China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and State Post Bureau (SPB) have recently started implementing a green packaging certification system for China’s express delivery industry, in order to reduce overpackaging and expand the use of green packaging materials in the country, as reported by Sina on November 24. So far, the two departments have published green standards for the ten most widely-used products in express packaging, including parcel boxes and tape. Moreover, the standards entail rules for use of materials, heavy metal content control, packaging design, and more.

In 2019, China’s express delivery industry handled 63.52bn packages in total, jumping 25.3% YoY， ranking first globally for six consecutive years. However, the industry is also producing more than 9m tons of waste paper and over 1.8m tons of plastic waste each year, and the number continues to grow rapidly.

This January, China’s NDRC and Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) announced plans to rule out the use of non-degradable plastic packaging, plastic tape and single-use plastic woven bags at express delivery outlets across China. The central government aims to fully implement the ban in key Chinese cities and provinces such as Shanghai, Beijing and Zhejiang by the end of 2022, and to expand the ban nationwide by 2025. Meanwhile, in August, eight departments in China, including SAMR, NDRC, SPB and Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), also issued a notice, introducing mandatory recycling regulations and establishing standardized green packaging guidelines for the country’s express delivery industry before 2022.

So far, China Post and SF Express have respectively installed packaging waste recycling facilities in more than 11,000 and 18,000 delivery points, while Suning Logistics, YTO Express and STO Express have also started introducing recycling systems for their express packages, based on their CSR or ESG reports. In May, Alibaba-backed Cainiao Smart Logistics Network announced plans to add an additional 50,000 recycling boxes at service stations by year-end, in order to reuse over 100m delivery parcels per year. Also, JD Logistics has set a goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% before 2030, on a 2019 baseline, through measures such as introducing new energy vehicle-powered deliveries, using green packaging and more.

Reference:

https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2020-11-24/doc-iiznctke2996851.shtml

http://www.gov.cn/shuju/2020-10/23/content_5553659.htm

https://www.cnbeta.com/articles/tech/1013159.htm

https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xxgk/zcfb/tz/202001/t20200119_1219275.html

https://www.asiatimesfinancial.com/china-goes-to-war-on-excessive-courier-packaging-waste

https://www.infzm.com/contents/196435

https://www.alizila.com/how-cainiao-plans-to-digitize-chinas-logistics-industry/

https://www.sohu.com/a/432194193_310397