Resource Management

Circular Economy Strategies

In response to the UN SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production and the circular economy promotion in Taiwan’s 5+2 Industrial Innovation Plan, Chunghwa Telecom proposed its five commitments of circular economy with the 5R Principle higher than the statutory requirements at home and abroad:

1. Reduce: Establish a green operation and consumption model to properly manage and reduce consumption of energy and resources, along with enhanced education and promotion for employees, suppliers, and customers.
2. Reuse: Increase circularity and improve resource cycling technology for resource regeneration and recycling.
3. Repair: Promote eco-friendly design and extension of service life of products and offer circular products that are more durable, easy to repair, and recyclable.
4. Refuse: Promote green procurement, reject products with no green concept, and purchase products with green labels or with an equivalent efficiency thereof.
5. Recycle: Facilitate an industrial chain symbiosis and develop forward-looking energy technologies to elevate energy/resource efficiency and promote recycling.

In 2020, CHT became the first telecom operator that obtained the verification statement of BS 8001 (Circular Economy). Upholding the principle of “service quality assurance,” we refurbished the MOD set-top box, STB for reuse. The lifecycle of MOD set-top box, STB is extended successfully to avoid resource wasted and reduce pollution.

Stage	Actions
Upstream	Through collaboration with suppliers and starting from the design phase, the MOD set-top box, STB are minimized in size and in power, successfully reducing the raw materials mining and consumption as well as power consumption by consumers.
Consumer	On the ground of no damage to customers’ rights, the broken MOD set-top box, STB are recovered, repaired, and refurbished before returning to the market for reuse to extend the lifecycle of MOD set-up boxes.
Disposal	Valuable materials in the MOD set-top box, STB are recycled by qualified service providers to avoid resource wasted and cut pollution.

Water Resources Management

In terms of water use, it is primarily the water use for purposes of general washing and cooling air-conditioning. We aim to save and reduce water use by 1% annually (with the base year of 2020). Using the IoT technology, a “smart water meter monitoring platform” was established. The municipal water intake of buildings and the daily water use on each floor are comprehensively monitored remotely. Also, abnormal water use is managed in a real-time fashion to maximize the use of water resources. In addition, we actively promote various water conservation measures to improve the water use efficiency through the following actions, including:

• Recycling of water in data centers: In response to business growth, the water consumption of data center air conditioning is expected to increase. To enhance water efficiency, besides recycling cooling tower water and air conditioning condensate, a rainwater harvesting system will be installed in data centers to supply water for irrigation in gardens.
• Recycling of water in offices: In addition to measures such as replacing water-saving faucets and adjusting toilet water usage, an underground raft foundation rainwater harvesting system will be installed to collect clean rainwater from roofs and ground surfaces. Additionally, a condensate water recovery device will be installed in the office air conditioning system to recycle water for tree irrigation and campus cleaning.
• Water resource management system: The company has developed an intelligent water management system by combining iEN smart environmental services and IoT smart networking platform technology. The system automatically collects information from smart water meters and flow devices at various monitoring points and effectively monitors water usage in office areas and data center buildings. It enables real-time control in case of abnormal water consumption and provides functions such as water usage statistics, report generation, alert notifications, and event management. This assists the company in formulating optimal short, medium, and long-term water management plans to achieve sustainable water conservation and carbon reduction goals.

Ｎote:

1. The reason for the increase in HVAC water use in 2022 is primarily due to the growth in IDC data center business. However, compared to the overall business growth rate, the increase in water consumption is only 2.388%.
2. The increase in recycled water in offices and data centers is attributed to the growth of IDC data center business, which has led to an increase in the amount of cooling tower water and air conditioning condensate being recycled.

Waste Management

Chunghwa Telecom recognizes the importance of resource reduction, recycling, and reuse. Apart from stipulation of the relevant reduction plan and target, it adheres to the 5R Principle for waste reduction. Combined with the EARTH system, use and disposal of various resources are properly managed. The recyclable and non-recyclable wastes as well as the disposal procedures are managed systematically. The general domestic waste is commissioned to professional clearance service providers for landfill or incineration. As for the recyclable wastes, the contracted cleaning service providers shall help with the recycling, sorting, or treatment thereof.

• Based on the amount of waste in 2020, we aim for an annual reduction of 2% for the domestic waste, and 100% treatment by qualified service providers certified by the Environmental Protection Administration for recycling, landfill, or incineration of the industrial waste.

Cellphone Recycling Action Plan

Note:

1. Old cellphones: we continue to offer means of cellphone recycling, free of charge, and “trade-in” incentives to raise the recycling rate.
2. Waste cellphones: we continue to offer means of cellphone recycling, free of charge, and organize bonus activities like lucky draw or HamiPoint giveaway from time to time to raise the recycling rate.