Environmental Protection Vice Minister Wu Xiaoqing Pens Preface for Green Printing Handbook

[ppzhan abstract] The 2012 edition of the *Green Printing Handbook* was jointly compiled by the Printing and Distribution Management Department of the General Administration of Press and Publication and the Science and Technology Standards Department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and Wu Xiaoqing, Vice Minister of Environmental Protection, wrote the preface for the handbook.

Over the years, China has actively implemented the strategy of sustainable development, placed environmental protection in an important strategic position, comprehensively advanced energy conservation and emissions reduction, and focused on tackling prominent environmental problems that affect sustainable development and harm public health, achieving notable results. During the "11th Five-Year Plan" period, the national emissions of the major pollutants chemical oxygen demand and sulfur dioxide fell by 12.45% and 14.29% respectively, and the main environmental quality targets were all met ahead of schedule, fully demonstrating China's determination and capacity to strengthen environmental protection and embodying the concept and action of promoting green development.

In September 2010, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the General Administration of Press and Publication signed the Cooperation Agreement on Implementing the Green Printing Strategy to jointly advance the green development of the printing industry. Green printing mainly refers to printing methods that have little impact on the ecological environment, cause little pollution, and save resources and energy. By implementing green printing, pollutants in the raw and auxiliary materials used for printing are restricted, pollutant emissions in printing production are reduced, waste recycling and hazardous waste treatment are regulated, and environmental protection requirements are carried through the entire printing process, thereby providing environmentally friendly printed products to society, promoting energy conservation and emissions reduction in the printing industry, and protecting public health.

To implement the green printing strategy, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the General Administration of Press and Publication organized the formulation and release of China's green printing standard, the *Technical Requirement for Environmental Labeling Products — Printing Part: Offset Printing* (HJ2503-2011); carried out large-scale publicity on green printing across the country and trained representatives of relevant industry associations and more than 360 enterprises on the green printing standard; actively promoted green printing certification, and to date 60 printing enterprises have passed the relevant certification; and drove printing enterprises to raise awareness and change their thinking, laying the foundation for the full implementation of the green printing strategy across the printing industry.

Recently, the State Council issued the *Opinions on Strengthening Key Work in Environmental Protection* (Guo Fa [2011] No. 35), which set out arrangements for environmental protection work in the new period. It emphasizes the need to encourage the use of environmental labels, environmental certification and green printing products, demonstrating the state's great attention to green printing work and pointing out the direction for the development of green printing; this is an important basis for us to vigorously advance green printing work.

I believe that implementing the green printing strategy will certainly promote technological upgrading and structural adjustment throughout the printing industry, create new development advantages and usher in greater room for development. The *Green Printing Handbook* gives a fairly comprehensive introduction to the purpose, significance, work content and requirements of implementing green printing. I hope that the competent departments for environmental protection and for press and publication in all localities, as well as relevant publishing and printing enterprises, will study it earnestly, deepen their understanding of green printing, and contribute to the green development of the printing industry.

Vice Minister of Environmental Protection

November 1, 2011

— This article is reposted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362016.html