Green Products
WNC is dedicated to the development of communication technologies and green products. We define green products as those that meet the two major requirements of being safe and have low carbon emissions. In terms of safety, we require our products to be free from environmentally harmful substances, complying with regulations on prohibited and restricted substances management, ensuring they are harmless to human health and the environment. In terms of carbon reduction, we are committed to reducing carbon emissions throughout the five major stages of the product lifecycle: from raw material procurement, manufacturing, transportation, consumption, to waste disposal and recycling, thereby reducing our impact on climate change. Through adoption of environmentally-friendly materials and packaging materials use, optimizing low-carbon manufacturing processes, developing energy conservation technologies for products, and designing products for easy disassembly and recycling, we aim to reduce the negative environmental impact of products during each stage of their lifecycle, providing customers with energy efficient products and manufacturing services.
Raw Material
- Hazardous materials
- Designs that reduce material usage
- Environmentally-friendly materials: Recyclable, reusable, and low polluting materials
Manufacturing
- Introduction of the ISO 50001 management system, and establishment of energy saving goals
- Annual increase in the proportion of renewable energy use
- Optimize production processes and product yield to reduce waste and resource usage
Transportation
- Designs that reduce packaging volume to improve transportation efficiency
- Adopt low carbon means of transportation
Use
- Develop products with low energy consumption to reduce power usage when using the products
Disposal
- Introduce easily disassembled and recyclable product designs to improve material recycling rates
- Modular design increases the proportion of repairability to extend the product lifecycle.
- Build a product recycling system
Environmentally Friendly Materials
Post-consumer Recycled Resin
WNC proposes the use of different recyclable/recycled materials to customers based on customers’ expected product specifications and the usability and durability requirements of communications products. Currently, most recycled materials are used in mechanical parts and packaging materials, including the use of post-consumer recycled PCR plastics in product cases and recycled pulp products in packaging paper. In 2023, calculated based on the purchase amount, the proportion of recyclable/recycled materials used in mechanical parts and packaging materials increased significantly to 24.59% compared to 2022.
2023 ratio of recycled or reused materials at each WNC site (unit: million US$)
| Taiwan | China | Vietnam | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Use of recycled materialsNote1 | 31.60 | 20.61 | 24.38 | 76.59 |
| Use of materialsNote2 | 157.22 | 83.05 | 71.16 | 311.43 |
| Ratio of recycled materials | 20.10% | 24.81% | 34.25% | 24.59% |
- Note 1: If the weight of recycled materials in mechanical parts and packaging materials exceeds 20% of the total weight of the material, the recycled material will be included in data.
- Note 2: The total material usage includes mechanical parts and packaging materials.
Environmentally Friendly Packaging Materials
The packaging materials used to ship products, including corrugated cardboard, EPE, plastic bags, labels and stickers, manuals, pulp boxes, and blister shells, are all recyclable and environmentally friendly materials. Such materials comply with the restrictions on the four hazardous materials of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and chromium (Cr6+) in the European Union’s Directive of Packaging and Packaging Waste (PPWD) 94/62/EC. In addition, WNC strives to reduce packaging volumes to improve space utilization, increase the amount of containers that can be loaded in a shipment, reduce the energy consumption and pollution produced during transportation, and reduce unnecessary transportation costs and carbon emissions. In addition, as a part of a sustainable forest initiative, WNC started using paper materials certified by the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) Chain of Custody Standards (hereinafter referred to as FSC™ CoC) in 2014 and received FSC™ CoC certification in 2015. We regularly conduct internal audits and third-party verification to ensure that the packaging, corrugated paper bags, adhesive labels, and paper materials for printing that we use are made from trees grown in certified forests. As of the date of publication, all Taiwan and Vietnam sites have passed FSC™ CoC third-party audits.
WNC has introduced Cradle to Cradle (C2C) certified packaging materials, using non-toxic materials, clean energy, and water-saving processes to replace environmentally harmful materials and production processes that consume large amounts of energy. We have also established measures for recycling packaging. The reinforced craft paper tape for sealing product boxes and vegetable oil based inks for printing color boxes currently used by WNC are all C2C certified products. These products do not contain volatile organic solvents, both environmentally-friendly and good for employees’ safety and health.
Green Products Management and Assessment
Green Product Design Training Workshops
Environmental Impact Assessment
WNC assesses its potential environmental impact through product carbon footprint and life cycle assessments. Based on the evaluation results, improvement methods are formulated to reduce negative impact on the environment and business operations.
2023 environmental assessment projects on the following products:
Home RouterLCA Assessment
In cooperation with National Cheng Kung University, a smart home product that generates 5% of total revenue for WNC was evaluated and analyzed across 18 environmental impact aspects, and redesigned in three major directions to improve the use of recycled materials, energy efficiency, and waste recycling rate.
