsibility Image: Certification can demonstrate an enterprise's commitment and actions in resource conservation and environmental protection, enhance customer trust, improve brand reputation, and meet consumers' demand for upgrading to green building materials. Promoting green building materials helps raise employees' awareness and environmental consciousness regarding green energy conservation.

Applicable Product Scope

The Green Building Material Certification for Insulation System Materials is applicable to various insulation system materials used in building insulation projects, including but not limited to:

• Inorganic Insulation Materials: Rock wool, slag wool, glass wool, foam glass, expanded perlite, microcrystalline foamed ceramic insulation and decoration integrated panels, silicon-graphene non-combustible insulation boards, inorganic composite polystyrene non-combustible insulation boards, ultra-fine ceramic fiber insulation and decoration composite panels, etc.
• Organic Insulation Materials: Expanded polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS), rigid polyurethane foam, integrated waterproofing and insulation boards, external wall external thermal insulation and decoration integrated panels, etc.
• Composite Insulation Materials: Built-in steel skeleton composite insulation exterior wall panels, vacuum insulation panels, prefabricated integrated external insulation wall panels, enhanced modified foamed cement insulation boards, fiber-reinforced cement-based foam acoustic and thermal insulation boards, three-dimensional bridging thermal insulation and acoustic composite modules, etc.