Taiwan Sugar Corporation (Taisugar) has always been concerned about environmental sustainability and is carrying out its net-zero emissions project actively. Since mid-March last year, the boilers at Taisugar's Xiaogang plant have been powered by natural gas instead of low-sulfur fuel oil; this has reduced annual CO2 emissions by 25,795 tCO2e, which is equivalent to the carbon adsorption capacity of 67 Taipei Daan Parks. With remarkable achievements, it has been honored with the Silver Award in the Taiwan Sustainable Action Award. Taisugar will continue to refine processes and optimize equipment, putting forth efforts to contribute to the realization of Taiwan's 2050 net-zero goal.
The 2023 Taiwan Sustainability Action Awards (TSAA Awards) ceremony was held today (21st) at the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall 1. In this 3rd edition of the TSAA Awards, Taiwan Sugar Corporation was recognized with the Silver Award for their remarkable progress in carbon reduction in their boiler system, with the theme of Taiwan Sugar's Great Leap in Carbon Emissions Reduction. Vice President Dong-Lin Tsai received the recognition on behalf of Taisugar during the awards ceremony, which marks the third consecutive year that Taisugar has been honored with the TSAA Awards.
According to Taisugar, one-third of the company's greenhouse gas emissions come from the sugar refining business, and 90% of them come from its Xiaogang Plant. Therefore, to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality, Taisugar launched a project to transition its boilers into burning natural gas instead of fuel oil. This endeavor included the redesign of the boiler plant to comply with natural gas explosion-proof regulations, update all related equipment, as well as relevant pipeline construction and engagements with the local community. The new natural gas-powered boilers officially went into operations on March 14 last year, fully switching to natural gas instead of low-sulfur fuel oil, thus significantly reducing CO2 and air pollutants emissions.
Taisugar elaborated that after a full year of operations and statistical calculation, the CO2 emissions concentration at the Xiaogang Plant has been decreased by 27%, and the emissions volume has also reduced by 35.6%. Moreover, air pollutants have significantly decreased, with sulfur oxides (SOx) emissions concentration dropping from 110ppm to 1ppm, achieving an impressive 99% reduction. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission concentration has also been decreased by more than 50%, and the emission volume has been reduced by over 88% compared to that of the previous year, demonstrating significant environmental benefits from the project.
Taisugar stressed that to address the challenges of climate change and achieve environmental sustainability goals, achieving net-zero emissions is a top priority for countries worldwide. The company will continue to review and improve various aspects of its production and sales processes. For example, next year, the Xiaogang Plant will install denitrification equipment, and the Taisugar Biotech Plant's boilers will be converted to use natural gas. Taiwan Sugar will firmly uphold its commitment to sustainable business practices and actively implement environmentally friendly measures to realize the goal of achieving net-zero emissions.
Sources：MOEA
