The water intake at WT’s operating sites are mainly used for circulated water of air conditioners and daily-life water consumed by employees in office and storage areas. The water is entirely sourced from the local water companies (fresh water) where each operating base is located, with no significant impact on water resources and the ecological environment of water source areas.
In order to ensure drinking water safety for employees, the water dispenser filters are replaced every month to effectively remove harmful substances in the water. Taiwan SGS is commissioned to regularly test the water every year to ensure safe and healthy water quality. The water consumption is mainly contributed by the evaporation and drift losses from air-conditioners and the water drunken by employees, and there is no effective tool available to measure them. The water discharge is solely made up of water used by employees in the daily life and is discharged into local public sewage systems through the sewage pipes of the building. WT conducts assessments using the World Resources Institute (WRI) Water Risk Atlas and has set a target to reduce water consumption by 1% annually.
In 2023, operational locations included in the disclosure inventory were Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, and China, with a total water consumption of 21.32 ML, an increase of 8.37 ML compared to 2022, due to the expanded statistical scope.
Note 1: The 2023 statistical boundary covers all operational locations in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, and Korea. Water fees for some offices are included in management fees without separate payment, making it impossible to reasonably calculate actual water consumption. As these represent an extremely small proportion of total water consumption, they are not included.
Note 2: To implement water resource management, from 2021 onwards, statistics are based on water consumption figures shown on water company bills. For years prior to 2020, consumption was estimated based on water fees and unit prices.
Note 3: Water consumption includes air conditioning water evaporation and employee drinking water needs. As these amounts are not significant and lack reasonable statistical methods, they are not separately tracked. All wastewater is domestic sewage directly discharged from office buildings to domestic sewers without flow measurement capabilities, so water consumption is used to estimate discharge volume for disclosure purposes.
To ensure the accuracy of water usage data, the water consumption of the Zhonghe Headquarters in Taiwan for 2022 and 2023 has been verified by BSI Taiwan Branch. The 2023 water consumption was 11.49 ML, an 8% increase compared to the 2022 figure of 10.68 ML. This increase was due to the 2023 cooling tower repairs and updates, which required large amounts of water drainage. WT has been continuously communicating with the building management committee to implement relevant water conservation measures.
Note: The verification scope for 2022 and 2023 was the Zhonghe Headquarters office in Taiwan. Water consumption data for 2022 and 2023 was verified by BSI Taiwan Branch in May 2024.
In the future, WT will continue to promote water conservation measures, use water-saving devices, conduct water usage inspections, and regularly promote water conservation information to achieve the goal of zero water waste together with employees.
