It is important that the private sector also does its part to make a circular economy happen. Manufacturing firms should review their processes to ensure they are one in spirit with the country’s circular economy. One of Taiwan’s biggest is taking the lead.
The world’s largest contract chipmaker plans to open a zero-waste manufacturing centre in Taichung City in 2023 as part of the company’s efforts to assimilate green management into its business. In a forum on the initiatives taken by the Information Communications Technology (ICT) supply chain in Taiwan to move toward net-zero carbon emissions, a top executive of the company announced that their upcoming zero-waste manufacturing centre is expected to help the chipmaker effectively cut waste.
Zero-waste manufacturing centres can turn waste into electronics materials which can be used again, to facilitate a circular economy. Moreover, the company is also planning to set up zero-waste manufacturing centres in the north and south of the country in the future.
The company convinced suppliers to work together to cut waste from production to lower greenhouse gas emissions and push for green manufacturing processes. The company also intensified its efforts to purchase green power, hoping the purchases will help the development of the local green energy industry.
According to the Bureau of Standard, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI), the semiconductor firm has bought almost all green power produced and traded by certified enterprises in the country. The BSMI’s data showed of the 1.06 million certificates issued by the centre from May 2017 to February 2022, about 910,000 certificates have been traded on the transaction platform under the bureau’s National Renewable Energy Certification Center (T-RECC), with the leading Taiwan manufacturer purchasing almost 900,000 certificates.
The 1.06 million certificates were issued for the production of 1.06 billion kilowatts per hour of electricity via renewable sources, which has cut carbon emissions by 534,000 metric tons, the BSMI said. On average, the company spends 1%-2% of its revenue a year on energy conservation and carbon emission reduction as the chipmaker has set a goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In addition, it tends to use as much raw material as possible provided by Taiwanese suppliers, which helps it avoid long haul deliveries and helps to upgrade the local supply chain.
The chipmaker has tried its best to use raw materials which will not produce much waste to control carbon emissions from the very beginning. TSMC has an advanced control system to closely monitor waste production. In addition, the manufacturer is leading the way for other Taiwan companies. It has teamed up with another seven tech companies to set up the Taiwan Climate Partnership to form a Taiwanese green supply chain.
An executive of another firm affirmed saying that at a time of pressing risks resulting from climate change, the alliance aims to lead the local high tech industry to explore opportunities in the green energy business. Technology should come together with responsibility.
Already, digital technology is changing the lives of the people of Taiwan for the better. The nation is putting up a major tech corridor in the south that is set to boost the country’s computing power as reported on OpenGov Asia. Another example is the bike-sharing service that makes it easy for people to get a ride.
