Leverage the exemplary and leading role of public institutions to actively yet prudently advance carbon peaking.

Recently, the State Administration of Government Offices and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the “Work Plan for Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction in Public Institutions during the 15th Five-Year Plan Period” (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”), which lays out a systematic framework for energy conservation and carbon reduction efforts in public institutions during this period. The Plan clarifies specific goals, tasks, and institutional arrangements, playing a crucial role in steadily advancing carbon peaking and strengthening the green foundation for high-quality development.

Deeply Understanding the Significance of the Plan’s Issuance

The Plan serves as an important cornerstone for implementing the “dual carbon” strategy and reinforcing the political responsibility of Party and government organs in energy conservation and carbon reduction. The 15th Five-Year Plan period is a critical phase for achieving carbon peaking, requiring decisive action. Public institutions—especially Party and government organs at all levels—are major consumers of energy and resources, accounting for approximately 2.6% of total national energy consumption, and are also significant emitters of carbon dioxide, making their role vital to ensuring the timely attainment of the carbon-peaking target. The State Council’s “Action Plan for Carbon Peaking during the 15th Five-Year Plan Period” sets clear energy conservation and carbon reduction targets for public institutions, calling for a 5% reduction in energy consumption per unit area and an 8.5% decrease in carbon emissions. By quantifying tasks and refining specific objectives, the Plan translates energy conservation and carbon reduction into core responsibilities for Party and government organs and public institutions at all levels, bridging the final mile in implementing the dual carbon strategy within public institutions and providing essential support for advancing high-quality administrative services.

The Plan is also a key enabler for public institutions to take the lead and serve as models for green and low-carbon practices. It requires government management departments to spearhead strict control over energy consumption, comprehensively phase out outdated and inefficient coal-fired facilities, leverage renewable energy sources tailored to local conditions, promote low-carbon construction and renovation of buildings, and organize initiatives such as creating resource-efficient public institutions, hosting Energy-Saving Weeks, launching carbon‑inclusive programs, encouraging green office practices, and promoting eco‑friendly commuting. These measures advocate a lifestyle and consumption pattern that prioritizes green and low-carbon principles, simplicity, moderation, and health, sending a clear policy signal to society about sustainable development and resource conservation, thereby fostering a growing societal momentum toward energy conservation and carbon reduction.

The Plan further provides foundational support for fulfilling the requirement to practice frugality and cultivating a correct view of official achievements. As vital carriers of national governance and major fiscal spenders, public institutions consume enormous amounts of water, electricity, fuel, coal, consumables, office equipment, and food each year. The Plan emphasizes promoting efficient and intensive resource utilization, curbing extravagant energy use and inefficient operations, and advancing energy- and water-saving renovations, paperless offices, green official travel, anti-food waste measures, waste sorting, and resource recycling. At the same time, it actively promotes market‑based approaches, encouraging private capital to invest in energy‑saving upgrades of public buildings, amplifying the leverage effect of green investments while reducing fiscal expenditures, so that governments can allocate more savings to social welfare and industrial development.

Accurately Grasping the Core Tasks and Requirements of the Plan

With carbon peaking as the ultimate goal, the Plan establishes a systematic framework for decarbonizing public institutions. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China’s energy conservation and carbon reduction management will shift from dual control over energy consumption to dual control over carbon emissions, profoundly impacting public institutions’ efforts to conserve energy and resources. In alignment with the requirements of the “Comprehensive Evaluation and Assessment Measures for Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality,” the Plan strengthens target management and quota constraints on energy and resource consumption, urging regions to scientifically calculate and set reduction targets for carbon and energy intensity in public institutions during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, rigorously assess annual progress toward these targets, and diligently carry out related evaluation and assessment work. By pursuing both energy efficiency improvements and structural optimization, the Plan continues to increase support for energy‑saving and carbon‑reducing renovations, backing projects focused on building envelopes, energy‑using products and equipment, and integrated energy systems. It strictly controls fossil fuel consumption, particularly coal, encourages eligible regions to achieve zero coal usage, intensifies the deployment of renewable energy sources such as solar and geothermal power, and raises the level of electrification at the end-use stage. Public institutions are also encouraged to voluntarily reduce carbon emissions and increase green coverage, explore voluntary emission‑reduction methodologies, actively participate in the national carbon market and green electricity trading, and tailor strategies to create zero‑carbon public institutions where feasible.

Strengthening resource conservation and intensification, the Plan consolidates the foundations for green operations in public institutions. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, resource‑conservation efforts in public institutions will become even more pragmatic and problem‑oriented, shifting toward “quality improvement and efficiency gains, precision governance.” Water‑saving initiatives will be deepened through upgrading water‑saving fixtures, renovating aging pipe networks, deploying smart water‑management devices, promoting the use of reclaimed water and rainwater, and adopting contractual water‑saving management models to continuously reduce water consumption intensity. Anti‑food‑waste measures will be firmly implemented, with regular enforcement of the “Clean Plate Campaign,” strict adherence to performance evaluations and reporting mechanisms for food‑waste prevention in official canteens, standardized management of official meals, and efforts to minimize, recycle, and safely dispose of kitchen waste, resolutely eliminating catering waste. Waste sorting and resource recycling will continue to be advanced, with comprehensive improvements to household waste classification and processing, establishing robust systems for recycling discarded electronic devices, office furniture, and other materials, strictly enforcing plastic‑pollution control requirements, and taking the lead in phasing out non‑degradable single‑use plastics.

