Voluntarily raising carbon reduction standards as the world moves towards energy conservation and carbon reduction
WT has been developing a voluntary GHG inventory since 2018. In 2023, it has completed the GHG inventory of all operating locations of all subsidiaries included in the consolidated financial statements with 100% inventory coverage, and will complete a third-party verification of locations where operate WT’s companies and Taiwan subsidiaries included the consolidated statements, with 45% verification coverage, by 2027 at the latest.
Local procurement accounted for 100% of general supplies spending in 2023
As WT purchases products from global IC giants (known as its vendors) to meet customers’ requirement, its management of local procurement issues focuses on general supplies and excludes transactions with the vendors. According to statistics in 2023, procurement from Taiwanese suppliers accounted for 100% of the Taiwan headquarters’ spending on general supplies including office supplies, information equipment, and logistics center procurement, 1.7% up relative to 2022.
Purchasing green-labeled products whenever possible and spending NT$16.44 million on green procurement
WT gives priority to green-label products when purchasing general supplies, and has won the Performance Excellence Award for Promoting Green Procurement Plans for Private Enterprises and Groups from the New Taipei City Environmental Protection Department for four consecutive years. The total green procurement spending was NT$16.44 million in the 2023 reports, achieving an annual growth rate of 5% for two consecutive years. A target has been set to reach an annual growth rate of 5% in the coming years. Being a committed green consumer, WT purchases eco-friendly products that are recyclable, causing minimal pollution, and using minimal natural resources whenever possible. For example, a total of NT$10.66 million was spent on purchasing eco-labelled notebook computers from China and overseas.
In 2023, WT was awarded the Excellent Enterprise of Green Consumption and Environmental Protection Volunteer by New Taipei City.
Environmental management spending has been increased over the years
WT has been voluntarily developing GHG inventory for many years. In addition to third party verification, the inventory has been extended to include more operating sites over the years for a more comprehensive scope and a more reliable dataset. Additional environmental management training sessions are also conducted to enhance everyone’s sustainability awareness. In 2023, the Taiwan headquarters spent NT$2.71 million in related management systems, training and activities. See below for courses held in 2023.
Much attention has been paid to climate change and proactive effort made to protect the environment
WT continues to participate in activities such as community greening, ecological protection, recycling and reuse, and sharing of old objects. Since 2023, it adopts Shimen Baisha Bay, Kite Park, and Laomei Lushicao Beach on the north coast of New Taipei City, and calls on employees to join the Company’s monthly beach cleanups, during which knowledge may be disseminated with increased interactions. Starting from beach cleanups, WT went further to remind employees not to litter, and encourage sorting at office and home, etc. In 2023, a total of 499 person-times participated in the beach clean-ups, removing 2,763 kilograms of debris from the beaches.
In the beginning, employees took their children to the clean-ups out of curiosity. After cleaning different beaches and accomplish various tasks month after month, the participants gradually fell in love with the ocean. They not only regularly attend the monthly clean-ups, but also rise to the debris weight challenges. In addition to the three beaches in Shimen District in New Taipei City, WT will adopt a fourth beach, Chungchiao Shachu Bay, and make some adjustment to the beach clean-up activities in 2024.
The Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) released the Roadmap for the Sustainable Development of Listed Companies in March 2022. However, WT has already begun GHG inventory development as early as 2018 and voluntarily extended the boundaries. In 2022, the external GHG inventory verification scope has been extended to include operating bases such as Hong Kong and Singapore logistics centers. In 2022, the GHG inventory of operating bases such as China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore was also be voluntarily completed (without third-party verification). In 2023, the GHG inventory will be further extended to more operating bases and verified by a third party. The GHG inventory of all the Group’s operating bases estimated to complete in 2025, with third-party verification to be completed by 2027 at the latest.
Environmental management spending has been increased over the years.
In order to fulfill its responsibility for environmental sustainability, WT’s Taiwan and Hong Kong Logistics Centers have both been certified with ISO 14001: Environmental Management System (see 6-8 for details of the effective date for the management system), and have been developing GHG inventory for many years. In addition to third party verification, the inventory has been extended to include more operating bases over the years for a more precise and accurate information disclosure. Additional environmental management training sessions have also been conducted across departments to enhance sustainable development awareness for all employees and promote reduction programs. In 2022, training on SASB sustainability accounting, TCFD risk management and others were introduced, and the Taiwan headquarters invested NT$3.23 million in environmental-oriented management systems, training, and related activities. In addition, a total of 208 hours of training on environmental management and goal implementation were delivered at Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen Logistics Centers in 2022.
Much attention has been paid to climate change in response to UN SDGs
In 2015, the United Nations formulated the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in hope that the collective attention of countries around the world to climate change will help stakeholders identify climate change-related risks and opportunities. In line with the international trend, WT has been improving environment-oriented development.
