Speakers at this very
first Asia Pacific Circular Economy Roundtable include Janez Potočnik, Co-chair
of the UNEP International Resource Panel; 14 international experts from various
international companies, including global material manufacturer DSM; and also
representatives from 49 Taiwanese enterprises, such as Hair O'right
International Corp., Far Eastern New Century Corporation, and Taiwan Sugar
Corporation. The speakers will share their observations on global market
trends, actual enterprise application experiences, and specific transformation
tools. In addition to presenting the current progress of circular economy in
Taiwan, the venue is designed according to circular economy principles and
concepts, and offers five exhibition routes with different themes to demonstrate
a comprehensive circular economy experience.
MOEA Deputy Minister Tseng Wen-sheng mentioned that circular economy is
one of the major 5+2 industry innovation policies launched by the government.
It is an important industrial transformation strategy for Taiwanese industries,
and a necessary shift for companies working with international supply chains. The MOEA, which is responsible for launching such policies, rolled out
the “Circular Economy Promotion Plan" last year. By examining Taiwan’s
overall material flow and usage from a circular economy perspective, the Plan
aims to improve recycling efficiency and percentage of different recycled
materials, and reduce the amount of waste that goes into incinerators or
landfills.
Starting with CPC, CSC, Taipower, and TSC, the Ministry will
gradually apply circular economy policies onto the companies’ major material
recycling procedures. The eventual goal is to achieve industrial symbiosis,
resource productivity, and co-exist in harmony with the environment. Recycling
can extend the life cycle of resources or even endlessly reuse them. It can
greatly reduce waste and pollution problems and successfully introduce circular
economy concepts into every industry. Thus the Ministry invited state-owned enterprises, ITRI, Taiwan Circular Economy Network, and
other companies to assemble at the Asia Pacific Circular Economy Roundtable to
collectively discover new opportunities for
Taiwanese industries and set up a platform to connect with global economic
trends.
“To promote
circular economy, EPA devised a Resource Recycling and Recovery Plan
(2018-2020), which focuses on the perspectives of material production,
consumption, waste management, and regrind market through integrating
cross-departmental promotion strategies and measures, and uses performance
indicators such as resource productivity and cyclical use rate for evaluation,”
said EPA Director Ying-ying Lai. “In addition, with the establishment of
individual task forces for multiple kinds of resources by government and the green
deals between industries, we are gradually achieving the goals of maximum
resource recycling and minimum waste treatment.” Lai further stressed that Taiwan
Circular Economy Week is the first event organized by governmental forces in a
cross-departmental collaboration to demonstrate the results of circular economy
implementation. The event starts off with the Taiwan Circular Economy Summit in
Taipei, which features circular economy research and policy. It will be
followed by the “Asia Pacific Circular Economy Roundtable” and the inauguration
of the “Taiwan Circular Economy (TCE) 100” in Kaohsiung. Organized by the joint
collaboration of MOEA and EPA, these events not only feature the government’s
administrative efforts but also recognize the contributions from private
enterprises. “Through discussions and personnel interactions at Taiwan Circular
Economy Week, we hope to promote a circular economy and drive Taiwan to
becoming a circular economy hotspot in Asia,” added Lai.
Taiwan Circular Economy Network Chairman Charles Huang
expressed that in circular economy, we must look forward for next 20 years and
let the children born today have a better future, which mean circular economy is
also our responsibility to next generations. The key is to put
resources in the right place and create value, and this would require
systematic collaborations between industries and fields to realize. Luckily,
Taiwan has a complete industry chain, which is an advantage in linking
resources. Furthermore, SMEs in Taiwan are flexible and have a bigger advantage
when entering this new market, since larger enterprises, which were successful in the past linear
economy, would need to undergo a major
overhaul to keep up with the new trends. A circular economy environment also
offers a lot of opportunities for new startups as the new model follows a
completely different production and usage logic than past economic models,
presenting a brand new slate for innovative business models.
ITRI Executive Vice President Alex Y.M. Peng expressed that
sustainability has become a common topic for governments and enterprises around
the world. Companies are shifting towards manufacturing recyclable products, for instance, a lot of major
international enterprises announced they will be using recycled materials.
Taiwan already has strong manufacturing capabilities and is part of
the worldwide industry chain. By
implementing circular economy concepts and technologies in local industries as soon
as possible, Taiwan could become one of the
leading players in the coming green circular economy ecosystem
and supply chain. ITRI continues to innovate available technology and
brainstorm solutions with major enterprises in Taiwan. Some existing examples
include TSC’s clam shell recycling technology, Taipower's CO2 capture
technology implementation, and CSC's basic-oxygen-furnace slag high-value
transformation technology. High-level recycling technologies can boost the role
of Taiwanese industries in the global recycling technology field, generating an
advantage for local companies to seize the latest business opportunities.
Green chemistry solutions provider Everlight Chemical
Industrial Corp. also shared the company's experiences in implementing circular
economy practices. Chairman James Chen remarked that
it is indeed a challenge to incorporate circular economy concepts into the
existing manufacturing model. Besides figuring out how to integrate related
technology and ideas, the company also has to consider market demands.
Nevertheless, Everlight Chemical creatively found a way to reduce ammonia and
nitrogen levels in wastewater, and also overhauled existing equipment
to reduce manufacturing time and the amount of raw material used. The company
insists on using green chemistry manufacturing technologies for clean
productions, a change which can effectively bring down energy use
and raw material consumption, and consequently cut down possible
pollution. Everlight Chemical has acquired ISO 14001 certification and has been
awarded the Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility Award for seven consecutive
years. Their 2020 vision is to become a happy globalized enterprise which
continuously innovates and provides green chemistry solutions.
The Asia Pacific Circular Economy Roundtable will be held between
October 16 and 18 at Kaohsiung Exhibition Center. The event is directed by the MOEA
and EPA, organized by Taiwan Circular Economy Network and co-organized by ITRI
and the four major state-owned businesses. Speakers include a high-level UN
expert, and 14 international speakers from the UK, Germany, Denmark, the
Netherlands, Luxembourg, the Philippines, Singapore, China, and Japan; and
local speakers from 49 Taiwanese companies which had implemented circular
economy practices. Five circular economy exhibition routes with five respective
themes (Agro Cycle, Textile Cycle, Metal Cycle and Cross-sector Cooperation,
Plastic, Energy Efficiency and Industrial Symbiosis) will also be unveiled to
offer the 400 attendees from home and abroad an
experience to further understand circular economy.
Participants are encouraged to discuss and exchange ideas on the new
opportunities brought about by circular economy and together seek a suitable
circular economy development direction for the Asia-Pacific region.