From 1 July 2018, China will implement the national standard Green Product Assessment (Coating material), jointly issued by the former AQSIQ and SAC.
Earlier in April, SAC released an assessment standard for green products. Apart from the standard for coatings, the document also includes standards for another 11 products, such as floor boards, sanitary ceramics, architectural glass, solar water heating system, etc.
The comprehensive standard for coatings includes terms and definitions of Green Product, product classification, assessment requirements of green coating product, etc. It requires cleaner production and suggests that enterprises adopt advanced production technologies rather than outdated technologies, materials or machinery. Also the standard details specific requirements for different types of coatings: water-based architectural coatings, powder coating, water-based industrial coatings, powder coatings, etc.
At present China is strengthening regulations governing the coating industry as it is a key target industry in China’s battle to control VOCs emission. According to the Supervision Plan of Energy Conservation in Key Industries issued by MIIT, China will inspect a total of 5330 enterprises, including 503 enterprises in the coating sector. For further reading about VOCs policies, see here.
