Industry Strong Voice | GB/T 35604-2025 is counting down to its implementation, and there is a new standard for the green transformation of architectural glass!

On April 25, 2025, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Standardization Administration jointly issued the GB/T 35604-2025 "Green Product Evaluation - Architectural Glass" national standard, which is only a few days away from its official implementation on November 1. As the core basis for green evaluation in the field of architectural glass, the implementation of this standard will completely reshape the development logic of the industry and chart a clear path for the green development of flat glass, tempered glass, laminated glass and insulating glass.

Standards released: Why focus on green building glass?

As the third largest building material after cement and steel, architectural glass's green attributes are directly related to the realization of the "double carbon" goal. Data shows that building energy consumption accounts for nearly 40% of total social energy consumption, while the energy consumption of building glass accounts for about 50% of building energy consumption. The energy-saving performance of doors, windows and curtain walls is largely determined by the performance of glass.
Since the implementation of the 2017 version of the standards, the industry has made significant progress in energy-saving technology. However, with the increased penetration of high-end products such as Low-E glass and the rise of photovoltaic building integration technology, the original evaluation system has been unable to adapt to new needs. This revision has gone through multiple stages such as kick-off meetings, verification tests, and public solicitation of opinions. It has absorbed suggestions from scientific research institutes, universities, and enterprises to form an evaluation framework that takes into account both scientificity and operability. It is not only a response to the technological upgrading of the industry, but also a key measure to promote low-carbon transformation in the construction field.

Core Breakthroughs: Five Major Technological Changes to Understand the New Standard

Compared with the 2017 version, GB/T 35604-2025 has achieved all-round upgrades in the evaluation system, including five major technical changes:

Added a new first-level indicator of "low carbon attributes"

This is the core breakthrough of this revision, which clearly requires companies to provide product carbon footprint reports and incorporate carbon footprint accounting into the core part of the evaluation. The example of the insulating glass carbon footprint report given in Appendix E provides a direct reference for corporate practice and promotes "low carbon" from concept to quantitative management.

Establish grading standards for "green benchmark products"

On top of the basic green product requirements, higher-dimensional benchmark indicators are added. Taking resource attributes as an example, green benchmark products require flat glass unit product water consumption ≤ 0.10m³/weight box and solid waste recycling rate ≥ 95%, which are 33% and 5% higher than ordinary green product standards respectively. In terms of energy attributes, the relative energy saving rate of insulating glass must reach more than 65%, far exceeding the basic requirement of 60%.

Optimize four traditional attribute indicators

● Resource attributes: Deleting indicators related to packaging materials and adding requirements for solid waste recycling rates will force companies to improve their recycling systems;

● Energy properties: The energy consumption of unified tempered glass needs to meet the GB 21340 Level 1 standard, and the calculation parameters of relative energy saving rates in different climate zones are refined. The standard environmental conditions in severe cold areas are clearly outdoor - 16℃ / indoor 18℃ / radiation 300W/m²;

● Environmental properties: For the first time, the emission limits of air pollutants are clarified and connected with GB 26453 "Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for the Glass Industry";

● Quality attributes: New requirements for heat resistance and radiation resistance of laminated glass have been added. Insulated glass must control the visible light transmittance deviation within ±1.5%, and some redundant test items must be deleted.

Supplementary definitions of key terms

New explanations for terms such as "relative heat gain" are added to further clarify the evaluation boundaries and provide a unified technical language for testing and certification.

Add incentive requirements

The encouraging requirements in Chapter 4.3 reserve space for industry innovation and guide enterprises to carry out forward-looking layout in areas such as low-carbon technology and recycling.

Implementation impact: The entire industry chain welcomes green reconstruction

Production side: Technology upgrading becomes an inevitable choice

Standards' rigid constraints on energy consumption and emissions will accelerate the elimination of high-energy-consuming production lines. Enterprises need to focus on breakthroughs in three major directions: first, use energy-saving technologies such as oxy-combustion to reduce energy consumption in the melting process; second, increase the waste glass recycling rate to more than 90% to meet the basic requirements for green products; third, establish a full life cycle carbon management system to meet carbon footprint reporting requirements. For insulating glass companies, it is necessary to upgrade the production process to control deviations in photothermal performance parameters.

Market side: Green labels become the core of competition

As green building standards become increasingly stringent, glass products with green certification will command a market premium. Data shows that the application proportion of Low-E glass in new buildings in my country has reached 48% in 2025. After the implementation of the standard, products that meet the requirements of "green benchmarks" will have an advantage in the high-end construction market, while ordinary products that do not meet the standards may face the risk of market elimination.

Application side: Provide basis for green building material selection

The standard clarifies the green performance indicators of different types of architectural glass, making building design and construction material selection rules-based. For example, in severe cold areas, insulating glass with a relative energy saving rate of ≥65% can be prioritized, while in tropical areas, the relative heat gain index can be controlled, which will promote the implementation of building energy saving effects from the design end.

The “value of not disturbing” hidden in glass

In fact, the core meaning of GB/T 35604-2025 is just like those thoughtful smart doors and windows - they are never deliberately advertised with the concepts of "green" and "low carbon", but they hide deep insights into life and the environment in the details.

It will not let you notice the existence of standards, but it will silently optimize the architectural experience around you: the house will be warmer in winter, the air conditioner will run for fewer hours in summer, and the electricity bill will quietly become lighter in the long run; the blue sky outside the window will last longer, because less pollutants are emitted during glass production; even when the glass is replaced at home, the old glass can be recycled and reused more efficiently, reducing the burden on the environment. These "innocuous but useful" changes are the true value of standards - Let green glass become an "invisible support", which not only supports the low-carbon transformation of the industry, but also protects the stability and comfort of every family, and pushes us towards a future in which man and nature coexist harmoniously.

Have you ever paid attention to the detailed experience brought by architectural glass in your life? Or what are your expectations for green glass? Welcome to share in the comment area and witness together how glass can make life better after the standard is implemented~