Business Sustainability
Promotion of Paperless Office
Unlike the manufacturing industry, the financial service industry does not directly cause negative impacts on the environment. However, it uses a large amount of paper in the operating process or the internal exchange of documents. As the traditional papermaking process requires a lot of water, fuel, electricity, and forest resources, the promotion of paperless office and digitization (for achievements, please refer to section 5.2 Fintech and Innovation is the top practical action of KTB for the protection of the ecological environment.
✓ Implement a paperless policy for documents and conference materials, and promote double-sided printing and waste paper reusing. In 2022, a total of 12,671 files were exchanged through the electronic official document system, and the usage rate reached 95.4%.
✓ By promoting the customers to use electronic bills, in 2022, it sent total 488,701 pieces of Taiwan foreign currency and fund e-statements and fund cloud statements, with a growth of 39.3% compared with that in 2021, and had a decrease of 1,470,000 pieces of papers consumed, equaling to a decrease of 9.38 metric tons CO2.
✓ "Credit Investigation Review System" was used to convert hard copies of credit cases to electronic versions for storage and transmission, thus reducing carbon footprint incurred during transportation and paper waste greatly. A total of 4,241 credit cases were uploaded in 2022. Estimating the average paper usage per corporate and individual case, we expect the reduction was about 1.44 million sheets of paper, or 9.21 metric tons of CO2 equivalent.
Note 1: In accordance with the "Taiwan Product Carbon Footprint" issued by the Environmental Protection Administration, 1 A4 paper is equivalent to 6.4 g CO2e.
Note 2: The estimated carbon emission mentioned above is not included in the GHG emission and carbon-reduction goals of KTB.
Innovative Carbon-Reduction Actions
✓ KTB has also worked with a B Corporation - Domi Earth to launch the "Power to Change! Light Up Infinite Hope" project since October 2020. KTB promises to donate NT$100 for each conversion of paper bills to e-bills by KTB's customers. The donation will be used for replacing the lights of underprivileged families with energy-saving light fixtures. With the innovative model, the effect of the conversion of e-bill is not restricted to the "environment" aspect, but extends to helping the underprivileged families through the expenses saved to create a win-win-win situation for corporate, society, environment. In 2022, the funds donated was used to replace the overall lighting fixtures, check the safety of household electricity consumption, and pass on the concept of basic energy-saving education for the energy-disadvantaged families. It is expected to save 515 kWh per household per year.
✓ KTB made response to “World Earth Day”, and protected the earth from not being left behind. KTB introduced a series of Earth Day creative activities in 2022, such as: the business sites turned off the sign lights for three consecutive days, and invited the surrounding stores to make common response; held “Barter Activity” to advocate “No Waste and Less Cost”, having completed exchange of 100 second-hand goods successfully, and the participating peers could also obtain a small power-saving product exclusively developed by DOMI Earth (a B-type corporation), as well as Shihu masks produced for raising funds for Taiwan Shihu Conservation Association; launched “Donderdag-Veggie Dag”, calling on people to “Have Less Meat to Save the Earth”, thus being able to reduce 180kg of carbon emissions per person per mean; in addition, it also promoted digital transaction, encouraging the employees, customers and community residents to jointly advocate and implement environmental protection and ecological conservation starting from their daily life and business activities.
Self-Generated Green Power
Since 2011, KTB has been preparing to install its own solar power system on the roof of the Headquarters Building, with a capacity of 9.87 kW, which was connected to the grid in 2012. KTB has been looking for appropriate branch locations to expand green power generation. In 2019, we set up a solar power generation system in Taibao Branch, with a capacity of 19.825 kW. In 2022, KTB self-generated about 40,540 kWh of green electricity, reducing carbon emissions by about 20.64 metric tons. Since 2012, we have generated 250,961 kWh electricity in total, reducing carbon emissions by about 130.16 metric tons.
National Green Life and Green Procurement
Green life is one of the key strategies for Net Zero Transition in Taiwan in 2050, hoping to reduce GHG emissions by change in clothing, food, shelter, traveling, education, entertainment and procurement behaviors and consumption mode. KTB cooperated with the Environmental Protection Administration to actively promote the “National Green Life” campaign, to practice green life from indicators such as reduction from source, environmental greening and beautifying, saving of energies and resources, advocacy and green procurement, etc. In 2022, KTB obtained Green Canteen qualification, and participated in response to green office, thus becoming a member of “Green Partners”.
KTB also actively responds to green procurement, and the amount of related procurement increases year by year. It has won the Tainan City Outstanding Green Procurement Enterprise Award for two consecutive years. KTB's procurement amount in 2022 was NT$30,039,918. In the future, KTB will continue to support low-carbon products, green building materials and sustainable product enterprises through green procurement to improve the efficiency of all resource use.
