ECOVE's Social Participation: Company-wide CSR Participation Creates Added Value for Output Value

─Ya-hui Lin, Planning Manager of ECOVE ESC, Group Resource Cycling Business (GRCB)

As part of CTCI's GRCB, ECOVE is committed to providing high-quality resource cycling services all around the world to contribute to the Earth's sustainable development. Having devoted time and effort to the Taiwanese market for many years, ECOVE has always held fast to our corporate culture of "professionalism, integrity, teamwork, innovation" to provide optimal "resource cycling" efficiency services through advanced technical integrations. Moreover, the Company remains dedicated to local social development as well as fulfilling our promise to become "the most reliable" brand. In 2015, the United Nations launched the "Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," which prompted ECOVE to develop a blueprint for sustainability by evaluating the 17 SDGs, 169 indicators and issues, and climate change based on its core capabilities, brand association and corporate responsibility. ECOVE expects to solve social and environmental problems through business activities, care for the environment and society through corporate operations, and combine business with vision. The goal is to create values based on corporate sustainability on top of output value with company-wide CSR participation. This article focuses on the aspect of social participation regarding ECOVE's practice of corporate social responsibility.

Contributing to Society while Achieving Work-life Balance

As a corporate citizen, ECOVE not only pursues professional progress, but also makes long-term commitments to social participation topics that are relevant to its operations. The three topics that have been selected include "community activities connected to operations," "long-term community building," and "achieving common good with corporate volunteers." ECOVE encourage employees to invest in joyful and meaningful volunteer activities, contribute to the society with practical actions, and achieve work-life balance.

Community Activities Connected to Operations

Environmental protection requires environmental education and effective communication channels to encourage public participation. Therefore, ECOVE actively promotes environmental education, with five of its operation premises having obtained authentication as Environmental Education Facilities and Venues. They are not only educational centers where people can learn while having fun, but are also facilities appointed for the international event, "Taiwan in My Eyes-120h." Together with the CTCI Education Foundation (CTCI EF), ECOVE launched a 3-year program called "Step by step: Factories for Sustainable Environmental Education," taking the initiative to reach out to Taiwan's elementary schools and teach our future leaders about sustainable lifestyle.

1.Taiwan in My Eyes-120h

The international event "Taiwan in My Eyes-120h," jointly organized by CTCI EF and the Center for Corporate Sustainability, takes students from home and abroad to visit Taiwan’s benchmark enterprises every year. The two 5-star environmental education facilities owned by ECOVE, including Miaoli Incineration Plant and South Taiwan Science Park Resource Recycling Center, have been appointed as designated visiting sites. Certified ECOVE environmental education lecturers would promote Taiwan’s achievements in waste management and incineration, and the participants would speak to the world through social media platforms, such as Facebook, so that the world can see Taiwan's dedication to sustainability.

2.Step by Step: Factories for Sustainable Environmental Education

To instill the basic ideas, values and sustainable lifestyle into the next generation, ECOVE partnered with CTCI EF in 2018 to launch the 3-year program “Step by Step: Factories for Sustainable Environmental Education.” The program targets elementary schools from all over the country to promote environmental education on campus and pass on the sustainable lifestyle to children. The program materials are based on ECOVE's main business with content designed for different ages. It has DIY courses which incorporates environmental protection concepts, allowing students to learn about waste-to-energy generation and the importance of waste sorting from an entertaining and educational learning process. In addition, children are made aware from watching films that there are 100 million metric tons of plastic waste in the sea, so that they should avoid using plastic bags from an early age. The "Step by Step" program is now in its second year and is being promoted to elementary schools all over Taiwan, from Keelung Wulun Elementary School in the north, Pingtung Kan Ding Elementary School in the south, and to remote areas such as Penghu Magong and Chung Hsin Elementary Schools, benefiting more than 6,000 school children. As teachers and students are highly appreciative of the enthusiasm and dedication of ECOVE's environmental education team, more than 30% of the program sessions come from the invitations of schools that we worked with last year (2018).

3.Cultivate a Green Future with Environmental Education Facilities

Environmental education facilities refer to professional facilities located in regions with environmental education characteristics, which incorporate professional environmental education capabilities, professional courses, as well as resources to provide professional environmental education for students and the general public, with the goals of education, conservation, culture and recreation. This coincides with the community cooperation and contribution that ECOVE wants to engage in. Therefore, the Company works hard in obtaining certification for environmental education facilities and venues. Localized courses are designed based on the cultural, geographical and ecological characteristics of the operations, and are further combined with themes such as energy saving, water saving and carbon emission reduction. Currently, five environmental education venues have been certified. In addition to sending certified employees as lecturers, ECOVE's environmental education facilities offer rich interactive content. These facilities attracted more than 1,700 people each quarter for environmental education in 2019, holding more than 180 sessions. In total, more than 7,000 participants have taken part.

Long-term Community Building

Many operating bases of ECOVE are traditionally considered as “NIMBY” (Not-In-My-Backyard) facilities. Nevertheless, ECOVE actively reaches out to community residents, participates in community activities, and works towards pollution reduction, energy saving, carbon reduction, and area greening. It safeguards the quality living of communities and establishes a fresh image with its environmental protection facilities, turning NIMBY facilities into YIMBY (Yes-In-My-Backyard) facilities.

1.Getting along with Local Residents and Community Integration

As a corporate citizen, ECOVE puts great emphasis on relationship-building with communities and seeks common good with neighborhoods. Take Linkou Water Resources Center, for example: By combining communication technologies with environmental education, we are able to launch a mobile phone microscope as a learning tool that allows visitors to become more knowledgeable and cherish water resources. Moreover, for the past 16 years, Houli Plant, located in Taichung's Jiu She neighborhood, has been involved in the annual "Jiu She Cultural Festival." Characterized by exchange and inheritance, this event combines traditional culture and new environmental protection ideas. On the other hand, Tainan Plant, which has plentiful ecology, works with National University of Tainan in creating a bio-friendly corridor to promote ecological conservation in the community. Such community activities are very popular among ECOVE's entry-level staff and managerial staff alike, as many families of ECOVE's employees can be seen at events such as "Environmental Education Carnival" in Miaoli, "Hiking in the Countryside" in Wuri, "Night Run by the Lake at Sunrise" at South Taiwan Science Park, and "Million Charity Fund" charity walk in Macao.

2.A Good Neighbor Who Safeguards the Local Environment

ECOVE is not only a pioneer in green enterprise, but is also a good neighbor. It spares no effort in beautification of areas around the plants and their surroundings. Measures include: periodic or intermittent road cleaning to reduce dust; planting flowers and trees to increase greenery; and recycling waste for art installation purposes. Together, these bring a quality living environment and cityscape. ECOVE’s operating bases close to the shore, such as Keelung, Miaoli, Tainan bases, also launch beach cleaning initiatives. Despite having a limited impact on reducing marine waste, beach cleaning can raise people’s environmental awareness to reduce plastic use in daily lives.

Corporate Volunteers for the Common Good

ECOVE employees have set up "Charity Club" and taken the initiative to organize charitable activities. In the meantime, ECOVE also actively supports external initiatives to put "green life" ideals into daily practice.

1.Contributing to Public Welfare through Caring  for the Disadvantaged

ECOVE’s Public Welfare Club, established in 2017, encourages employees to propose initiatives and share great ideas for charity. To date, proposals that have turned into reality include sending computers to remote rural areas, caring for people with intellectual disabilities, providing family care for disadvantaged children, and carrying out training programs for environmental protection volunteers.

2.Supporting Global Initiatives by Keeping Sustainable Green Lifestyles

One of the ways ECOVE actively supports external initiatives is through senior executives and a new generation of outstanding employees taking turns to become “campaign ambassadors,” whose job is to raise people’s awareness of climate change, the ecologies, and other topics. Another way is to ask ECOVE employees to take part in sustainability activities, so that they will naturally save water, electricity, and help reduce carbon emissions in daily living. 

Activities include:
● Actively take part in the "Earth Hour" activity by setting the last week of March each year as energy-saving and environmental protection week. Lights in all departments are to be turned off for one hour every day during the week.
● Support Earth Day under the theme called "Born Wild" in 2019. Campaign ambassadors talked about protecting black kites at Keelung Plant, restoring Euploea butterflies at Miaoli Plant, and conserving the Chinese spiranthes at Linkou Water Resources Recycling Center.
● Support World Ocean Day by holding “plastic reduction” event to encourage the use of reusable tableware.
● Support World Vegetarian Day by encouraging employees to consume less meat and more vegetables, allowing them to become knowledgeable about the relationship between meat, global warming, and health.
● Support World Diabetes Day by reminding employees to stay healthy: "Healthy ECOVE, Let's Get Fit!"

The Most Reliable Provider of Industry-Leading “Resource Cycling” Services

Thanks to the efforts of all employees, for six consecutive years ECOVE has received the highest affirmation of “corporate governance evaluation” from the Financial Supervisory Commission, ranking top 5% among Taiwan’s publicly-traded companies. ECOVE has also won Ministry of Labor’s “National Occupational Safety and Health Benchmark Award,” Ministry of Economic Affairs’ "National Company Standardization Award," the Executive Yuan’s "National Sustainable Development Award," and the Executive Yuan’s "National Enterprise Environmental Protection Award." Last but not least, ECOVE has won 1ˢᵗ place in Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility Award (medium-sized enterprises group), held by CommonWealth Magazine.

As an ECOVE employee, it is only natural to allow CSR become part of our daily lives through economic, environmental and social aspects. Being the largest environmental resource management and service company in Taiwan, ECOVE will always be highly engaged socially and will create sustainable corporate values on top of output value through company-wide CSR participation.