Increased proportion of renewable energy use
In response to the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs’ plan to achieve 20% renewables in electricity generation matrix by 2025 and the Paris Agreement’s goal to keep the temperature rise under control, despite not being a major electricity consumer or carbon emitter which is subject prioritized control, WT voluntarily planed and invested RMB 1.428 million to set up a 100 KW solar power generation system on the roof of the Shanghai office. The system generates about 9,000 kWh of electricity per month, and the power generated is mainly for self-use. WT will continue to conduct feasibility assessments on future green energy power generation, voluntary purchase of green electricity, and renewable energy certificates, in order to adopt green energy solutions that are most beneficial to the environment, gradually increase the proportion of renewable energy usage, and reduce WT’s GHG emissions.
NTD 15.66million were spent on purchasing green-labeled products in 2022
WT, as an IC distributor, mainly works in electronic components trading and research and development. Although the trade does not involve manufacturing or significant environmental pollution, WT has been making efforts with it suppliers to develop and apply green technologies, and mitigate the concerns about exhaustion of energy sources. WT is committed to purchase green-labeled products whenever possible. It has been filing its green procurement under the guidance of the New Taipei City Environmental Protection Bureau every year, and recognized for three consecutive years in the “New Taipei City Private Enterprises and Organizations Green Procurement Excellence Awards Ceremony”. The amount declared at the end of 2022 was NTD15.66 million, up 5% from the previous year. In the future, WT will continue to purchase green products whenever possible as an effort towards green consumption, choose products that cause less harm to the environment and human health, and give preference to products with the Environmental Protection Label, Energy-saving Label, Green Building Material Label, Water-saving Label, Category II Environmental Protection Label, Carbon Footprint Reduction Label which the Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency urges the private sector to choose.
WT was awarded the Excellent Enterprise of Green Consumption and Environmental Protection Volunteer by New Taipei City (Fourth from left: WT Associate Manager CHEN Yung-Ling)
WT continues to advocate the spirit of environmental sustainability, and participate in activities such as community greening, ecological protection, recycling and reuse, and sharing of old objects. In order to shape a sustainable environment, it also adoptedbeach cleanup areas, and has been urging the employees to participate in beach cleanups and tree planting activities.
The protection of environmental resources has always been an issue that the world attaches great importance to. In addition to reducing the source of pollution at all levels, the disposal of garbage is crucial as well. A lot of garbage discarded in the ocean are brought up to the shore by waves, and over time, the beautiful coast became filled with all kinds of garbage, among which dead marine creatures. In 2022, two beach cleanups were organized, where 137 participants removed a total of 1,484.2 kilograms of marine debris. Since 2023, WT adopted Shimen Baisha Bay, Kite Park, and Laomei Lushicao Beach on the north coast of New Taipei City and organized beach cleanups on a monthly basis, during which knowledge may be disseminated with increased interactions. Starting from beach cleanups, WT went further to advocate effective waste treatment, remind individuals not to litter, and encourage sorting at office or home , etc.
With the successful hiking in 2022, a series of Gathering For Fun activities will be held in conjunction with beach cleanups in 2023. In addition to the beach cleanups for public interest, employees are encouraged to go hiking for their own heath. Employees may enjoy the beauty of the mountains in northern Taiwan and breathing in energy-boosting phytoncides with their families. Moreover, the participants were invited to progress through a number of challenges intended for them to better understand the background stories of each peak and each trail, so as to enhance their knowledge and physical fitness at the same time.
The much-awaited company outings will resume in 2023, after being suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Much has been asked about the outings, as the itineraries have been distinctive and employees are invited to come with their families, whose expenses are also subsidized. The outings are designed to offer an in-depth understanding of local cultures, exclusive attractions, seasonal food, etc. of various places in Taiwan, and a variety of interactive games and experiences are incorporated to the program for ice breaking and team building.
Employees are offered a variety of itineraries in different styles, including parent-child experiences, amusement parks, extreme challenges, and sightseeing trips, to choose from according to their interests and whether they come alone or with families. For example, rafting trips that would fit energetic young groups, and parent-child itineraries that would be suitable for family outings. The latter would feature fun attractions that parents can enjoy with their young children and DIY activities that attract all ages. During the day, parents can exchange parenting information with each other, and children meet new friends and have fun together.
With the successful hiking in 2022, a series of Gathering For Fun activities will be held in conjunction with the monthly cleanups at different beaches on the north coast in 2023.
Waste has been sorted and recycled and packaging materials reused.
WT is committed to waste reduction and recycling from the source, and selects qualified suppliers to properly dispose the waste. The waste produced during WT’s operation is mainly made up of operational waste and daily-life waste discarded by employees in the offices, and cartons, paper boards, filling materials and waste left from carton sealing at the logistics centers. They are all non-hazardous waste.
In order to reduce the amount of waste generated at logistics centers, the packaging materials required for logistics operations, such as cartons, cardboard boxes, paper boards, etc., are actively cut down from the source. At receiving, empty cartons are recycled and to be reused for shipping packaging; and for shipping, either reusable or bio-degradable recycled materials are used for packaging. WT has a centralized waste management system, and keeps a regular record of waste quantity and waste transport data.
In order to achieve the goal of reducing the amount of waste, efforts have also been made in daily office management to buy less disposable consumer goods, use durable and recyclable products whenever possible, enhance employee education campaign on waste reduction and carbon reduction, and engage in waste sorting and recycling. As of the end of 2022, those wastes sent to the waste treatment facilities were all non-hazardous, those diverted from disposal were to be recycled and prepared for reuse only, and thosedirected to disposal were to be incinerated (with energy recovery) only. No waste was land-filled.
