RECCESSARY brought together roughly 50 professionals from manufacturing, energy, and financial service sectors, as well as the consulting industry in Taipei on Sept. 13 to navigate the path to a sustainable supply chain.
The seminar, titled “Constructing a Sustainable Supply Chain: CBAM Risk Analysis and A Guide to Purchase Green Energy,” featured two keynote speeches by experts from InfoLink Consulting, a renewable energy research and consulting firm, and two case studies shared by Singapore-based sustainability solutions provider ACT Solutions APAC and TUNtex, a Kaohsiung-based apparel and fabrics manufacturer.
Professionals from various sectors gathered at RECCESSARY seminar in Taipei on Sept. 13.
In light of the vast potential of green energy in Southeast Asia that is expected to grow from 2021’s 101.8 billion kWh to 286 billion kWh in 2030, InfoLink’s researcher Jessie Cai (蔡宥潔) compared the approach to purchasing green energy between countries across the SEA region and identified challenges facing businesses.
According to researcher Cai, unbundled RECs is the major procurement method adopted by countries in Asia. However, the purchasing volume of RECs has decreased year over year globally among RE100 members, indicating a shift to power purchase agreement (PPA).
Cai then explained challenges such as insufficient grid infrastructure and a lack of support of state-owned utilities, and suggested companies utilize PPA and green tariff mechanism when evaluating RECs procurement to achieve renewables targets.
Researcher Jessie Cai shares views on green energy purchase in SEA region at the seminar.
Chia Wen-xi (謝玟汐), corporate account manager of ACT Solutions APAC, shared their experience of helping businesses achieve carbon reduction through green energy procurement. Taking H&M as an example, ACT Solutions assisted the fashion giant with purchasing unbundled RECs in Southeast Asia and increasing their green energy purchases.
Green energy procurement has become increasingly important to businesses due to carbon reduction requirement and the implementation of related measures, such as Singapore’s introduction of carbon tax in 2019. Chia said.
While demand for RECs in Southeast Asia continues to rise, businesses need to overcome challenges such as higher costs of renewables and uncertainty over supervision, Chia pointed out.
Account Manager Chia Wen-xi offers insights into renewables solutions at the seminar.
Deputy Manager Lin Ming-wang (林明旺) of TUNtex offered glimpses into the company’s transformation from a traditional fabric manufacturer to a smart green fabric factory and how it achieves energy saving in the supply chain while upgrading products.
Between 2020 and 2022, TUNtex has cut emissions by 23%, and as it joined RE10x10 last year, the company installed solar panels for self-consumption and renewable energy certificates generation, which are expected to help cut emissions further.
In face of an uncertain future, Lin emphasized the importance of preparing for the future, including increasing the use of renewable energy and paying close attention to carbon capture technology application.
Deputy Manager Lin Ming-wang shares TUNtex’ carbon reduction practices.
With more and more countries implementing a carbon tax, researcher Judy Zhao (趙瑀嫻) analyzed impacts of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the U.S.’ Clean Competition Act (CCA), and Taiwan’s introduction of carbon market on businesses.
For business, calculating carbon costs not only help risk management but long-term strategic planning, Zhao emphasized. She used waterproof garments and nuts as examples to estimate the cost of carbon for these products, and the results showed that the rate of carbon reduction is inversely proportional to the cost to businesses, meaning that the faster a company invests in carbon reduction, the more it saves.
Researcher Judy Zhao explains why carbon risk assessment is important to businesses.