Target Products Carbon Footprint Inventory
In 2023, four types of target products that generate 9% of total revenue for WNC, including home routers, automotive modules, network adapters and set-top boxes, were selected from WNC sites in Taiwan, China and Vietnam for a carbon footprint inventory. Based on the inventory results, we analyzed for carbon emissions hotspots and formulated redesign plans. At the same time, information about the carbon footprint of product raw materials will be gradually integrated into the existing raw materials database in order to facilitate future inventory and management of carbon emissions of products.
Compliance Assessment
Conduct a compliance assessment based on the environmental specifications of the target products (prohibited and restricted substances, energy consumption, noise, packaging, easily disassembled and recyclable, product life).
Recycling and Reuse Assessment
Carry out 3R (Reuse, Recycle, Recovery) assessment based on the disassembly time, parts material composition, and disassembly process of the target products.
Environmental Impact Assessment
Evaluate the major impact of products on different environmental aspects from raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, use, to waste recycling.
Eco-design Introduction
Provide product design solutions based on environmental impact assessment reports or case studies.
Eco-design Introduction Performance Evaluation
Ensure that the measurement results are consistent with the eco-design requirements described in the implementation measures.
Green Product Design
Energy Efficient Design
Example of energy-efficient products
WNC strived to simplify product designs in 2023. We removed some repetitive functional components from one of our home routers without compromising its functions to reduce energy consumption. According to our tests, this product can lower energy consumption by about 1% and if it is in continuous use for 24 hours a day, it saves around 3.78 million joules annually. WNC also continues to improve its existing products. After our energy-saving design was introduced to a router, this product can cut energy consumption by about 29%. If the router is in continuous use for 24 hours a day, it saves around 192.37 million joules annually. Based on the number of products shipped annually, WNC’s energy efficient products helped customers save approximately 196.15 million joules in 2023, equal to a reduction of 6,126 tons of CO2eNote.
- Note: The amount of carbon emissions cut is estimated based on the variance in emissions between products improved by green design and their predecessors. Since products are used in different regions, the latest electricity carbon emission factors of current year from their respective regions are adopted for this calculation: China sites 0.5568 kgCO2e/kWh; US sites: 0.3753 kgCO2e/kWh
Compliance with EU’s Energy-related Products Directive
To further regulate energy-using products, the European Parliament approved the Energy-related Products (ErP) Directive, establishing a framework for the setting of eco-design requirements for energy-related products throughout their lifecycle. WNC also reviewed its energy efficient product design, utilizing this Directive. In 2023, WNC passed third-party verification for four products, ensuring these products comply with ErP regulations.
Circular Design
To foster circular economies, recycling processes are taken into consideration during the initial phase of product design. This helps us extend product lifecycles and reduce waste generated. WNC wants to optimize product value and allow some components to be reused through circular design. We incorporate the 5R (reduce, reuse, recycle, redefine and redesign) design concept in products. With easy-disassembly design, parts can be changed more conveniently during maintenance or upgrades without discarding the entire equipment, thereby expanding product lifespan. For products that need to be changed or disposed of, no particular disassembly tools are required due to the easy-disassembly design. In addition, all antennas adopt snap-fit designs and no glue or adhesive is used, which makes classification and recycling easier and helps recyclers reduce costs.
WNC Product’s ESG Performance
Results of Carbon Emissions Reduction Measures
In order to reuse resources and reduce GHG emissions, WNC adopts low-carbon product designs. Through continuous innovation and improvement, we reduce product carbon footprints throughout their life cycle while ensuring compliance with related regulations and standards. We believe that green products can both provide our customers with more sustainable solutions and make a contribution to our society.
The revenue proportion from green design products in 2023
| Product Type | Contribution to revenue | Definition (items meeting one of the following criteria are included) |
Carbon reductionNote (tonnes CO2e) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material manufacturing: low carbon emissions | 42.3% |
Use of low-carbon materials and packaging materials
|
1,426.47 |
Optimization of low-carbon processes
|
13,344.83 | ||
| Consumer use: prevent emissions | 9.03% |
Energy-efficient design
|
6,126.23 |
Design for easy disassembly and easy recycling
|
N/A |
- Note: The amount of carbon emissions cut is estimated based on the variance in emissions between products improved by green design and their predecessors. Since products are used in different regions, the latest electricity carbon emission factors of current year from their respective regions are adopted for this calculation:
- China sites 0.5568 kgCO2e/kWh; US sites: 0.3753 kgCO2e/kWh
Sony Green Partner Certification
Starting from 2007, WNC, Wistron NeWeb (Kunshan), and WebCom (Kunshan) began acquiring green partner certification of Sony and other leading brands, and they have also passed annual recertification since then.