SustainabilityFocus
Climate change is a major challenge facing the world at the moment, with a profound impact on the human race, ecology and earth environment. To take on this challenge, countries at COP26 in 2021 reached a consensus to issue the Glasgow Climate Pact, reaffirming the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C. In 2022, COP 27 called for public disclosure of a comprehensive plan for net zero transition. In 2021, the government also announced the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The “ Taiwan’s Pathway to Net-Zero Emissions in 2050” was then published in 2022, formulating transition strategies for the four major aspects of “energy, industry, lifestyle and society.” As one of the local retail channels, PCSC is duty-bound on the path to net-zero transition. We analyze our own key environmental issues and take actions, focusing on responding to the “energy transition,” “industrial transition” and “lifestyle transition” in the net zero transition strategy by promoting sustainability actions towards “carbon reduction,” “plastic reduction” and “food waste reduction.” To this end, PCSC starts from its own operations to reduce carbon together with suppliers/logistics partners, and taking advantage of close tie between PCSC and daily life of the general public to encourage people to transition to a low-carbon green life, working with stakeholders to move towards a net zero sustainable society.
Industrial Transition
Work with suppliers and logistics to reduce carbon emissions in value chain
In addition to our own operations, we have also expanded the scope of net zero transition to suppliers and logistics, facilitating carbon reduction in the entire value chain through local food procurement, equipment replacement and greenhouse gas inventory.
Procurement of Local Food Ingredients
Local food ingredients not only reduce the carbon footprint derived from imports, but also make it easier for consumers to opt for green diet and integrate a “sustainable table” into daily life. PCSC continues to support local agriculture, fishery, vegetables and fruits with the three strategies of “stable procurement,” “sustainability” and “planned support,” with actions including consistent use of local high-quality rice and seasonal ingredients for fresh food products, and making good use of product development capabilities to turn high-quality local ingredients into differentiated products such as fresh food and fresh-brewed beverages to boost the added value of local agricultural and fishery products. In the meantime, the “iPre-order” and “iGroup-buying” platforms are integrated to facilitate online sales of fresh local products and fruit with digital tools, making sustainable development of local agricultural products possible through long-term and stable procurement. Among them high-quality local rice is used in items such as our onigiri, stewed rice and boxed meals with the “Taiwan Rice Label” issued by the Agriculture and Food Agency. In addition, PCSC provided technical guidance on fresh food in the “King of Fried Rice in Taiwan” competition held by the Agriculture and Food Agency in 2022. Mass-produced products have been put on the shelf, and the award-winning “light boxed meal” made with local ingredients has been made available in the stores.
In addition to rice, we also concentrated on locally-grown coffee in 2022. The PCSC R&D team supports local farmers in planting coffee beans in a planned way through farm visits, technical exchanges and brand marketing. Alishan is one of the most important local coffee-producing areas. Local young farmers started growing Geisha coffee in 2018 without using pesticides and herbicides, setting an example for the local coffee industry by embracing the business philosophy of co-existing and prospering with the local environment. PCSC worked with young farmers from Alishan to create “Alishan Fengshan Geisha Coffee” to bring consumers premium coffee while practicing low-carbon consumption.
Low Carbon Transportation
To reduce carbon emissions caused by transportation, PCSC replaced a total of 62 old vehicles in 2022 and introduced 4 phase IV vehicles and 98 phase VI vehicles to meet business needs, including low-temperature and room-temperature ones in different sizes for logistics and transportation demands of all stores. Besides actively introducing new environmentally-friendly vehicles, we also stay updated with domestic and international logistics suppliers through exchanges to respond to trends in industries and regulations.
Expanded Scope 3 GHG Inventory
To stay updated with the Company’s carbon emissions, we decided to expand the inventory Scope 3 greenhouse gases in 2023. Scope 3 includes procured goods and services, end use of goods, investment (greenhouse gas emissions of subsidiaries) and upstream transportation and distribution. The result of the inventory is adopted to formulate future carbon reduction goals and to strengthen the carbon governance of the entire value chain and move towards the goal of net zero emissions.