The city of Suzhou has recently witnessed the inauguration of the National Alliance of Materials Laboratories. BJUT-based State Key Laboratory of Materials Low-Carbon Recycling (MLCR) joined the alliance as a vice-chairman institution, with Nie Zuoren, MLCR's director and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) elected Vice Chairman of the alliance. Nie addressed the inaugural conference.

At the conference, Nie delivered a keynote speech titled "Touchstone for "green" and "low-carbon" -- the theory, practice and platform of MLCA in China". In his report, Nie elaborated on the core challenges and application advantages in the field of material life cycle assessment (MLCA), shared MLCR's latest achievements in MLCA-related theoretical research, the development of a material environmental load data platform, and low-carbon material recycling technologies. His report provided valuable insights for collaborative innovation among the alliance's member institutions.