State Council Expands Green Industry Push: Flexible Packaging and Printing Face a Sustainability Deadline

The State Council has issued the Opinions on Accelerating the Development of the Energy-Saving and Environmental Protection Industry, projecting that the sector could reach a total output value of RMB 4.5 trillion by 2015 and become a new pillar of China's national economy. For packaging and printing businesses—including flexible packaging converters—that have traditionally had little connection with energy saving and environmental protection, the policy creates substantial pressure and makes green transformation an urgent priority.

The document describes solving energy-saving and environmental protection challenges as an important and urgent task in building an upgraded Chinese economy. Accelerating this industry's growth is seen as vital for driving investment and consumption, creating fresh economic growth drivers, advancing industrial upgrading and shifting development models, while also supporting energy conservation, emissions reduction and improvements in people's livelihoods.

Feng Liang, Deputy Inspector of the Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection at the National Development and Reform Commission, said the environmental protection industry's development has effectively become a national strategy. He noted that the sector has strong growth momentum, creates many jobs and offers large market opportunities, making it a priority in the new round of industrial development among major world economies.

Wang Tao, Division Chief of the Department of Pollution Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said that during the 11th Five-Year Plan period, China's energy-saving and environmental protection industry generated a cumulative output value of more than RMB 7 trillion and an added value of about RMB 2 trillion, close to society-wide investment in environmental protection. During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, cumulative output value is expected to exceed RMB 10 trillion, with added value surpassing environmental protection investment.

Data provided to Caijing Daily by Luo Jianhua, Secretary-General of the Chamber of Commerce for Environmental Services of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, show that around 5,000 enterprises and units nationwide currently manufacture environmental protection equipment. Their total industrial output value is nearly RMB 200 billion—3.5 times the 2005 level—and the workforce exceeds 500,000.

The opinions call for breakthroughs during the 12th Five-Year Plan period in key core and generic technologies for the energy-saving and environmental protection industry. They also urge the creation of a policy environment for green consumption, faster implementation of key projects in energy saving, the circular economy and environmental protection, a market-demand-led approach, and reforms that activate all types of market participants.

However, it is understood that China's current environmental protection industry policies still contain many shortcomings, and innovative environmental technology companies commonly face bottlenecks in financing, policy support and other areas.

The opinions propose increasing central budgetary investment and central government special funds for energy conservation and emissions reduction in the energy-saving and environmental protection industry, while continuing state capital operations budget expenditures to support key enterprises in implementing related projects. Local authorities are also expected to boost investment in major energy-saving and environmental protection projects and in the R&D and promotion of technical equipment to address prominent problems.

On financing, the opinions seek stronger support for energy-saving and environmental protection projects. Proposed measures include exploring the inclusion of franchise rights and similar assets as loan collateral or pledges; supporting green credit and financial innovation; and establishing a green bank rating system. Financing guarantee institutions would be encouraged to increase guarantees for energy-saving and environmental protection enterprises that comply with industrial policies, have solid qualifications and are well managed. Qualified enterprises could issue corporate bonds, SME collective bonds, short-term financing bills, medium-term notes and other debt instruments. Selected enterprises with relatively strong qualifications could pilot non-public corporate bond issuance. Carbon sink trading would be developed steadily, and private and foreign investment would be encouraged and guided into the sector.

The opinions also call for deepening market-oriented reform of municipal public utilities, improving heating metering prices and charging management, refining sewage and waste treatment fee policies, including sludge treatment costs in sewage treatment costs, and improving the system for charging sewage treatment fees to users with self-supplied water sources.

Source: China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-361904.html