Environmental sustainability is an important core value in the business strategy of the Taiflex Group. The Company is committed to adopting eco-friendly approaches in operation and management as well as devoted to pollution prevention and reduction control in compliance with environmental regulations. We work toward the long-term goals of net zero emissions by 2050, 100% renewable energy and zero waste. Our environmental sustainability policy and commitments are as follows:
Comply with environmental laws and regulations, and implement green procurement of goods and services.
Commit to green product innovation, pollution prevention, waste reduction as well as energy and resource efficiency.
Improve environmental education and emergency response capability of employees and achieve full participation.
Integrate environmental resources and accomplish circular economy as well as net zero target.
Continue with environmental sustainability improvement and carry out regular reviews to promote the goal of sustainability
Expand the influence of corporate social responsibilities and march towards corporate sustainability
With “zero environmental incident” being the fundamental goal, we adopted the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems and obtained certification in 2004 (as shown in the figure to the right) for full compliance with environmental regulations. Through comprehensive ESH management procedures, we control the potential adverse environmental risk. The Environmental Protection Department conducts quarterly regulator y compliance assessments on air pollution, water pollution, waste, toxins, and other items, and takes measures to address applicable laws and regulations. Improvement and preventive measures would be taken immediately if any risk of non-compliance is identified. There have been no environmental fines imposed nor incidents involving serious pollution leaks or violations of environmental regulations in the past five years.
There are no ecological reserves nor endangered species in the vicinity of our operation sites, and our operations do not have an adverse impact on the environment or surrounding species. Also, there are no species on the IUCN Red List in the neighborhood. We would continue to drive the upgrade and improvement of pollution prevention and control facilities as well as monitor the pollutant emissions. Abnormal values would be handled immediately by on-site personnel according to the emergency and reporting procedures as a precaution and to prevent pollution as well as violation of laws and regulations.
Given the rising trend of green environmental awareness, the use of electronic materials stresses on pollution reduction. Thus, material suppliers intensify their research and development efforts towards eco-friendly materials, which initiates a material revolution in the CCL industry. Currently, electronics manufacturers gradually shift towards eco-friendly substrates. With increasing environmental awareness and regulatory requirements, eco-friendly materials will become the basic product requirements.
Through the establishment of IECQ QC080000 Hazardous Substance Process Management System, international regulatory information is updated when needed and incorporated into the Company's management practices. We also solicit feedback from suppliers to ensure our products made of FPC materials comply with international regulations and customers’ requirements related to hazardous substance management.
| Regulation | Description | Product Conformity |
|---|---|---|
|
EU's Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (EU RoHS) |
The maximum levels of restricted substances: Lead, Cadmium, Hexavalent Chromium, Polybrominated Biphenyls and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers < 1,000ppm. The RoHS 2.0 includes four more restricted substances: Bis (2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP), Benzyl Butyl Phthalate (BBP), Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) and Diisobutyl Phthalate (DIBP) < 1,000ppm. | Full compliance |
| Halogen-free electronics | Product must contain less than 900ppm of bromine and chlorine each, with a total under 1,500ppm. | Full compliance |
| Restrictions on Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and relevant substance | Raw materials containing PFOS, PFOA and relevant substances are not used in our process. | Full compliance |
| Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) of the EU | Hazardous substances and the Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) published by REACH | Full compliance |
| Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) | The directive is formulated to cope with the increasing waste electrical and electronic devices, mitigate the burden on landfills and incinerators, and prevent hazardous substance within the waste electrical and electronic devices from polluting the environment. Our products are not the end products; thus, we are not directly subjected to the WEEE. After the end products are used by the end users, FPC materials would turn into waste which shall be recycled by the manufacturers of the end products. | Not applicable |
In addition to high frequency, speed, density, and dimensional stability, our research and development pursues more advanced, energy-saving as well as thinner and lighter substrate materials to meet the higher environmental standards in the future. Through continuous improvement on process technology and collaboration with upstream raw material suppliers and downstream FPC customers, we gradually reduce the resources and energy consumed per production unit, thereby mitigating the environmental impact and contributing to the sustainable development of a green earth.
We have incorporated environmental performance as one of our supplier assessment items. (Please refer to “2.4.2 Evaluation and audit” of this report for details.) We request and assist our suppliers in hazardous substance management, pollution prevention, energy saving, water conservation and waste reduction. Step by step, the green supply chain is taking shape after several years of efforts. In order to further reduce the environmental footprint of our products, the R&D Center has been testing and developing copper foil materials made from recycled copper, aiming to replace the use of virgin copper foil in the future. As for packaging materials, as suppliers stopped recycling tube cores, the recycling volume of this category dropped significantly in 2023. We make every effort to recover pallets, wooden boxes and packaging materials for repetitive use in the Company or by suppliers and customers to minimize waste.
| Year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Category | Recycled | Purchased | Recovery rate | Recycled | Purchased | Recovery rate | Recycled | Purchased | Recovery rate |
| Plastic pallet | For suppliers | 805 | 7,496 | 81.04% | 530 | 6,796 | 76.55% | 610 | 6,136 | 77.75% |
| Recycling | 5,270 | 4,672 | 4,161 | |||||||
| For customers | 6,324 | 15,160 | 41.72% | 2,856 | 14,000 | 20.40% | 3,264 | 13,972 | 23.36% | |
| Tube core, end plug and end plate | For suppliers | 3,087 | 3,087 | 100.00% | 3,456 | 3,456 | 100.00% | 609 | 3,572 | 17.05% |
| Wooden box | For suppliers | 866 | - | - | 877 | - | - | 569 | 1,174 | 48.47% |
| Total | 16,352 | - | - | 12,393 | - | - | 9,213 | - | - | |
Environmental expenditure totaled NT$329,482 thousand in 2023, including audits on environmental system standards, pollution control, environmental monitoring, eco-education, sponsorship to eco-organizations, etc. We collaborate with impartial third-party assurance agencies and agencies engaging in recycling, professional waste disposal and environmental monitoring.
The purpose of Taiflex's environmental accounting system is to identify and measure the Company's environmental costs as well as to conduct benefit assessments and compile statistics on costs reduced or benefits generated as a result of environmental projects, thereby encouraging and promoting environmental projects with economic benefits. Economic benefit is calculated by estimating the potential cost savings from reductions in energy, water consumption and waste for carrying out the environmental projects plus the revenues from waste recycling and reuse. The environmental benefit amounted to NT$63,312 thousand in 2023.
| Item | Description | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental expenditures |
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| Total spending: NT$59,973 thousand | ||||
| Environmental benefits |
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| Total savings: NT$63,312 thousand | ||||
| Improvements | 1.Reduce air pollution (NOx, TSP, CO2) | |||
| Reduction in natural gas | 238 km3 | Reduction in TSP | 11kg | |
| Reduction in NOx | 381kg | Reduction in CO2 | 492,320kg | |
| 2.Cut down resource consumption (e.g., recycling and reuse of organic solvent waste) | ||||
| Reduction in waste adhesive | 91,100kg | Solvent recycled and reused | 91,100kg | |
| 3.Improve the efficiency of control facilities (waste gas condensation) | ||||
| 4.Waste reuse | ||||
| Recycled and reused | 760,200kg | |||
| Impact upon improvement |
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