At the Cabinet's weekly meeting today, Premier Mao Chi-kuo highlighted the importance of promoting green procurement, saying that it helps bolster Taiwan's recycling industries and promotes the manufacture of low-polluting products that save water and energy.
To boost the competitiveness of the nation's green industries, Taiwan must bring in and develop cleaner products and technologies, just as many of the European Union countries have done, he said.
After hearing the Environmental Protection Administration's (EPA) report on government green procurement efforts from 2014 to the first half of 2015, Mao said the EPA should plan a cradle-to-cradle product certification system that enables materials to be recycled over and over again into new products. The highest standard for green businesses now is to make products with zero waste over their lifetimes—from material selection and product design to manufacturing, use and recycling.
Premier Mao also praised the EPA for helping to spread the concept of green procurement from the government to the business sector.
In 2014, the EPA designated 34 items for green procurement—that is, government agencies must preferentially purchase certified green products for items that are frequently procured or procured in bulk (such as paper, computers or air conditioners). Since 2011, the EPA has required that at least 90 percent of such designated items actually purchased carry the green labels.