Insideview
LCI meeting with Taoyuan eco-logistics office
A delegation of members from the ECCT’s Low Carbon Initiative (LCI), led by CEO Freddie Höglund, met with Chiu Chun-ming, CEO of the Taoyuan City Government’s newly opened Eco-Logistics Community Chair office and other senior officials from the office. The meeting followed immediately after the official opening of the office by Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan at the Taoyuan City Hall.
At the meeting, Chiu reported that there are more than 2,000 logistics business operators in the city and that Taoyuan has already implemented smart logistics as well as the big data analytical tools. ECCT CEO Freddie Höglund noted that ECCT members already have aggressive targets for reducing the environmental impact of their operations. “Since reducing environmental impact, improving efficiency and reducing costs go hand in hand, we need to continue working on all fronts”, he said. He added that mutual cooperation between the ECCT and Taoyuan will help to ensure a sustainable future for industry and the people of Taoyuan.
In total, 50 corporate leaders and senior officials from Taoyuan discussed topics including low carbon vehicles, alternative fuels, packing reduction efforts and “green warehouses” in logistics systems. At the conclusion of the meeting, delegates agreed to continue to meet frequently in future to share best practices and progress towards improving the sustainability of the logistics industry.
The office is a joint initiative of the Taoyuan City Government and ICLEI, the Local Governments for Sustainability global network of more than 1,750 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. It is the first city network in the world committed to a sustainable urban freight future and the latest in a series of established initiatives that builds on ongoing international programmes, significant experience and expertise through ICLEI’s global network. Taoyuan has been a member of ICLEI since 2011.
Taoyuan International Airport ranks sixth in the world in the volume of international freight handled while Taoyuan City is home to hundreds of logistics companies that process and transport goods for domestic consumption and export to and from the airport and nearby ports. Although the logistics industry brings prosperity and convenience to the city, it also poses many other challenges, such as air pollution, noise pollution, traffic congestion, waste, wear and tear of roads and greenhouse gas emissions. The Taoyuan City Government therefore took the initiative to set up Taiwan’s first eco-logistics office in collaboration with ICLEI to address the environmental challenges while at the same time putting the logistics industry on a sustainable path.
Under the office, over the next two years, Taoyuan City will cooperate with ICLEI in developing eco-logistics indicators to help cities worldwide assess the baseline of urban freight activities, analyse CO2 emissions and other environmental impacts, and act to make continuous improvements. The office will bring together experts and representatives from cities to contribute to innovative solutions for the urban freight sector.
In his opening remarks at the launch, Mayor Cheng highlighted some of the challenges and opportunities facing Taoyuan as the major logistics hub in Taiwan. He outlined the vision and plans to develop Taoyuan into an ecologically sustainable logistics hub.
The launch was also attended by the Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection Administration, stakeholders from local and international logistics companies, and international experts Dr Sudarmanto Budi Bugroho, Research Manager of the Institute of Global Environmental Strategies, Lea Nina Moral, Senior Environmental Specialist of Santa Rosa City in the Philippines, Togo Uchida, Director of ICLEI Japan Office and Tsu-Jui Cheng, Program Manager and Global Coordinator of Sustainable Mobility at ICLEI World Secretariat
