China's Three Ministries Mandate Green Printing for School Textbooks: 30% Coverage This Autumn, Full Rollout in 1–2 Years

To the press and publication, education, and environmental protection authorities in all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), all primary and secondary school textbook publishers and printers, and relevant quality inspection institutions:

Green printing in primary and secondary school textbooks is regarded in China as a key action to safeguard young people's health, reshape the printing industry's development model, and support ecological civilization and an environment-friendly society. The State Council's Opinions on Strengthening Key Environmental Protection Work (Guo Fa [2011] No. 35) encourages environmental labels, environmental certification, and green printing products. In October 2011, the General Administration of Press and Publication and the Ministry of Environmental Protection issued the Announcement on Implementing Green Printing (No. 2 of 2011). With the announcement's goal of 'basically achieving full green printing coverage for primary and secondary school textbooks' in view, the specific arrangements are notified as follows:

I. Overall policy direction

Implement the Scientific Outlook on Development and the spirit of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of the Party; follow a people-oriented and people-serving governance approach. By fully applying green printing to primary and secondary school textbooks, reduce the toxic and harmful substances that children, adolescents, and printing workers may encounter in printed products, protect their health, cut pollutant emissions from textbook publishing and printing, phase out non-compliant textbook printers, accelerate the transformation of the printing industry's development model, promote industrial upgrading, and contribute to ecological civilization and an environment-friendly society.

II. Coverage and objectives

(1) Scope

The scope covers all national-curriculum and local-curriculum textbooks at the compulsory education stage nationwide. Such textbooks must be entrusted to printers that have obtained Green Printing Environmental Label Product Certification.

(2) Objectives

Starting with this year's autumn semester, green-printed primary and secondary school textbooks in each locality should make up 30% of the local total; after another 1–2 years, nationwide full coverage should be basically achieved. The move is intended to draw public attention to the environmental safety of school textbooks, raise environmental awareness, promote green printing across the printing sector, and encourage more intensive operations in the printing industry.

III. Organizational mechanism

The General Administration of Press and Publication, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection will jointly form a leading group for green printing of primary and secondary school textbooks. Responsible officials from each department will take part; meetings will be held as needed to define work content, report local progress, organize supervision and inspection, and conduct acceptance reviews. An office under the leading group, based in the Printing and Distribution Management Department of the General Administration of Press and Publication, will handle day-to-day organization and coordination.

IV. Rollout stages

(1) Launch and deployment

In May this year, the three departments will jointly hold a launch ceremony for green printing of primary and secondary school textbooks; further arrangements will be notified separately. Localities should set up corresponding leading groups and offices under this notice, strengthen leadership, assign responsibilities, build synergy, and mobilize and deploy the work in line with local conditions.

(2) Pilot and expansion

From the autumn semester this year, localities may select some national-curriculum or local-curriculum textbooks as green printing pilots. Green-printed primary and secondary school textbooks should exceed 30% of the local total, and areas with capacity may increase the share. Printing should actively use raw and auxiliary materials that meet green printing requirements, while quality inspection departments should build a green printing testing system for school textbooks as soon as possible.

(3) Full completion

After another 1–2 years, green printing for primary and secondary school textbooks will be basically fully covered, and green printing will become a required condition for selecting textbooks nationwide; a textbook green printing testing system will be basically in place. The three departments will send inspection teams to check and accept local completion.

V. Division of responsibilities

(1) Primary and secondary school textbook publishers (type-rental units) should study lithographic green printing standards and related requirements, decide on suitable raw and auxiliary materials and printing formats, and must entrust textbook printing to enterprises with Green Printing Environmental Label Product Certification [see Appendix 1 for the printer list, which China Environmental United (Beijing) Certification Center Co., Ltd. will update periodically]. If an entrusted printer cannot complete production, the publisher (type-rental unit) should choose another printer and issue a new printing commission letter. If selection is difficult, the publisher (type-rental unit) may report through the provincial press and publication administration to the General Administration of Press and Publication for coordinated allocation.

(2) Printers entrusted with primary and secondary school textbooks should tightly control production processes and procedures, actively adopt green and environmentally friendly printing equipment and raw and auxiliary materials, and ensure textbooks meet green printing product quality requirements. Green-printed school textbooks should carry the China Environmental Label on the back cover in accordance with the Ministry of Environmental Protection's rules on environmental label use.

(3) Press and publication administration departments should proactively coordinate textbook publishers (type-rental units), printers, and distributors, urge early production planning and careful implementation, and ensure primary and secondary school textbooks are delivered 'before class, one copy per student'.

(4) Education administration departments should guide schools in arranging personnel to explain the China Environmental Label printed on green-printed textbooks, enrich quality-oriented education, and gradually cultivate environmental awareness among children and adolescents.

(5) Environmental protection administration departments should include local implementation of green printing for primary and secondary school textbooks in environmental protection responsibility assessments and establish sound supervision and feedback mechanisms.

(6) Publication quality inspection departments should bring green printing quality inspection of primary and secondary school textbooks into their regulatory scope, conduct spot checks as a priority this year, and from next year organize no fewer than 20 quality inspections per year in each locality on green printing of school textbooks. Non-compliant products should be replaced, and responsible publishers (type-rental units) and printers should be held accountable.

VI. Oversight and penalties

(1) If a publisher (type-rental unit) of primary and secondary school textbooks fails to entrust printing to a qualified printer or requires a printer to use raw and auxiliary materials that do not meet green printing standards, the press and publication administration department may adjust or cancel its qualification to publish (type-rent) such textbooks according to relevant rules.

(2) If a printer fails to print and produce primary and secondary school textbooks according to standards, China Environmental United (Beijing) Certification Center Co., Ltd. will revoke its Green Printing Environmental Label Product Certification, and the company may no longer undertake school textbook printing.

(3) Press and publication, education, and environmental protection administration departments and schools must not charge students any fees related to green printing under any name. Violations will be handled seriously according to law.

Local press and publication, education, and environmental protection administration departments should strengthen leadership over green printing for primary and secondary school textbooks, actively publicize its significance and results, and foster a favorable public opinion climate; they should keep a full picture of the work, promptly communicate and resolve problems through consultation, and submit opinions and suggestions to the leading group's office. The General Administration of Press and Publication, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection will supervise and inspect local implementation, organize acceptance teams, commend regions that achieve full coverage ahead of schedule, and issue nationwide notices of criticism and order rectification for regions that fail to complete tasks on time.

April 6, 2012

Source: China Packaging Network (pack.cn); original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362039.html