Green factories Management

Energy Management

Each plant uses an energy KPI to keep track of energy usage, and results are reviewed and improved upon on a monthly basis. Total energy consumption in 2023 was 1,204,076 GJ and energy intensity was 1.27. Non-renewable energy consumption amounted to 633,821.8 GJ, and renewable energy consumption amounted to 570,254.4 GJ.     

Compal promotes energy-saving projects across its various plants. It has implemented ISO 50001 management system certification in 5 plants, inviting energy professional assessment firms to measure and identify inefficiencies, thereby enhancing energy efficiency. Starting from 2023, Compal initiated the deployment of an intelligent algorithm-based air conditioning system at its Pingzhen plant. This system integrates advanced smart algorithms to optimize operational strategies applied to air conditioning systems. By leveraging technologies such as data mining, performance alerts, and weather forecasting integrated into the digital air conditioning management system, Compal actively manages building energy consumption. This proactive approach aims to achieve optimized operation modes for air conditioning systems, targeting energy savings of 5-12%. Compal plans to extend these results and experiences to all its plants.

Environmental Plants Actions
Environmental protection measures at the plant
Energy management • The HR management system already has provisions for energy management specialists
• Installation of power storage equipment to improve power supply r stability
• Set standard for energy unit per unit of production. Daily power consumption is now estimated and tracked.
Lighting
• Office AC is automatically switched off during night shifts. Timer and motion sensors were also installed. Offices are consolidated outside of office hours to reduce the demand on lighting and AC.
• Continued replacement of energy efficiency lighting
• Give priority to natural lighting in new building designs to reduce need for illuminatio
Air conditioning
• Turn basic facilities on or off depending on production status
• Adjust the pressure of compressed air throughout the plant
• Assessment and improvement of separate shop floor AC zones
• The energy monitoring and control platform was introduced at the Pingzhen Plant in 2023. An energy inventory
metered usage determined that energy efficiency of the air conditioning water system can be improved by 5-12% through a series of improvements including the introduction of digital AC management to optimize operating modes, integration of data mining, performance early warning, and weather forecasting techniques into the digital AC management system, and active energy management in buildings to optimize AC system operations.

Water Reduction

According to a report published by the World Water Forum, a water risk has been identified in recent years as one of the risks with the greatest potential impact on the world. Any physical risk (including water shortage, flooding, water quality and ecosystem impact), monitoring or reputation risk related to water resources could escalate into financial and operational risks for enterprises should it ever go out of control.

The water risk assessment tool unofficially defines water stress as the ratio between water demand of human society and water availability. Compal utilizes a water risk assessment tool to analyze the water resource stress levels at each operational site. Based on the varying degrees of risk identified, corresponding management strategies are implemented. Furthermore, enhanced supervision and control over water resource management are applied in areas with higher risk to improve the efficiency of water resource utilization. Compal’s water stress was assessed as low for the Compal Nanjing and Chongqing plants, low-medium for the Taipei Headquarters, Pingzhen Plant, and Vietnam CWV plant, medium-high for the Vietnam (CVC) and Brazil plants, and high for the Chengdu plant. All plants in the Kunshan were assessed as having extremely high water risk. The plants are located within industrial zones developed by local governments. There are no immediate risks related to water quality, water prices, or water supply sources. However, it is important to understand the location of risks in order to take timely countermeasures.

Compal’s use of water is only limited to general activities as we do not use water in our production processes. As such, the Company’s water consumption is less than 1/100 of the water supply capacity at various industrial parks.

Given the importance of water resources to global sustainability, Compal has implemented total water resource management and gradually introduced water-efficient products and advocated good living habits in order to mitigate our impact on water resources and the environment. Tap water consumption has been closely monitored at all Compal plants since 2011. The water used was supplied by the local water works. Our total water consumption came to 2,068.110 ML tonnes based on our monthly water utility bills for the year. Water intensity was 2.18 and met the target of reducing water use intensity by 1% compared to the previous year.
To mitigate the impact of domestic sewage on the watershed,each plant has implemented plans to replace water-saving equipment, reducing water consumption. Additionally, water recycling systems have been introduced on-site to reuse domestic sewage for toilet flushing, further conserving water resources. At Compal's Taipei headquarters, environmentally certified hand soaps are used exclusively. These soaps are formulated with easily biodegradable ingredients, ensuring that all wastewater meets discharge standards, thereby minimizing environmental impact on the watershed.
The Vietnam plants are located in regions with extremely high overall water risk. All plants are equipped with emergency response ponds to protect against flash flooding during the wet season. The ponds keep rainwater and sewage on-site during heavy rain to prevent run-off and reduce the chance of casualties and property damage due to flooding downstream.
Company is not in a water-intensive industry and most water is for domestic use by employees. Planning on water conservation therefore focused mainly infrastructure maintenance and improvement. We are continuing to monitor the situation on water resources without compromising on environmental sanitation and prevention of infectious diseases. Production with water conservation is merely the first step in Compal’s effort to save water. We have examined the source of water consumption in our value chain and as our production requires no water consumption, our water consumption is primarily attributed to relevant processes involved for raw materials. Supplier water risk assessment was therefore included in the investigation of supplier environmental performance in 2023. Compal will also work more closely with relevant stakeholders and local governments in our operating locations to support strategies that ensures sustainable water resource management.
Waste Management and Source Reduction

