Taiwan charts green future at Global Corporate Sustainability Forum

The eighth Global Corporate Sustainability Forum (GCSF) was held in late November in Taiwan.

During the event, experts representing government, industry, and academia offered insights on Taiwan's green transition.

Hosted by the Alliance for Sustainable Development Goals and organized by the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy (TAISE), the GCSF convened at Taipei's Grand Hotel from Nov. 25 to 27.

This year's theme, "Towards a Nature-Positive Future: Biodiversity, Balance and Business," aligns with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework agenda and the Paris Agreement, CSRONE reported.

President and chair of TAISE, Eugene Chien You-hsin (簡又新), said at the opening of the event that although 2025 is shaping up to be a year of challenges for the ESG landscape, with a major economy and parts of Europe slowing their pace in sustainability, Taiwan has not eased its commitment to the green transition. Chien served as Taiwan's foreign minister between 2002 and 2004.


A "price on carbon"

The stated aim of the forum is to serve as a critical platform for Taiwanese companies to synchronize with international currents and to deepen their adoption of natural resources strategies.

Since its launch in 2018, the GCSF has evolved into Taiwan's most internationally recognized sustainability convocation, annually bringing together representatives from government, industry, academia, and civil society reported CSRONE.

GCSF's website says the forum aims to catalyze corporate transitions toward sustainability and to facilitate policy alignment. The eighth edition places "Nature-Positive" at its core, examining how companies can cultivate a symbiotic relationship between ecological integrity and economic development.

At the event, Director-General of Taiwan's Ministry of Environment, Tsai Lin-yi (蔡玲儀), talked about the importance "natural carbon sinks", including forests, mangroves, and bamboo forests, as a cornerstone of domestic mitigation efforts. Such approaches, she noted, deliver dual benefits of sequestering carbon while enhancing biodiversity.

Tsai added that many Taiwanese companies have already embarked on related initiatives, and that the government intends to encourage, incentivize, and accelerate these projects.

She stressed that the global conversation has now moved beyond mere emissions reduction to the imperative of carbon removal. She emphasized that the most consequential step in Taiwan's transition is establishing a genuine "price on carbon," arguing that only a real, enforceable price signal can catalyze greater structural change.

Dr. Eva Langerbeck, Chief Representative and Executive Director of the German Trade Office Taipei, also in attendance, said that Taiwan is aligning itself with the global trend of market-driven carbon regimes and that cross-sector collaboration is indeed needed.

She said potential exists for collaboration between German companies and Taiwan in sustainability. Technology investment is of vital importance, she added.

The transition towards sustainability is not just about reducing carbon emissions or meeting regulatory requirements, but rather an imperative to enhance industry competitiveness, she said.


During the three day event, discussions spanned biodiversity conservation, natural-capital management, innovations in sustainable finance, and regionally balanced growth. Meetings also covered the pathways through which business can operate in concert with the natural world rather than at its expense.

Taiwan's transition towards sustainability from an industry view

Claire Lai (賴湘絜), Co-Chair of Energy and Environment Committee at the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT) told TCN that her committee suggested that the government of Taiwan incorporate carbon capture and storage into Taiwan's Climate Change Response Act, establish a subsidy mechanism, accelerate technology commercialization, and promote demonstration projects, as well as the matching of high-emission industries.

She said that in addition to hydrogen energy, Taiwan's government should incorporate broader and more diverse low-carbon fuel policy planning, such as raising the ammonia substitution target for thermal power plants, establishing a low-carbon fuel ship incentive mechanism, and ensuring that renewable fuels are included in carbon reduction policies.

She also stated that her committee advised that the government of Taiwan establish a dedicated body responsible for policy planning and regulatory research.

Diverse thoughts on green transition among experts

Vice Dean at National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU) Orina Chang (張綺真) who lives between Taiwan and the US, told that while sustainability and green transition have become salient priorities within academia, they do not always command the same enthusiasm from industry, particularly in the United States.

She said that students and young professionals should recognize that decarbonization and other "green-collar" initiatives typically mean costs rather than revenue streams for companies.

Chang noted that many Taiwanese students assume that the popularity of sustainability initiatives is comparable to the fervor surrounding AI. While sustainability is an emergent and indispensable global trend, it differs fundamentally from AI in that the latter demonstrably generates corporate value by reducing costs and enhancing efficiency, she added.

From the perspective of investors return on investment remains the decisive metric, she explained.

While she acknowledged the substantial efforts Taiwan's government has made to align with global sustainability imperatives, she also cautioned against an overly expansive impulse to demonstrate that "Taiwan Can Help." After decades of limited participation in international mechanisms, she said, the government understandably seeks to showcase its commitment.

Taipei would benefit from carefully evaluating how its resources are allocated and identifying which domains warrant deeper, more strategic investment, she said.

Chang said she hoped to use her hands-on experience and understanding of the industry to make sure her students at NSYSU and young people across Taiwan have an accurate understanding on employability and competitiveness in sustainability.