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. Reuse : 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.

Achieved maturity level 4 in the level optimizing process in 2024. Under the BS 8001 guideline framework, we establish short-, medium-, and long-term circular economy strategies and objectives as a basis for reviewing workflows and assessing the achievement of phased results. We continuously optimize and improve the Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) recycling and remanufacturing circular economy model, aiming to expand the effectiveness of circular economy implementation and lead our upstream and downstream industry chain toward a circular economy transformation.

1. Circular Economy Model for Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) Recycling and Remanufacturing
   1. Actively implement equipment recycling to enable the reuse of devices, replacing direct disposal
   2. Strictly control equipment power to mitigate the environmental impact of product services at the consumer end. Ensure that workflows remain smooth after the implementation of the circular economy model, while maintaining customer satisfaction and support
   3. Reduce carbon emissions during the manufacturing phase by recycling, repairing, and refurbishing equipment
   4. Utilize the concept of the secondary raw material recycling/by-product business model to auction used equipment to qualified suppliers. The equipment will be auctioned to licensed waste disposal companies for processing. It will be dismantled for secondary raw material recovery, and any remaining valuable materials may be reintroduced into the market for reuse
2. Chunghwa Telecom's CPE recycling and remanufacturing process is being integrated with ISO 14067 guidelines. Through the calculation and analysis of the service carbon footprint in the recycling and remanufacturing process, further carbon reduction strategies are being developed to mitigate emissions generated in the logistics and supply chain phases of the equipment's lifecycle.
3. Following circular economy guidelines, we actively integrate circular economy principles into CPE-related services, including internet services, broadband access, and multimedia content transmission platforms. Through obtaining the BS 8001 circular economy audit declaration issued by an international third party, we remain committed to corporate sustainability and meeting societal expectations. We also aim to enhance user satisfaction with CPE-related services and improve ESG performance by promoting green product services, thereby stimulating user growth and organizational revenue.
4. CPE services - The circular business model for product service systems is outlined as follows: