A seminar on green consumption held by the Green Lifestyle Partnership April 30 in Taipei City highlights government commitment to working with the private sector to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
According to the Ministry of Environment, the GLP was established in February and has a current membership of more than 180 public and private organizations and departments. The seminar explored ways to encourage consumers to choose a green life.
The event was hosted by Lin Tze-luen, director of Taipei-based National Taiwan University’s Center for Public Policy and Law. He said that promoting net-zero practices requires a scientific understanding of the motivations and sources of resistance underlying people’s behaviors.
A speech about applied behavioral science from Chen Pei-lin, deputy research director of the Industrial Technology Research Institute’s Industry, Science and Technology International Strategy Center, was a highlight of the event. She said techniques from the field can and should be applied to guide people to implement sustainable actions in their daily lives, and used food and transportation choices as well as energy management examples to elaborate on the effective change of behavior through policy design, environment construction and the introduction of nudge measures.
The seminar also included a session for examining case studies from local and international businesses. A representative from Ikea discussed the company’s circular economy project for renting office furniture, while a speaker from New Taipei City-based Chef Clean shared the company’s experience rolling out a plastic reduction plan that uses environmentally friendly packaging materials and recycles packaging for reuse.
According to the MOENV, the seminar is anticipated to inspire more businesses to integrate green practices and serve as a reference for future services and product designs. The ministry added that the seminar is the second of a series of GLP-planned activities, that will continue in June and July with events focusing on green traveling and green cuisine, respectively. (YCH-E)
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