Small and Medium Enterprises Go Green O'right Qualifies for First Carbon Footprint Labels

Date: 2010-07-19

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) held a presentation ceremony on June 4 for the first carbon footprint labels issued in Taiwan. Seven products from five companies qualified for the honor and they were presented with their labels by Premier Wu Den-yih himself. The recipients included well-known names such as AU Optronics, BenQ, HeySong and Taisun, thus making O'right International Corp., the only small and medium enterprise among these large enterprises, stands out even more. The company can be considered a bellwether for small and medium enterprises looking to go green.

O'right International Corp. was one of the companies that received assistance from the MOEA Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA) under the "Helping Small and Medium Enterprises Respond to International Green Supply Chain Program" in recent years. Under the leadership of company president Ke Wang-ping, O'right made being green an integral part of product development and won the support of its suppliers as well. Everything from the material formulae to the printing on the packaging was combined into one green supply chain in order to create a single green product. The 1000ml and 400ml green tea shampoos certified with the carbon footprint labels at the ceremony affirmed the EPA's recognition of O'right's green supply chain.

O'right President Ke Wang-ping stated that most consumers of cosmetic products care about the environment. The investment in the carbon footprint label will help the company develop the export market. O'right is not alone in its efforts to building a green supply chain, educating consumers and developing the market for green products. Statistics show that over 70% of green product label applicants are small and medium enterprises, again, a clear proof that small businesses are actively going green and working hard to cultivate green consumption. The "Helping Small and Medium Enterprises Respond to International Green Supply Chain Program" at the SMEA is intended to help small businesses cope with local and overseas green or greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements. The program also helps small businesses making connection with large companies in the green supply chain. The assistance includes counseling, standard compliance as well as lectures, classes, workshops and symposiums. Over 1500 small and medium enterprises have been assisted to date and more than 7000 people trained. The program has helped guiding small and medium enterprises through the transformation process, at the same time, making their green products more competitive. Hopefully, more small and medium enterprises will make use of this resource to get on the green train and take on their corporate social responsibility in saving energy and reducing carbon emissions.

Contact person: Bi-Hong Chen, Technical Specialist, Small and Medium Enterprise Administration Telephone: +886-2-2366-2337