China’s building materials industry has faced sustained pressure in recent years, with market demand experiencing a modest decline and product prices continuing to fluctuate at relatively low levels. In response, the industry has proactively accelerated structural adjustments and improved capacity utilization, with green development emerging as a core growth engine. The advanced new materials sector, in particular, has shown strong momentum and become a new highlight for the industry.
Data from the first quarter of 2026 reflects this green transition. The industry cumulatively reduced and phased out 29.8 million tons of low-efficiency capacity, with capacity utilization stabilizing and beginning to recover. Advanced inorganic non-metallic materials represented by photovoltaic glass and fiberglass products have flourished, with photovoltaic glass demand approaching 50 percent of total flat glass demand. The fiberglass products industry saw total profits increase 130 percent year-on-year. Green building materials achieved simultaneous volume and profit growth. By the end of the first quarter, nationally certified green building material products had increased 5 percent compared to the end of 2025, with green building material revenue exceeding 61 billion yuan.
The “Six-Zero“ factory initiative represents a key innovation in the industry‘s pursuit of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. The initiative covers six dimensions: zero purchased electricity, zero fossil energy, zero primary resources, zero carbon emissions, zero waste emissions, and zero employees. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently included the “Evaluation Guidelines for ’Six-Zero‘ Factories in the Building Materials Industry,“ led by the China Building Materials Federation, in its 2026 industry standard development plan. Industry experts consider this a significant step in using standards to guide industry optimization and upgrading, marking a key milestone in establishing the “Six-Zero“ factory standard system.
The China Building Materials Federation has officially issued a notice on comprehensively launching the “Six-Zero“ factory initiative, aiming to cultivate and create more than 100 standardized “Six-Zero“ factories by 2030. From 2026 onward, the industry will systematically advance the initiative across seven dimensions: cultivating model enterprises, promoting key technology breakthroughs and成果 commercialization, developing technology lists, preparing construction technical guidelines, establishing expert alliances, conducting “Six-Zero“ factory evaluations, and strengthening organizational publicity.
China‘s building materials industry is also making progress in carbon footprint standards. Carbon footprint standards have achieved full coverage across key industry sectors. During the “14th Five-Year Plan“ period, carbon emissions in the cement industry decreased 30.5 percent, with clean energy accounting for more than 40 percent. The industry is transitioning from a scale-speed development model toward quality-efficiency high-quality development. The building materials industry prosperity index reached 101.3 points in June 2026, up 0.5 points from the previous month, remaining above the threshold and in the expansionary range.
Looking ahead to the “15th Five-Year Plan“ period, the industry will comprehensively advance “Six-Zero“ factory development while accelerating the optimization and upgrading of traditional building material industries, cultivating and expanding inorganic non-metallic new materials industries, and integrating and upgrading non-metallic specialty resource industries. These three development engines are expected to drive industry quality improvement and create new growth opportunities.
