Issue Date：August 05, 2020
In support of the sustainability thought across the world, we began promoting green product actions in 2004, with green design, green process, and green transportation as the main features of our green product management system. Apart from promoting green product development, we enable more products to pass Green Mark certification to meet the goal of sustainable development.
Green Materials
In addition to introducing the green accounting system to collect and analyze green purchase performance, Coretronic, Champ Vision Display, and Coretronic Intelligent Cloud Service purchase green materials to thoroughly implement green supply chain management. The total purchase amount of green materials for the plants in Taiwan and China in 2019 occupied 97% and 96%, respectively, of the total purchase amount in the same year.
| Area | Taiwan | China | ||
| Year | 2018 | 2019 | 2018 | 2019 |
| The amount of green material procurement (thousands of NTD) | 8,861,882 | 6,466,588 | 5,144,514 | 6,707,957 |
| The amount of material procurement (thousands of NTD) | 8,996,421 | 6,634,244 | 5,544,145 | 7,009,618 |
| The percentage of green material procurement (%) | 99% | 96% | 93% | 96% |
Green Design
Environmental Footprint Inventory
The carbon emission at each phase of the product life circle can be analyzed with reference to the carbon footprint inventory. The product subject to carbon footprint inventory in 2019 was the backlight module for 10” tablet computers. The result of the inventory showed a carbon footprint of 74.03 kgCO2e (i.e. 1.05kg of carbon footprint per gram of products), 1% less than the carton footprint of the same product in 2018. The carbon emission produced during power consumption had the highest percentage, and energy saving during the production, multiple power saving measures, and request from suppliers of materials to save the electricity during the production were needed for improvement to reduce the environmental footprint effectively.
Package Reduction Design
To realize environmental values, we optimize the packaging design, use recycled paper to make wrappings, and adopt environment-friendly ink to print and simplify packaging.
Molded Pulp
Molded pulp is made of recycled waste paper. In 2017 Q1, we began verifying molded paper packaging materials with the drop test and the storage test. After passing the tests, it will be used in packaging. Such kind of natural, non-toxic, lead free, decomposable, pollution free, and waste free buffering material can effectively reduce the variety packaging materials and the quantity of packaging. Along with soy ink printing and package simplification, everything is eco-friendly. In 2019, 66% products used molded pulp.
Design-Size Reduction
In 2018, the goal of improving the transport and loading rate was achieved after optimizing the packaging design of three products, in which the 100-inch touch panel whiteboard and the projector of A70 platform had increased the transport and loading rate by 50% and 66% respectively, and the projector of 7760 platform is able to increase the transport and loading rate up to 100%.
Education and Training
To enhance and optimize the efficiency of energy-saving products, and merge the eco-friendly, energy-saving, and 3R (reduce, recycle, reuse) concept into the design and development of products, so as to continuously develop energy-saving products, we arranged 27 courses related to green solutions, 542 persons received the courses, totaling 934 man-hours.
Green Product Development
We develop more energy-saving and environment-friendly green products, mitigate the impact on the environment, and protect the environment and ecology of the planet. We also fulfill our corporate social responsibilities and implement sustainable management ideas while performing ongoing innovation in our professional field. The number of green product proposals occupied 86% of the total patent proposals for product development in 2019.
Energy-saving Design
Projectors and Visual Solution
- In 2019, we sold 127 products with electricity consumption far below the Energy-related Products(ErP) Directive(<0.5 W), saving 3,035.4*109 J each year.
- The safe auto off function (including automatically shut off without input signals and sleep mode)
- Electricity consumption in the standard operation mode and standby mode complies with the energy-efficiency standard specified by the Environmental Protection Administration.
- Reducing the design of back-end process (electroplating, paint spraying, and printing) of products.
- Use of LED and laser eco-friendly solid-state illumination (SSI) and other mercury-free materials for a completely mercury-free projector.
- Compared to traditional short throw projectors, projectors using LED and laser SSI have a five-time longer life without the need of bulb replacement to reduce environmental protection.
Light Guide Plate (LGP)
- Improvement of energy saving in the manufacturing process: adjust the maintenance frequency to reduce 16% of the used raw materials; reduce the temperature during the manufacturing process, to save 23.3% of electricity consumption in the production process and reduce carbon emissions of 0.26 tonCO2e.
- Improvement of energy saving technology: reduces the lighting power consumption by 10%. In 2019, a total of 103,380 pcs were produced which resulted in saving of 316,963 kWh and carbon emissions reduction of 168.9 tonCO2e.
- Miniaturization and thinning: the design technology of optical LGP micro-structures was improved to make the product lighter and thinner. The optical requirements were satisfied and the thickness of the thin LGP was reduced by 20% with a reduction of the weight by 30%. 626 pieces of 13.3” LGPs were produced in 2019. The overall weight decreased by 17kg and 0.035 tonCO2e of carbon emissions was reduced.
- Improvement of optical films bonding technology: The thickness of the 3-in-1 optical film was reduced by 14%~ 16% with a reduction of the weight by 10%~15%. 280,000 32” products were produced in 2019. The overall weight decreased by 84,013kg and 173 tonCO2e of carbon emission was reduced.
