A UK study on the use of chemical flame retardants in furniture has found that these retardants can increase the toxicity of smoke, potentially posing a greater risk to human health than their ability to slow the spread of fire. In this study, experts used furniture fabrics with different added flame retardants and compared the effects of fire spread and smoke toxicity on human health in a fire. Of the four sofa beds in the study, three met the UK Furniture Flammability Regulations (FFR), while the other met the EU's requirements for flame retardant-free fabrics. Of the three FFR-compliant sofa beds, two used different types of chemical flame retardants that were FFR compliant, while the third was made entirely of natural materials and employed a special weaving technique to meet FFR flammability requirements. In actual combustion tests, it was found that compared to an EU sofa bed without added flame retardants, the British sofa bed with added chemical flame retardants took longer to ignite. However, during the period before the sofa bed ignited, the sofa bed with added chemical flame retardants produced large amounts of toxic gases such as carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide when heated. Tests assessing the risk of disability and death from the combustion gases revealed that the gases produced by the two chemical flame retardants caused the greatest harm to humans, with the EU sofa bed without added chemical flame retardants ranking second. However, sofa beds made entirely of natural materials and using special weaving techniques that meet the UK's FFR flammability requirements also had a shorter ignition speed.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)'s latest "Reporting Matters" report shows considerable progress in sustainability reporting by the world's leading companies. This sustainability report, covering 157 member companies from 20 industries and 35 countries, indicates significant advancements in corporate reporting in terms of financial statements and information disclosure, and a gradual shift towards digital reporting. This year, 74% of the corporate reports reviewed by Reporting Matters received a higher overall score than the 2013 baseline year, and 79% of the reports acknowledged the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in some way. On September 25, 2015, governments worldwide established 17 Sustainable Development Goals to eradicate poverty, protect the planet, and ensure equitable distribution of wealth. The deadline for achieving these 17 goals is 2030. The new report shows that 44% of companies are now publishing not only traditional PDF reports but also online reports, a better performance than the 23% when the World Commission on Sustainability first began tracking company reports in 2014; 34% of company reports combine financial and non-financial information, up from 23% in 2013, with 22% of those using the International Integrated Reporting Framework. 27

The Danish government has strongly urged the European Commission to help bridge the knowledge gap regarding microplastics when formulating future EU plastics policies. The Danish government stated that for microplastic reduction targets to be successfully achieved, the European Commission must strengthen knowledge dissemination regarding microplastics. Only with a strong knowledge base can plastics strategies be effectively implemented. The negative environmental impacts of microplastics and the process by which plastics break down into microplastics in natural and artificial water systems need to be revealed and disseminated to the general public. Currently, the general public's understanding of the sources of microplastics is limited to microbeads added to personal care products. However, in reality, microplastics originate from plastic products and gradually break down into plastics during use and after disposal, entering the environment and water bodies. Therefore, knowledge about microplastics must not only include their sources but also clearly explain their impacts to raise public awareness of the potential environmental damage caused by microplastics. In addition to disseminating knowledge about microplastics to the public, the Danish government also points out that in order to build a new plastics value chain, industry needs a deeper understanding of microplastics, and the European Commission needs to develop a regulatory framework to require companies to comply with the EU's planned plastics policy. The Danish government recommends the following measures be incorporated into EU plastics policy: • Banning microbeads in personal care products; • Gradually limiting the addition of harmful additives and ingredients to plastics; • Enabling the general public to work together to reduce plastic pollution; • Reducing general solid waste...

Since 2016, the United Nations has used the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a blueprint and guide for sustainable development over the next 15 years, outlining 17 global sustainable development goals. Taiwan officially established the "Legislative Yuan UN Sustainable Development Advisory Committee" on September 26th of this year. Externally, this will be used to advance diplomacy; internally, policies will be reviewed based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, demonstrating Taiwan's emphasis on global sustainable development trends. The Small and Medium Enterprise Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs is also actively working to help 1.4 million SMEs connect with international standards, enabling Taiwanese companies to link to international markets and strengthen their sustainable development and green competitiveness. The "SME Green Little Giant Mentoring Program" serves as the main focus, guiding companies to become "Green Little Giants." Recently, in conjunction with the Taipei Main Station "Mobile Payment Shopping Festival," a showcase of annual achievements was presented under the theme "Sustainable Earth, Businesses Take Charge." Companies including Green Energy, Changxin Plastics, and Blue Whale International exhibited green and environmentally friendly products across food, clothing, housing, transportation, education, and entertainment, bringing the concepts of "sustainability and circular economy" closer to people's lives and advocating for the public to value the green economy, consume green products, create green cash flow, and achieve green manufacturing. Experts from the Allen MacArthur Foundation, a global pioneer in circular economy thought, were recently invited to Taiwan and also emphasized the "new plastic economy," which aims to ensure that plastics never become waste through a complete cycle. Cooperation within the plastic product value chain must be considered from the design stage.

