In response to "net-zero green living," a key strategy for achieving net-zero transition, the EPA is promoting green offices. A total of 6,821 enterprises have participated in the initiative, reducing approximately 300,000 metric tons of carbon emission in 2022 alone, equivalent to the annual carbon absorption of 775 Daan Forest Parks. Recently, 33 more exemplary enterprises have also declared their commitment to promoting green offices, leading the trend of green office transformation.
At the EPA’s invitation, on 2 February, enterprises that have responded to the call for the green office initiative, enterprises and groups that have won the National Enterprise Environmental Protection Awards, and enterprises that met the RE100 standard got together. A total of 33 enterprises, including Nanhua University and CTCI Corporation, as well as city and county environmental protection bureaus, attended the event to declare their commitment to implementing green offices and expressing their determination to strive for net-zero transition by 2050.
EPA Deputy Minister Chih-Hsiu Shen stated that the green office initiative is an important milestone in promoting net-zero green living. Initially, 35 green office measures under five indicators, namely, "saving energy and resources," "source reduction," "green procurement," "environmental beautification," and "advocacy and promotion" were to be implemented by participants that voluntarily responded to the call. Subsequently, a green office reference manual will be developed, compiling demonstration cases as reference for all sectors. In the future, green label standards for office spaces will be established, and related verification standards for a green office will be completed, which will be aligned with international standards, to guide domestic offices to change their past office behaviors and create a green and friendly office environment.
With actions such as using air-conditioning units with eco-labels, replacing more than half of light fixtures with LED lights, using water-saving devices and equipment in the office area, and conducting video conferences, the participating enterprises saved 330 million kilowatt-hours of electricity (equivalent to the annual power consumption of 78,000 households), 153,000 metric tons of water (equivalent to the daily water consumption of 540,000 people), and 34,000 metric tons of gasoline, reducing approximately 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2022.
"It's actually quite easy to go green in the office," said Deputy Minister Shen as he encouraged enterprises to adopt environmentally friendly practices, such as purchasing energy-saving and water-saving equipment that carry eco-labels, leasing instead of buying, cutting down on the provision of single-use tableware and cups, and showing colleagues how to develop environmentally friendly habits. He also shared the experience of the EPA's cooperation with private citizen power plants. The EPA building is able to generate 148,000 kWh of electricity annually, which is 14% of its total electricity consumption in a year after solar panels were installed on its rooftop. As long as an office has a roof area of over 40 ping and receives at least two hours of sunlight a day, it can participate, and the EPA has set up a platform to assist with matchmaking.
Excerpt from Major Environmental Policies, February 2023
Sources：EPA