Cultivating a green culture and leveraging the demonstration effect of public institutions. Grounded in their political positioning as pioneers and role models, public institutions will persistently foster a green and low‑carbon organizational culture through publicity, daily practice, and benchmark demonstrations, leading the nation toward new trends in green and low‑carbon production and lifestyles. First, they will strengthen educational outreach, regularly organizing thematic campaigns to raise awareness of green and low‑carbon principles, disseminating concepts such as water and energy conservation, green commuting, waste sorting, and frugal living, thus nurturing a culture of environmental stewardship. Second, they will promote green office practices, implement frugality requirements, make full use of existing assets, deepen green procurement and paperless operations, adopt the “135” green commuting model, and reduce reliance on disposable office supplies. Third, they will reinforce benchmark leadership by strictly controlling the number of designated units, rigorously setting creation criteria, and maintaining high quality standards, continually expanding the ranks of resource‑efficient public institutions and energy‑ and water‑efficiency leaders, using exemplary cases to drive broader adoption and collectively accelerate the transition to a green and low‑carbon way of life.

Effectively Strengthening Support and Guarantees for Implementing the Plan

Improving the Institutional and Standard Framework to Solidify the Foundations of Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Management. A robust institutional and standard system addresses fundamental and long-term needs, serving as a critical safeguard for the steady and sustainable progress of energy conservation and carbon reduction efforts in public institutions. The Plan proposes timely revisions to the “Regulations on Energy Conservation in Public Institutions,” active participation in revising the “Energy Conservation Law of the People’s Republic of China,” and seamless coordination with the “Ecological Environment Code of the People’s Republic of China.” It calls for building a streamlined, logically coherent, and practically effective management and standardization system, expediting the issuance of physical quotas for energy‑using equipment and service standards. Addressing the longstanding issue of unclear carbon‑emission inventories and inaccurate accounting in public institutions, the Plan advocates standardizing carbon‑emission statistics and accounting methods, upgrading energy‑resource measurement technologies, vigorously promoting smart meters, and continuously modernizing the national comprehensive information platform for energy conservation and resource management in public institutions, facilitating the integration of energy‑resource consumption data with carbon‑emission management, asset administration, and other related functions, thereby providing reliable statistical data as a solid foundation for dual‑control management of carbon emissions.

Innovating Market Mechanisms to Build Strong Capacity Foundations. Achieving carbon peaking requires combining an effective market with proactive government intervention. The Plan proposes actively yet prudently promoting contract‑energy management models, ensuring proper budgetary arrangements for entrusted project procurement, strengthening project implementation monitoring and risk mitigation, and fostering a托管 service mechanism characterized by standardized procedures, clear accountability, and mutual benefits among all parties. It emphasizes leveraging digital tools to enhance management efficiency and effectiveness, utilizing big data, artificial intelligence, IoT, and other technologies to guide public institutions’ energy conservation and carbon reduction efforts from traditional approaches toward digital and intelligent solutions. In terms of capacity building, the Plan calls for integrating public‑institution energy conservation and carbon reduction into the curricula of party schools, administrative academies, and cadre training institutes at all levels, continuing to host green and low‑carbon lecture series, energy‑management training courses for cadres, and organizing theoretical and practical research to continuously elevate the professional expertise and hands-on capabilities of energy‑management personnel.

Uniting Multi‑Stakeholder Collaborative Efforts to Establish a Coordinated Governance Framework. Given the wide range of sectors and fields involved in public‑institution energy conservation and carbon reduction, concerted efforts across multiple stakeholders are essential. The Plan explicitly outlines an efficient promotion mechanism led by the development and reform authorities, coordinated by the administrative affairs management department, and involving relevant competent agencies. The State Administration of Government Offices will strengthen top‑level design and overall coordination, promptly track progress, provide guidance, and ensure oversight; regional authorities will tailor incentive and restraint mechanisms to local realities, integrate public‑institution energy conservation and carbon reduction into relevant assessment frameworks, and coordinate the establishment of fiscal funding mechanisms aligned with the 15th Five-Year Plan’s goals; public institutions at all levels will strictly fulfill their primary responsibilities, adopting scientifically sound energy‑saving or renovation measures suited to local conditions to ensure tangible results. At the same time, deeper collaboration will be reinforced, fully harnessing the initiative of associations, universities, research institutes, and service organizations to build synergistic momentum.

Reprinted from: National Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Publicity Platform

Source: China Government Logistics Magazine, Issue 9, 2026

Author: Yan Yongzhe (Deputy Director, National Center for Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction)