As global warming continues to intensify, and due to the impacts of El Niño and La Niña, abnormal climate events such as the Australian bushfires are increasing in frequency. For this reason, sustainable development has risen to the forefront for countries and corporations. For example, following international pressure at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), both China and India have agreed to set net-zero carbon emission targets for 2060 and 2070, respectively. Merry Electronics, whose business philosophy focuses on "transparent and sustainable operations, and a sense of responsibility towards the wellbeing of our country and society," has recently announced that it will become Taiwan's first electro-acoustic solution provider to join the RE100 initiative.
As a world-leading electro-acoustic solution provider, Merry Electronics has long placed emphasis on global environmental issues despite being in the electro-acoustic industry—an industry that traditionally consumes less energy and produces fewer carbon emissions. The company began to work on its carbon inventory as early as 2007, and obtained the ISO14064 (Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Verification) to confirm its emission inventory and understand the energy consumed in the manufacturing of its products and workplace environments. Since 2009, the company has invested in the research of renewable materials, made plans to implement a carbon footprint in 2014, and evolved by introducing the ISO14067 certification system. Moreover, in 2016, the introduction of ISO 50001 energy management systems to the company's headquarters in Taiwan systematically implemented company-wide energy conservation and carbon reduction measures by continuously updating energy conservation equipment.
Merry Electronics stated that corporate sustainability has always been embedded in the company's core values. Since its inception, the company has integrated green concepts into its product design, raw material procurement, product manufacturing, marketing processes, and services when developing electro-acoustic products for its clients. This ensures that its entire supplier-to-client processes meet green requirements. In addition, the company has always complied with the latest international laws and client requirements to actively and gradually eliminate toxic substances for humans or the environment. The company has also invested heavily in sustainable supply chain management, which increases product performance and reduces energy consumption, to achieve sustainable operations while ensuring that its products comply with green standards.
In terms of sustainable supply chain management, the company has enhanced its supply resilience, reduced its carbon footprint from the procurement and transportation of raw materials and parts, and minimized its environmental impact. Furthermore, Merry Electronics prioritizes suppliers with local production plants and requests that they all follow a strict code of conduct to avoid the social costs caused by climate change and resource depletion.
Reducing Energy Consumption and Increasing the Renewable Energy Ratio
Over the years, Merry Electronics has gradually replaced old chilled water and air conditioning units with COP value and energy-conserving systems that reduce consumption and help realize environmental sustainability. For instance, replacing the central air conditioning system of Merry Electronics Shenzhen in 2020 saved 45.2% of energy compared to the previous system. In addition, the installation of a heat exchange system to reduce indoor temperatures, setting air conditioners to 26 degrees, and the continuous use of LED light bulbs have further helped conserve electricity.
According to the 2020 sustainability report by Merry Electronics, despite energy consumption density reaching 2.89 (GJ/million NTD) in 2020 (a 38.63% increase from 2.08 in 2019), energy management performance was affected by several events, including Merry Electronics Vietnam's first year of production, Merry Electronics Thailand's first year of official mass production, Merry Electronics Shenzhen's projects with affiliated companies, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on management activities. In 2020, Taiwan's R&D headquarters used 1,312.58 kWh of electricity, a slight decrease of 9.18 kWh (a 0.69% reduction) compared to 2019. If factors such as monthly temperature and labor hours are included in a regression analysis, 2020 had an average of 4.29% energy decrease in terms of energy conservation benefits.
Merry Electronics stated that all of its production bases have implemented green factory plans. In addition to setting an annual electricity conservation target of 1.5%, the concept of renewable energy has been integrated into the operations of all factories by proactively monitoring carbon emissions from products and workplaces. There are also plans to install solar energy equipment in suitable areas. The 30-year renewable energy project will begin in 2021. By 2030, 60% of the company's total energy consumption will come from renewable energy sources; in 2040, this percentage will reach 90%, and finally 100% in 2050.
Promoting a Design Framework for Sustainability to Enhance Product Performance
In addition to reducing energy consumption and increasing the ratio of renewable energy usage, Merry Electronics is also working to lower its environmental impact by increasing efficiency. The focus of the company's Design Framework for Sustainability begins with product design through goals such as the integration of miniaturized functions, human factors and ergonomics, differentiation of software/firmware, smart electro-acoustic platforms, and batteries. In 2020, Merry Electronics established short-, mid-, and long-term strategies for sustainable product design to further improve production technologies and product design capabilities, save on manufacturing materials, use renewable materials and low-impact packaging, and implement phased reductions for decreasing power consumption to ensure that products can contribute their sustainable value to the society and environment.
According to the 2020 sustainability report by Merry Electronics, the design and structural optimization of circuits in new products has reduced the overall outer diameter by 10% and lowered power consumption, allowing an increase from 6.5 to 8.6 hours of use with the same battery capacity. Furthermore, the cases of e-sports gaming headsets are made of 12% recycled plastics, while the charge/discharge conversion efficiency of 1000Whr energy storage products was found to be 0.9-3.9% superior to other products in the market after internal testing.
Merry Electronics plans to continue implementing the three major strategies outlined above to provide customers with exceptional solutions while creating products that have sustainable value to the environment and society.
The newly designed Merry Electronics building was inspired by the concept of "intangible sound." The building highlights the accompaniment behind a main melody, alternately fusing into a minimalistic and modern design.