TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Early bird registration for the 2023 Taiwan Circular Economy Awards is ongoing and will last until March 15.

The award competition was launched in 2018 and organized by the Center of Green Economy, part of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER), according to a CIER press release. Last year, the competition saw 103 submissions from various Taiwanese enterprises, 39 of which were shortlisted for the final round.

The initiative intends “to guide and encourage enterprises to move toward circular economy business models through objective evaluation indicators and create sustainable carbon reduction transformation,” CIER said.

The initiative also follows the spirit of sustainable development and adheres to President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. This year’s awards include the Enterprise Award, Small-and-Medium-Sized Enterprise Award, Product Award, Innovative Technology Award, Innovative Service Award, Hero Award, Contribution Award, and the ESG Contribution Award, which is the newest addition.

The Center of Green Economy established the initiative in collaboration with multiple partners, including the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy Research, the British Standards Institute (Taiwan Branch), the International Climate Development Institute, the Circular Taiwan Network, and the International Industry- Academia Alliance of the National Taiwan University of Technology.

“Foreign organizations are more than welcome to join or co-host this adventure in any format in the future,” said Dr. Chun-hsu Lin (林俊旭), the deputy director of the Center for Green Economy.

The CIER said the initiative “is a much-needed step toward Taiwan’s international public relations efforts to highlight the accomplishments of the corporate sector in recycling and sustainable practices.”