Fully Promoting ESG: NTUT Establishes Center for Net Zero Carbon Emissions and Corporate Sustainability

Reprinted from Economic Daily News, June 28, 2024

Assisting the net-zero transition! National Taipei University of Technology (NTUT) held an unveiling ceremony today (28th) for its Center for Net Zero Carbon Emissions and Corporate Sustainability. Distinguished guests—including Ling-Yi Tsai, Director-General of the Climate Change Agency under the Ministry of Environment; Chih-Ching Yang, Director-General of the Industrial Development Administration under the Ministry of Economic Affairs; Chih-Hsiang Wu, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of Nanya Technology; Jing-Jing Liu, Chief Sustainability Officer of Acer; and Wen-Bin Tsai, Senior Director of the CTO Office at Taiwan Mobile—gathered to participate. Industry, government, and academia jointly voiced their support for the net-zero transition and ESG sustainable development, aiming to cultivate professional talent in corporate sustainability and net-zero carbon management.

NTUT President Sea-Fue Wang stated that NTUT is taking concrete action to respond to the government’s "2050 Net-Zero Emissions" policy. As the first university in Taiwan to pave large areas of permeable bricks across its campus, NTUT has long utilized civil and environmental engineering technologies to gradually build a "Sponge Campus," ranking #1 globally among high-rise universities in the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings for four consecutive years. Over the past decade, NTUT has accumulated approximately 300 industry-academic cooperation projects in fields such as corporate net-zero and sustainable development, energy-saving and net-zero engineering technology, resource recycling technology and policy, sustainable water environments, and green building—generating NT$250 million in industry-academic cooperation energy.

President Wang pointed out that the establishment of this interdisciplinary Center for Net Zero Carbon Emissions and Corporate Sustainability will serve as a platform for NTUT’s net-zero and sustainability industry-academic cooperation. The goal is to make ESG a major prominent discipline at NTUT, further assist enterprises in advancing their net-zero transition and sustainability evaluations, act as a "think tank," and fulfill the university's social responsibility (USR).

Ling-Yi Tsai, Director-General of the Climate Change Agency (Ministry of Environment), stated that global warming is accelerating; 2023 was recorded as the hottest year since the Industrial Revolution, while global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. Therefore, achieving 2050 net-zero emissions presents an immensely tough challenge worldwide. In confronting climate change, equal emphasis must be placed on mitigation and adaptation. Taiwan has proposed a 2050 Net-Zero Transition Strategy spanning energy, industry, lifestyle, and a just transition, with technological R&D being the most critical component. In recent years, the government's budget allocation for net-zero technology has increased annually, and enterprises are in urgent need of "green-collar" talent. She welcomed the establishment of NTUT's center, which will significantly bolster talent cultivation and Taiwan's net-zero transition, as all sectors join hands to leave a more sustainable environment for the next generation.

Chih-Ching Yang, Director-General of the Industrial Development Administration (Ministry of Economic Affairs), noted that as awareness of the importance of carbon reduction and sustainability grows across all sectors, the Ministry of Economic Affairs hopes to help bridge forces from various sides to drive enterprises toward concrete action. He expressed confidence that the center's establishment will foster scientific research and technological innovation, encourage corporate participation, enhance relevant education and training for businesses and society, and provide effective support for government policy formulation and implementation.

Allen H. Hu, Distinguished Professor at NTUT and Director of the Center for Net Zero Carbon Emissions and Corporate Sustainability, highlighted the center’s three key technologies and core capabilities:1.Energy-saving and net-zero engineering technology; 2.Recycling technologies and policy planning for organic and inorganic resources; 3.Corporate net-zero and sustainability management. Under its purview, the center houses the nation's only university-based full-scale intelligent refrigeration and heat pump system integrated development and test platform equipment. It also features hydrothermal equipment and inorganic polymer materials capable of organic removal via hydrothermal treatment and resource recovery of inorganic polymers from sewage sludge, alongside multiple product Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software tools and environmental databases to assist enterprises in formulating net-zero pathways and sustainability roadmaps. Over the next five years, the center will continue to dive deep into low-carbon and biodiversity issues within the AI and ICT supply chains, providing one-stop net-zero sustainability solutions to guide Taiwanese enterprises on their path toward net-zero carbon reduction and long-term sustainability.。

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