Hazardous industrial waste at Compal plants mainly came from PCB printing scraps and trimmings, cleaning agents used for washing down steel sheets and reflow furnace, alcohol from wipe-downs and cleaning, waste flux and solder from the soldering furnace, and waste lamps from scrapped equipment. All are collected for legal disposal by qualified local recyclers who also report back on the disposal method and total quantities. Compal generated 1,421.67 tCO₂e of hazardous industrial waste, which represented 18.5% of total waste. An investigation found no environmental violations or fines were imposed against the waste disposal contractors at each plant in 2023. The waste management process satisfied all contractual and legal obligations.

Additionally, hazardous industrial waste generated from production processes mainly comes from PCB printing scraps and metallic powder, with some waste oil, waste organic solvents, solvent-contaminated wiping cloths, empty solvent drums, small amounts of waste adhesive tubes, and waste UV adhesive tubes used in equipment maintenance. The total amount is 1,3581 tCO₂e, with 67.25% entering recycling channels.

To promote waste reduction and zero and fill at our Chongqing, Nanjing, Kunshan, and Vietnam plants, we have established detailed waste classification standards to enforce source reduction. Specific action plans have been implemented for different stages of the product lifecycle, including: Gradually increasing the use of recyclable materials. Discussing with suppliers to switch to reusable pallets and packaging materials, enabling repeated recycling during raw material procurement. Optimizing processes to reduce scrap production or reprocessing scrap in specific ways for recycling. Non-recyclable waste is incinerated, with further recovery of heat for power generation. This process converts the waste into new energy fuel, thereby reducing the total waste volume and improving energy efficiency. We ensure waste flow (Landfill Waste Diversion) and the effectiveness of zero landfill practices through external independent safety science validation, specifically the UL 2799A Environmental Claim Validation Procedure for Zero Waste Classification. Kunshan Plant 2 obtained UL 2799 Platinum Level Certification with a 100% waste conversion rate, including 6% incineration with heat recovery. The Vietnam (CVC and CWV) plants achieved UL 2799 Gold Level Certification. Chongqing (CQA), Nanjing, Kunshan Plant 1, and Kunshan Plant 3 continue to meet UL 2799 Platinum Level management standards. We annually optimize our waste management model to continuously enhance the performance and outcomes of waste management, achieving a 1% reduction in waste intensity in 2023 compared to the previous year.

As shown in the table below, waste is categorized into general waste and hazardous industrial waste. General waste includes domestic waste and general industrial waste.

Air Pollution Control

The main source of waste emissions at Compal are Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) given off by organic solvents used for wiping down production lines and equipment maintenance, and solder fumes from soldering processes. 
There are no major emissions of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) Sulfur Oxides (SOx) and other harmful gases, but source reduction is still being practiced to actively reduce our impact on the environment. 
Requisition quotas on organic solvents are used to effectively control and reduce unnecessary emissions. At the China plants, waste gases are vented through exhaust ducts equipped with activated carbon adsorption devices to achieve reduction targets.
Maintenance departments conduct monthly spot inspections and maintenance on exhaust equipment to ensure the effectiveness of the scrubbers. Each plants conduct regular monitoring of air pollutants in accordance with local regulations on emission permits. Permits were approved after the readings showed compliance with the emissions thresholds set by the local environmental protection authorities. The tracking of VOC emissions at plants was progressively introduced from 2021 onwards. Reduction action plans were also rolled out resulting in a 77.8% reduction in 2023 compared to the previous year.

 

 

Updated on July 16, 2024