In 2022, the Hong Kong and Singapore logistics centers began to be kept track of for waste. A total of 101.2 metric tons of waste were incinerated (with energy recovery) in Taiwan, a decrease of 17.1 metric tons from 2021. The results show a year-on-year reduction in daily-life waste, and represent an achievement of WT’s continuous efforts in environmental protection.
In order to respond to the development of the country’s overall greenhouse gas reduction strategy and achieve the sustainable development goal of energy efficiency and carbon reduction, WT has been implementing greenhouse gas inventories on a yearly basis since 2018 and has appointed a third party to carry out verification, with greenhouse gas emissions originally targeted to be reduced by 1% per annum in 2018 as the base year and raised to 2% per annum from 2022 compared to the base year.
In March 2022, the FSC released the Sustainable Development Roadmap, and WT also committed to include the Hong Kong Logistics Center and the Singapore Logistics Center in the GHG emissions inventory boundary from 2022 onwards and to include the operating bases of each subsidiary in the inventory from 2023 onwards, so as to complete the GHG inventory and verification of all the Group’s operating bases. In addition, the disclosure of quantitative data related to energy use, water resources and waste will focus on the operating sites in Taiwan in 2021, and the disclosure of data from other operating sites will be expanded year by year in the future.
At the same time, WT will continue to promote the spirit of environmental sustainability and actively participate in activities such as community environmental greening, ecological protection, recycling and reuse of resources and sharing of used items, so as to create a sustainable environment together.
Increasing the proportion of renewable energy use
To be in line with the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ plan to generate 20% of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025 and the Paris Agreement’s goal of controlling the rate of temperature rise to a maximum of 2°C compared to the pre-industrial era, WT has started various renewable energy assessment programs since 2021 as a feasibility assessment for the future voluntary purchase of green electricity and renewable energy certificates, even though the company is not a major consumer of electricity or a major emitter of carbon emissions. It is a feasibility assessment for the future voluntary purchase of green electricity, renewable energy certificates, etc. to promote the enhancement of the proportion of renewable energy use and reduce WT’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Year-on-year increase in the share of environmental management costs
In order to fulfill its responsibility for environmental sustainability, WT has been actively implementing greenhouse gas inventories for many years, accepting third-party verification and expanding the geographical boundaries of inventories yearly, with the aim of seeking accurate and precise disclosure of various data and promoting various reduction programs, as well as increasing environmental management courses in various departments to implement the concept of sustainability for all employees. In addition, In 2021, WT invest about NT$1.53 million in environmental costs, and encouraging all managers to participate in education and training on environmental sustainability issues, thus significantly increasing the investment in environmental management.
Concerns about climate change and responses to international trends
In 2015, the United Nations formulated the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), hoping that through the collective attention of the world’s countries to climate change, the identification of risks and opportunities related to climate change by relevant stakeholders will be enhanced. WT also responded to the international trend to improve environment-oriented development.
Prioitize green labeled products and increase green procurement by 121% by 2021
In line with the Environmental Protection Administration’s policy of encouraging private enterprises to choose products with environmental protection labels, energy-saving labels, green building materials labels, water-saving labels, Type II environmental protection labels, and carbon footprint reduction labels, WT has pledged to give priority to the purchase of green labeled products. Green procurement amounted to NT$14.88 million in 2021, an increase of 121% compared to 2020, and WT was honored as a green consumption enterprise by the New Taipei City Government. In the future, WT will continue to actively promote green procurement and lead the social trend of purchasing green products in general.
Sort and recycle waste. Reuse packaging materials
In the course of operations, WT’s waste is mainly business-type waste and domestic waste generated by employees in the office. The logistics center also has waste related to outer boxes, cardboard, filling materials and sealing boxes, all of which are non-hazardous waste. In order to reduce the production of waste, WT insists on making every effort to properly separate waste, and all packaging materials required for logistics operations, such as outer boxes, cartons and cardboard, are made of recycled materials that can be recycled or will naturally decompose. WT also actively implements source reduction. The logistics centers in Taiwan and Hong Kong have received ISO 14001 certification in environmental management systems. In addition to the implementation of the recycling policy, waste is managed centrally and the quantity of waste is recorded and transported regularly.
In the future, we will continue to reduce the procurement of disposable consumer goods, give priority to the use of durable and recyclable products, step up efforts to promote waste reduction and carbon reduction among colleagues and implement waste separation and resource recovery and reuse.
In accordance with fire safety regulations, WT has set up various comprehensive protective facilities in the work environment and has delineated areas for fire prevention and management. We arranged for colleagues in charge of each floor to conduct regular inspections every month so as to prevent any possible disaster. Every year, staff members are sent to participate in fire drills and training activities organized by the Management Committee to understand the evacuation procedure forour park. Every year in March, external fire-fighting agencies carry out inspections and make reports, and fire-fighting establishments and drills are carried out in March and July every year to strengthen the escape and emergency response capabilities of the entire staff.
