DuPont Helps Drive More Sustainable Automotive Industry in Taiwan

DuPont Taiwan recently collaborated with Hotai Motor, the exclusive distributor for Toyota in Taiwan, to hold a “Green Summit” with representatives from industry, government, academia and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to discuss global trends in innovation and sustainable development.

Hotai Motor is one of the early automotive industry pioneers to fully adopt waterborne paints.

In addition to discussing sustainable materials and technologies, S T Tsay, regional director for Human Resources in Asia Pacific, inspired participants by sharing DuPont 2015 sustainability goals and our progress in developing solutions for a better, safer, healthier world.

In recent years, Hotai Motor has been striving to implement a sustainable purchasing and green supply chain. Hotai Motor Vice President Min-Chieh Chang explained how Hotai has achieved an outstanding performance in reducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

“After a 2 ½ -year effort, we achieved a 100% conversion rate in adopting waterborne paints in 2010,” Min-Chieh said. “Since we applied DuPont waterborne paints in 2007, we have decreased 7.4 metric tons of VOCs annually, up to 90%, compared to traditional coating techniques.”

Acknowledging that the need for sustainable options is one of the most critical challenges facing the global community, ST discussed DuPont environmental responsibility.

“We have invested $660 million in green R&D in 2009, such as biofuels and alternative energy, almost double from 2005. That is our commitment,” ST said.

Niven Huang, secretary general for the Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) Taiwan, acknowledged DuPont for not only leading the industry worldwide in raising the sustainability bar, but also for helping clients and partners to embark on a more sustainable journey.

Responding to the requests from industry and academia in Taiwan, the Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency will play a proactive role in limiting the use of toxic materials and providing a sales tax incentive for eco-friendly products. Toward that end, DuPont continues to work closely with motor vehicle manufacturers to drive a greener automobile industry.