Raw Material Conservation and Recycling | Five Departments Launch Comprehensive Conservation Strategy Initiative

On November 4, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Water Resources, and the State Administration of Government Offices jointly issued the "Action Plan for Implementing a Comprehensive Conservation Strategy" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"). The Plan sets out that by 2030, China's energy consumption, water usage, and construction land use per unit of GDP will be reduced by approximately 10%, 10%, and 15% respectively compared to 2025 levels; loss rates across all links in the grain industry chain will continue to decline; annual recycling of major secondary resources will reach 510 million tons; and a social ethos that champions conservation will be further established.

The Plan outlines key tasks across seven areas, including promoting energy conservation and improving energy efficiency, and strengthening raw material conservation and recycling.

In the area of promoting energy conservation and improving energy efficiency, the Plan proposes aggressively advancing energy saving in key sectors. Focusing on priority industries such as steel, nonferrous metals, petrochemicals, chemicals, and building materials, it calls for implementing tailored energy-saving and carbon-reduction upgrades for each sector to continuously enhance energy efficiency. Actively promoting energy-saving and carbon-reduction retrofits for existing buildings and scaling up ultra-low-energy buildings. Intensifying efforts to unlock potential in energy-saving and carbon-reduction upgrades for public institutions, and promoting third-party governance models such as Energy Performance Contracting (EPC / EMC). Lighting companies can leverage EPC and energy-cost management models to participate in lighting retrofits for public institutions and existing buildings（Further reading：This is how public institutions will achieve energy saving and carbon reduction in lighting over the next five years）.

In the area of strengthening raw material conservation and recycling, the Plan advocates promoting green design and green manufacturing. It calls for widely implementing green product design, issuing guidelines for green design of industrial products, promoting the use of low- or zero-VOC materials, encouraging minimalist and color-reduced packaging and printing designs, and strengthening controls on excessive commodity packaging. Accelerating improvements in resource utilization. Enhancing refined and standardized recycling networks for waste from both industrial sources and consumer ends. Continuously expanding the scale of reuse. Launching initiatives to upgrade the application of recycled materials in industries such as automobiles, home appliances, and daily chemicals, leveraging leading enterprises to increase the proportion of recycled materials used.

Regulations regarding recycling have also changed internationally. In February 2025, the EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) came into effect, with phased implementation starting in August of plastic restrictions, volume reductions, and higher recycling requirements. Production inputs for lighting products include metals and plastics, which are highly recyclable, offering vast potential for renewable substitution. Manufacturers need to monitor both domestic and international markets, as these new requirements may trigger another round of market demand shifts. Some companies have already launched relevant products: Ledvance's case study of using post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic to manufacture LED bulbs represents a quantifiable technological breakthrough, providing a replicable practical pathway for the green transformation of the lighting appliance industry（Further reading：Green and Low-Carbon Transformation Case | Ledvance PCR Bulbs）. Companies should deepen green design throughout the entire lifecycle, prioritizing single-material construction, separable structures, and recyclable packaging to facilitate downstream disassembly.

The release of the Plan means two things for the lighting industry. First, continued efforts are needed to save electricity. Retrofits in public institutions and existing buildings create definite market opportunities while also opening up incremental space for new models like smart lighting and energy management services. Second, manufacturers must place greater emphasis on technological investment in raw materials and product design. Green practices extend beyond energy efficiency in finished products to encompass greening production processes, ensuring products are repairable or replaceable, and using more sustainable materials.

Source: China Lighting Fixture Association