In order to thoroughly implement the national decision-making and deployment on plastic pollution control and accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation of the plastic products industry, the State Council listed the two national standards "Plastic Recyclable Design Guidelines Part 1: PET" and " Plastic Recyclable Design Guidelines Part 2: HDPE" as key supervision projects in March 2024.

01Projects supervised by the State Council are accelerated

According to the latest deployment requirements of relevant national departments, the development tasks of two national standards on "Plastic Recyclable and Renewable Design" originally scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025 have been fully advanced.

As the third batch of recommended national standard plan projects in 2024, its standard development cycle has been greatly shortened from the original 18 months, and is currently scheduled to be officially released in mid-2025.

The time is tight and the task is heavy. In order to ensure that the task is completed on time and with quality, the standard development work has been greatly advanced.

02 Policy window period and industrial transformation opportunities overlap

The concept of "promoting green design, improving the safety and recycling performance of plastic products" clearly proposed in the "14th Five-Year Plan" has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

At present, relevant national departments have fully launched the research work on comprehensive utilization of industrial resources during the 15th Five-Year Plan. It is expected that "green design" will become the core concept and work focus of plastic pollution control during the 15th Five-Year Plan. As an important part of "green design", the results of this standard development will be directly incorporated into the national policy system, providing clear direction guidance and normative basis for the development of the plastic products industry.

03 The progress of the Global Plastics Convention has forced

China to accelerate its pace in combating plastic pollution, as the world's largest producer and consumer of plastics. Although the negotiation front of the Global Plastics Convention has been prolonged and has failed to achieve the expected results, China, as the world's largest producer and consumer of plastics, has continued to accelerate its pace in combating plastic pollution.

The international community's experience in managing plastic pollution shows that recyclable design is a basic technical means to solve the problem of plastic pollution. Actively promoting recyclable design will not only help my country make substantial progress in domestic plastic pollution control, but also enhance my country's voice and influence in the field of global plastic pollution control, and contribute Chinese wisdom and solutions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

The development of the two national standards is a deep collaboration of policies, industries and international trends. In order to ensure the high-quality and efficient completion of the development of the two national standards, they are now open to the entire industry.

Scope of collection: terminal brands, plastic products, polymers, additive companies (inks, adhesives), recycling companies, environmental companies, governments and testing agencies, etc.

At the end of 2024, four national departments jointly issued the "Action Plan for Standard Improvement to Lead the Optimization and Upgrading of the Raw Materials Industry (2025-2027)" , requiring that by 2027, the standard system in the field of waste plastics will be further optimized. As an important part of the raw materials industry, the standardization of waste plastics is of great significance to promoting the high-quality development of the entire industry. The following 16 relevant standards are being compiled, and interested units are welcome to actively participate:

Standard participation significance

Enterprises' participation in the formulation of group standards, industry standards, and national standards (as participating units) has multiple strategic significances and values. It can not only enhance the market competitiveness of enterprises, but also promote industry technology development and enhance the voice of enterprises. The following is a detailed analysis:

1. Enhance the brand influence and credibility of the enterprise
2. Authoritative endorsement Participation in standard setting indicates that the company's technology or products are recognized by the industry, becoming one of the "rule makers", significantly enhancing the brand's credibility. For example, Huawei's participation in the formulation of 5G international standards has directly consolidated its position as a global communications leader. 2. Units participating in drafting standards with differentiated competitive advantages may use the “standard drafting unit” logo in their publicity to distinguish themselves from their competitors. If home appliance companies participate in the formulation of energy efficiency standards, they can plan product lines that meet future standards in advance.
3. Master the industry discourse power and technological leadership
4. Influencing the technical direction: Enterprises can integrate their own patents or core technologies into standards to form technical barriers. For example, Qualcomm gained long-term patent benefits by incorporating CDMA technology into communication standards. 2. Avoid passive risks and avoid the risk of products not meeting standards due to changes in standards. If photovoltaic companies do not participate in the updating of international standards, they may face export technical barriers.

3 Market access and policy dividends

1. Early compliance participation in standard setting can predict regulatory requirements in advance and reduce compliance costs. If food companies participate in the formulation of safety standards, they can optimize production processes to adapt to future testing standards. 2. Advantages of bidding: Many government procurement or large projects explicitly require compliance with national standards, and participating enterprises can more easily meet the standards. For example, after rail transit equipment suppliers participated in the formulation of national standards, their winning rate increased significantly.

4 Economic Benefits and Industrial Chain Integration

1. Patent monetization Standard essential patents (SEPs) can bring continuous licensing income. For example, in 2022, Huawei's standard essential patent revenue reached US$560 million. 2. Supply chain control leading standards can promote upstream and downstream to adopt their own technology systems. After Tesla opened the charging interface standard, it quickly expanded its charging network ecosystem.
2. Policy support and resource allocation
3. Government rewards: Many local governments provide financial subsidies to standard-leading enterprises (e.g. Shenzhen rewards international standard-leading enterprises up to 5 million yuan). 2. Enterprises that are given priority in scientific research projects are more likely to receive support from key R&D plans. For example, a new material enterprise was approved as a provincial technology center because it participated in the formulation of national standards.

6Industry collaboration and long-term development

1. The technical exchange platform establishes cooperation with universities and scientific research institutions through standard working groups, such as Alibaba Cloud linking industry, academia and research resources by participating in cloud computing standards. 2. Jointly formulating group standards for industry ecosystem construction can quickly respond to the needs of emerging fields. For example, the introduction of blockchain group standards has accelerated the commercialization of technology.