Following the acknowledgment of the world's first LEED gold-certified TFT-LCD facility in 2009, AU Optronics (AUO) announced today that its 8.5G facility located in Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) has passed ISO 50001 standard for energy management. AUO is the world's first TFT-LCD manufacturer to have obtained this certification, again demonstrating the company's achievements in green practice.
ISO 50001 is developed by the ISO/PC 242 energy management project committee of International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The standard establishes a framework for industrial plants or commercial facilities to manage energy, so that energy efficiency increases, costs are reduced and less impact is made on the environment.
AUO has introduced ISO 50001, the latest international standard on energy management, to front-end TFT and back-end module facilities based on its obtained certifications such as ISO 14001, ISO 14064 and LEED. The goal is to achieve 25% energy savings in 2015, with 2010 as the base year. The focus of the ISO 50001 certification is on production energy management. A total of 66 energy-saving measures are raised in 2011, aiming at 10% energy conservation. An estimated 55 million kWh of electricity will be saved, and 35,000 tons of carbon emissions reduced, the equivalent effect of the afforestation of nine New York City 's Central Park .
AUO has initiated AUO Green Solutions since 2008, and led the industry by developing the "Green 2010" eco-efficiency indexes , both of which formed important basis for the ISO 50001 certification. The "Green 2010" goals that included an 80% waste recovery rate, 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and 70% reduction in water consumption were successfully reached within the timeframe. In addition, AUO has also achieved the "carbon balance" milestone at the end of 2010. The accumulated potential carbon emissions reduced by the greener products from 2009 to 2010 far exceeded the actual emission amount of 1.41 million tons, approximately the consumption amount of 610,000 households in one year.
In the future, AUO plans to advance the ISO 50001 energy management system to each fabrication. By means of energy source management, energy performance will also be taken into account in procurement to enhance value chain energy management. As an all-round, leading green solutions provider, AUO will dedicate itself to continuous innovations for better green competitiveness.