Taiwan's carbon footprint labeling policy has been in place for ten years, and the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is reviewing related regulations to simplify procedures and align with international standards, hoping to increase manufacturers' motivation to apply. The "Guidelines for the Promotion of Carbon Footprint Labelling of Products" issued by the EPA in 2010 came into effect. The EPA is currently reviewing the application process and plans to add "critical review," reverting the verification method to the ISO 14067 carbon footprint quantification standard to align with international standards. In addition, it plans to merge the "Guidelines for the Establishment of the Review Committee for the Promotion of Carbon Footprint Labelling of Products" into the "Guidelines for the Management of Carbon Footprint of Products." The EPA held its second public hearing on this matter today (27th), inviting certification bodies and domestic manufacturers to participate. Apart from some wording suggestions, there were no major disputes. The EPA's Management and Evaluation Division plans to revise the guidelines and release them before the end of the year. The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is simplifying the application process and adding key reviews to encourage more manufacturers to participate in carbon footprint labeling. In recent years, climate change has become increasingly severe. To mitigate the impact of human activities on global warming, the UK pioneered the introduction of the carbon reduction label in 2006, gradually increasing the importance of the carbon footprint concept to governments and businesses worldwide. A carbon footprint refers to the direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions generated throughout the entire lifecycle of an activity or product, from raw material acquisition, manufacturing, distribution, sales, use to final disposal and recycling. The EPA began promoting domestic carbon footprint labeling in 2010, and to date, over 820 products have applied for certification. To increase manufacturers' willingness to apply and align with international standards, the EPA launched a regulatory review on the tenth anniversary of the initiative. Hung Shu-hsing, Director of the Management and Examination Division, stated that the basic principles remain consistent with the spirit of previous regulations, but the provisions have been made more comprehensive, and issues encountered in practice have been slightly adjusted to keep pace with the times and align with international standards. The new management guidelines consolidate the labeling operation guidelines and the review committee setup guidelines, simplifying the carbon label application process. In the future, manufacturers will be granted the right to use carbon labels and issued certificates after their documents are checked for completeness and compliance. Except for disputed cases, no working group meeting review is required. The Environmental Protection Administration's (EPA) Management and Evaluation Division stated that in addition to the simplified process, besides the existing verification declaration form after verification by third-party inspection units, a new key review conducted within the EPA will be added. This will provide manufacturers with a simpler and less expensive verification summary report, allowing them to apply for product carbon footprint labels. This adopts a dual-track certification system of official and private certification. The new regulations are aligned with the latest ISO international standards and will be implemented before the end of the year, with a one-year grace period. Furthermore, Yeh Hsin-Chun, section chief of the EPA's Management and Evaluation Division, stated that the new regulations are specifically aligned with international standards. The carbon footprint verification standards will be based on the ISO 14067:2018 operating standards, which not only more clearly defines the sources of carbon emission factors but also provides manufacturers with flexibility in the order in which they apply these standards. For example, due to the lack of clear regulations in the past, the carbon emission coefficient calculation for a pineapple cake might have used the carbon emission coefficient of Australian pineapple cultivation. In the future, the carbon emission coefficient of domestic pineapples should be used first. However, if there are specific requirements due to product characteristics, a reasonable coefficient should be proposed. The Business Standards Incorporated (BSI) website points out that the new version of the carbon footprint standard released in 2018 identifies more environmental impact items than before, not only focusing on the issue of carbon footprint, and emphasizing increased external communication. Daniele Pernigotti, the convener of the new standard's development, said that the United Nations Climate Change Convention considers carbon footprint (CFP) a key pathway to achieving international climate action goals. The changes in the new standard aim to support the sustainable development of a low-carbon economy while benefiting global businesses, supporters, and stakeholders. Yeh Hsin-chun stated that the draft, after discussion and revision, is expected to be published and take effect before the end of the year. There will be a one-year transition period after the new regulations are implemented, during which the old and new standards will coexist. From January 1, 2021, the old guidelines for calculating and verifying product carbon footprints will no longer be applicable, and will be uniformly converted to the ISO 14067 standard for carbon footprint data quantification and verification. Source: Environmental Information Center (2019/08/27)