In 2016, the United Nations launched a series of promotional activities for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in 2017, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) released the latest version of the sustainability reporting framework – the GRI Standard. Linking the 17 UN SDGs with the GRI Standard has gradually become a trend in international corporate social responsibility reports and corporate sustainability reports. To provide SMEs with opportunities for self-learning and experience sharing, we have specially launched the "Linking GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards with UN SDGs" green sustainability e-learning material, assisting SMEs in creating their own corporate sustainability reports in accordance with international standards, even with reduced manpower. The link to the "Connecting GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards and UN SDGs" electronic green sustainability training material is: https://embed.kumu.io/b0dc95460ef3cd2800efb94261a3461f#gri-sdgs. The Small and Medium Enterprise Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, in order to enhance the green competitiveness of enterprises, commissioned the Quality, Environmental and Safety Department of the Plastics Processing and Technology Research Institute to implement the "SME Green Little Giant Guidance Program," dedicated to assisting manufacturers in meeting international environmental protection requirements and promoting green product design and marketing. If enterprises are further interested in green-related issues, they can visit the SME Green Environmental Protection Information Network at http://green.pidc.org.tw/index.php, or contact 0

To assist businesses in responding to the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and more effectively identifying key areas for development, PwC Taiwan and the Taiwan Business Sustainability Training Center jointly hosted the "Discovering Corporate Sustainability in the SDGs" forum on November 22, 2017. The forum released the "PwC Global SDG Reporting Challenge 2017" and invited Chien Yu-Hsin, Chairman of the Taiwan Business Sustainability Training Center, and Mr. Hans Schoolderman, Partner of PwC Netherlands Sustainability, to analyze strategies and solutions for businesses developing SDGs. Representatives from companies such as Sinyi Realty, Cathay Financial Holdings, Far EasTone Telecommunications, and Unilever also shared their experiences, aiming to help businesses gain a head start in formulating and developing their SDGs action capabilities. According to statistics, 43 countries worldwide submitted Voluntary Country Review Reports (VNRs) for the Sustainable Development Goals in 2017, and more countries are expected to submit VNRs in 2018, which will inevitably have a policy impact on business activities in the future. This year, PwC conducted the "PwC Global SDG Reporting Challenge 2017" specifically to investigate how companies are responding to the Sustainable Development Goals. According to the latest research results, 62% of companies are reporting the SDGs to stakeholders, higher than expected; among them, 37% of companies...

A recent study published in the environmental science journal *Resources, Conservation & Recycling* shows that China has an opportunity to control its total primary energy consumption to a more reasonable level and achieve its carbon emission reduction targets around 2023. Whether China, which accounts for a quarter of global carbon dioxide emissions, can achieve its carbon reduction targets as soon as possible is crucial. Yang Fuqiang, senior advisor at the Natural Resources Defense Council, believes that the closer China's carbon reduction targets are to 2020, the higher the likelihood of achieving the global carbon emission targets declared in 2020. 2020 is widely considered a critical year for global climate action; if carbon emissions cannot be reduced to the set targets by 2020, humanity will face catastrophic consequences such as accelerated sea-level rise and worsening extreme weather events. This study, a collaboration between Yuan Jiahai, professor at the School of Economics and Management of North China Electric Power University, and Liu Qilin, visiting researcher at the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, focuses on China's energy consumption. Carbon dioxide accounts for 77% of global greenhouse gases, and more than 90% of carbon dioxide comes from energy consumption; therefore, reducing carbon emissions from energy consumption is a primary task in mitigating climate change. China's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) submitted to the United Nations in 2015 aimed to reduce the country's carbon dioxide emissions by 60%–65% per unit of GDP by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. (Yuan Jiahai)