Taiwan Cement Corp. won two prizes at this year’s Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Awards Nov. 23 in Taipei City for its commitment to greening production processes and transparently reporting environmental data.
TCC was presented with the award in the climate leadership classification in recognition of its carbon emissions-reduction measures. It was also among the enterprises recognized in the Top 50 Corporate Sustainability Report category for the credibility and completeness of its publicly disclosed information.
Accepting the prizes on behalf of the company, Wang Chi-may, senior vice president of TCC, said the firm is committed to incorporating environmental considerations into decision-making processes. “Being environmentally friendly is not a cost but a responsibility,” she said, adding that promoting sustainability is a core company value.
According to Wang, TCC’s wide-ranging efforts to reduce carbon emissions are evidenced by its collaboration with the government-supported Industrial Technology Research Institute in establishing the world’s largest carbon capture plant employing calcium looping process technology, which was inaugurated June 10, 2013. Such efforts have led to a decline in the cement manufacturer’s carbon output, with the latest company data showing total emissions fell 2.65 percent year on year in 2015 to 5.24 million tons.
First held in 2008, the TCSA recognizes local companies as well as foreign firms operating in the nation for their sustainability and reporting measures. The event is hosted by the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy, a foundation dedicated to the promotion of renewable power and corporate environmental responsibility.
A record total of 118 companies were honored at this year’s awards, reflecting wider trends across the nation toward carbon reduction and sustainability. Taiwan is one of the few countries in the world to have written into law a target for lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Enacted last July, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act includes the long-term goal of cutting emissions by at least 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2050.
This objective is in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, which was reached at the 21st annual Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in the French capital last year. Although not a signatory to the UNFCCC, Taiwan has been taking part in peripheral events of the agency’s sessions as a nongovernmental organization observer since 1995 through ITRI. (KWS-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw