The Eye on Taiwan news staff
The administrative headquarters building of China Airlines at CAL Park in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan has been awarded the “Diamond-rated” green building label by the Interiors Ministry for being one of the best corporate establishments in terms of saving energy on the island.
As part of its corporate environmental sustainability initiative, China Airlines introduced an innovative “Elevator Energy Regenerative Unit (EERU)” in the final quarter of 2017 along with other energy-saving initiatives to reduce electricity consumption by 8,670 kWh in one quarter, the airlines said in a news release.
Total power savings for the year of 2017 amounted to approximately 23,000 kWh, the equivalent of a home air-conditioner with Grade 1 energy label running for nine consecutive years, the airlines said.
For 2018, China Airlines will strengthen its management of waste and water resources and apply for the CAL Park Training Center’s green building label, it noted.
Building of the CAL Park was completed in 2010 with energy-efficiency and environmental protection concepts. Green designs feature such as water-saving, energy-efficient air-conditioning, energy-efficient lighting, site optimization, low-emissivity glass and sun-shades were adopted to comply with Taiwan’s green building certification system (EEWH).
Earlier, compliance with the four key indicators of “greenery”, “soil water retention”, “daily energy saving” and “water resources” won China Airlines the “Green Building Candidate Certificate.” The headquarters building of China Airlines at CAL Park went on to secure a “Diamond-rated” green building label of EEWH-RN (Renovation)from the Interiors Ministry last year, the airlines said.
China Airlines has progressively introduced ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 standards, set up an environmental management system (EMS) and energy management system (EnMS), and actively implemented a total of 33 energy-saving initiatives including: Independent switches for office lighting, LED replacement of 24-hour T5 and 50W halogen lights, addition of energy-saving fans and stand-alone variable frequency air-conditioning systems, replacement of after-hours and weekend cooling units, cover plates for indoor AC thermostats and lighting switches. Statistics indicated that annual electricity consumption has declined dramatically from 15.33 million kWh in 2011 to 12.88 million kWh in 2016, representing a significant 16% reduction in electricity consumption, it said.
China Airlines has taken a longstanding interest in climate change and carbon reduction issues. Its active promotion of energy-efficiency and environmental protection initiatives led to the awarding of Taiwan’s top “ROC Enterprise Environmental Protection Award (Gold Rated), and win the “Environmental Protection Honor Award”, and the TCSA Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Award for four consecutive years, the airlines said.
In addition to the top three awards, China Airlines was also placed in the “Category B~A enterprises” by the UK-based environmental group CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) and included by the “Dow Jones Stock Index – Emerging Markets” for two consecutive years, making it the first and only airline in Taiwan to be so included, it added.
China Airlines will continue to embrace its original mission of “fulfilling corporate social responsibility” and work relentlessly for the cause of sustainable environmental development through the creation of a low-carbon operating environment and the promotion of energy-saving, low-carbon operations throughout the CAL Group, the airlines stressed.