Green Process
At Corecentric, we continue to promote clean production and reduce pollution to improve environmental protection and lower costs to enhance economic efficiency, in order to pursue sustainable business. Clean production refers to “persistently apply integrated and preventive environmental strategies in processes, products, and services to enhance eco-efficiency and reduce hazards on human beings and the environment.” Upholding our responsibility for products and the environment, and aiming to pursue eco-efficiency and sustainable development, we save energy, reduce the use of hazardous substances, reduce the production and emission of pollutants, dispose industrial waste and recycle resources, update design concepts by including environmental factors in design and service provision through the management of materials, equipment, gauges and tools, consumables, personnel, and the operating environment.
Cleaner Production
With the Green Factory as the goal, The Tainan Branch Office introduced the “Cleaner Production Assessment System - General” certification of the MOEA Industrial Development Bureau to the production in 2016, and acquired the certificate under assessment conducted by the competent authority, experts, and scholars. Sustainable environmental development plans are promoted, energy and resource conservations are implemented, green processes are applied, pollutant sources are controlled, environment-friendly designs are used, and measures of green management and corporate social responsibility are carried out every year to minimize the impact on the environment.
Strategies for Reducing the Impacts on the Environment
Waste Reduction
- Packaging materials re-use: Coretronic’s Energy Saving Business Group, Champ Vision Display, and Wujiang Plant carried out 7 wrapping recycle measures in 2019 with a recycling rate of 93%. As for the recycling performance of Coretronic’s Energy Saving Business Group in terms of the number of recycled wrappings, 84.8% of trays, 63.0% of pallets, 89.9% of plastic pads, 99.8% of foldable/paper cartons, and 99.2% of acrylic protection plates were recycled to the amount of 123.9 tons. They were reused to reduce the pollution of the waste to the environment. The benefit of carbon reduction was 255.2 tonCO2e (an output of 2.06 tonCO2e per tones of waste according to the Low Carbon Sustainable Information System); Champ Vision Display set up EPE recycle bins for the products to be shipped and a brilliant recycling rate of up to 99% was achieved.
- Circular economy collaboration: The collaboration with local transport service suppliers has been implemented for three consecutive years. Pallet prototypes were recycled under the collaboration and reused for transport. 119.7 tons of wood pallets were recycled in 2019 with a carbon reduction of 246.6 tonCO2e and a cost saving of NTD 539 thousand thanks to the reduced purchase of wood pallets and disposal of waste.
Enhance the Use Rate of Eco-friendly Paper
To protect the environment and reduce greenhouse gas, FSC/PEFC certified paper was used in priority for shipping cartons, office paper, and toilet paper.
The waste cartons and cultural paper for printing, books or newspaper produced during the manufacture process and by the offices of the plants in Taiwan were transported to the top-3 paper manufacturers in Taiwan (Cheng Loong, Yuen Foong Yu, and Long Chen) for recycling through legal environment-friendly wast disposal service suppliers. Paper products made from 80%~100% recycled pulp and attached with the Green Mark were purchased from their downstream manufacturers to support the “Resources Recycling and Reusing Program” of the Environmental Protection Administration and achieve the goals of “recycle of wastes to displace exploitation of natural resources, full circulation of materials, and zero waste.” In 2019, 75,698 pieces of paper products made from recycled pulp and attached with the Green Mark, including 65,642 shipping cartons, 1,948 packs recycled paper/FSC certified products, and 8,108 packs of toilet paper with the Green Mark were purchased for the plants in Taiwan.
Product End Processing Tracking
To ensure legal use of recycled products, Coretronic establishes explicit waste management regulations and performs on-site inspection of the legal compliance and back-end disposition capability of the waste disposal service suppliers every year. If any nonconformities are identified, guidance is provided with an admonition received by the supplier concerned, and the nonconformities are subject to follow-up actions for improvement. If nonconformities are removed notwithstanding, the waste disposal agreement will be terminated to ensure legal and appropriate disposal of wastes. In 2019, audits of 9 suppliers rendering the services of wood pallet recycle and disposal of industrial and hazardous industrial waste and waste electronic components were scheduled and completed with a completion rate of 100%. The results of the audits did not show any nonconformities.
Green Transportation
Coretronic (Visual Solutions) is committed to the sustainable business operations, and we are dedicated to optimizing the design of product packaging, effectively enhancing the transport and loading rate and reducing transportation frequency. In 2018, the 20-foot cargo containers were used to ship products from China to the United States, with the following three major achievements:
- For instance, if a pallet increases 50% of shipment load for the 100-inch touch panel whiteboard, then it is estimated that each unit of the products can reduce 339 kgCO2e, with a carbon reduction effective rate of 24.8%.
- Using the A70 platform projector as an example, if a pallet increases 66% of shipment load, then it is estimated that each unit of the products can reduce 308 kgCO2e, with a carbon reduction effective rate of 29.2%.
- Taking the 7760 platform projector as an example, the capacity of product shipment is twice as much compared with the last generation R50 platform, and it is estimated that each unit of the products can reduce kgCO2e, with a carbon reduction effective rate of 32.5%.
