On January 5, nine government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, jointly issued a "Notice on Implementing the Green Consumption Promotion Action" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), outlining the work plan for green consumption during the "16th Five-Year Plan" period.
The "Notice" proposes 20 specific measures across 7 key areas to improve the incentive mechanisms for green consumption, covering sectors such as agricultural products, home appliances, home furnishings, catering, and accommodation. It also clarifies supportive policies, including financial measures, to optimize the green consumption environment. The goal is to integrate policy guidance, market drivers, and public participation to popularize green consumption behaviors, mature market mechanisms, and foster a societal consensus, thereby injecting green momentum into high-quality development, promoting green and low-carbon production and lifestyles, and accelerating the green transformation of consumption patterns.
To enrich the supply of green products, the "Notice" proposes increasing the supply of green agricultural products. It encourages enterprises to expand procurement of high-quality goods such as green food, organic agricultural products, specialty, superior, new, and unique agricultural products, and geographical indication products. Support is provided for establishing dedicated green agricultural product sales zones that display quality certification marks, traceability labels, and pesticide residue test results to assure consumers. Encouragement is given for direct links between green agricultural production bases and large supermarkets, community stores, and catering enterprises through activities like "farm-to-supermarket" and "direct sourcing from bases" to increase market supply of green, high-quality agricultural products. Food operators in supermarkets and shopping malls are required to manage food nearing its expiration date through classification, special labeling, or centralized display for sale.
The "Notice" calls for the promotion of green home appliances and furnishings. It encourages the purchase of green and smart home appliance products that have obtained green product certification, such as fluorine-free air conditioners. Efforts will be made to improve standards for energy and water efficiency of appliances and advance the certification system for green smart home appliance products. Consumers are encouraged to choose green home furnishing and kitchen/bath products and select green building materials, with a focus on green, smart, and elderly-friendly features. Support will be given for including eligible, high-quality green home appliance and furnishing brands in China's Consumer Famous Brands list. The green and high-quality development of bulk cement will be continuously promoted.
The "Notice" proposes promoting green automotive consumption. Support is provided for consumers purchasing new energy vehicles. It aims to strengthen the automotive industry chain, tap into the potential of the "aftermarket" including used cars, car rentals, vehicle modifications, and car-sharing, explore ways to generate income from idle vehicles, and support the development of new consumption models such as RV camping, drive-in cinemas, and self-driving tours.
To enhance green service consumption, the "Notice" proposes developing green catering. It urges catering service enterprises and food delivery platforms to comply with relevant laws and regulations, guiding catering businesses to implement green catering standards, consciously practice green development concepts, reduce油烟排放 (cooking fume emissions), curb food waste, and promote the use of biodegradable and reusable meal boxes and packaging bags. Catering service enterprises and institutional canteens are encouraged to guide consumers to order appropriate portions, practice the "Clean Plate Campaign," offer "small-portion meals" and "small-portion dishes," and take food as needed. Internet platform companies are encouraged to launch "green catering" service identifiers. The cultivation of green restaurants is promoted.
The "Notice" specifies the development of green accommodation. It involves cultivating green hotels, promoting the use of non-toxic, water-saving, biodegradable cleaning agents, guest room consumables, and cloth slippers, providing large-sized or refillable bath amenities, and not proactively offering single-use plastic items. Innovative services such as health sleep guest rooms are encouraged. Online platforms are guided to actively promote green hotels by adding identifiers and setting up dedicated sections. Accommodation enterprises and related platforms are encouraged to use points, coupons, and other methods to incentivize consumers to practice green consumption.
The "Notice" proposes developing green home services. It promotes the use of environmentally friendly home service supplies and encourages the use of non-toxic, biodegradable cleaning products. Innovation in home service models is encouraged, including promoting online booking and shared home services. The application of smart devices is encouraged to achieve functions like automatic cleaning and smart control, thereby improving the efficiency and quality of home services.
The "Notice" proposes increasing credit support. Financial institutions are encouraged to enhance support for green consumption loans that meet established standards. Support is provided for banks to offer convenient services to users with good green consumption records. Collaboration between financial institutions and commercial circulation enterprises is encouraged to broaden the application scenarios for green consumption loans.
The "Notice" requires the innovation of financial products. Financial institutions are encouraged to actively provide insurance coverage for green consumption. Exploration will be undertaken to establish a project database for green consumption infrastructure, with regular recommendations of high-quality projects to financial institutions for对接 (matching). Support is provided for eligible projects to issue Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in the infrastructure sector.
