Taiwan Mobile Co., Ltd. 2022 "Solar for Good" charity program amplifies love and multifies benefits of solar power

September 01,2022

Use green energy to cherish Taiwan and use the sunlight to watch over autistic youths. Taiwan Mobile has continued its drive for the "Solar for Good" charity program into the sixth year in collaboration with 14 mobile phone suppliers, as well as "MomoShop.com.tw," its four "energy partners" that included Nokia, and affiliated Taiwan Mobile Foundation, which has launched a fundraiser to collect NT$4.427 million for Kanner Foundation of Taiwan dedicated to people with autism.

 

The money will be used to assist Kanner Foundation of Taiwan to rent the roof of long-term healthcare facilities, such as Sunnyfounder, which is also a platform with easy access for everyone to participate in the implementation of citizen power plants and share the economic benefits together, and purchase solar panels and install them to generate around 1.74 million kWh of green energy in a span of 20 years, so as to

help Taiwan cut carbon emissions and assist the foundation to earn nearly NT$10 million in income, spreading the love of charity 2.18 times!

 

This year, Taiwan Mobile has invited Olympic judo medalist Yang Yung-wei to serve as its ambassador to urge members of the public to support the donation campaign through his sunny and energetic image.

 

To take the lead, Taiwan Mobile has announced a NT$1 million donation and has promised the purchase of green energy equal to the amount of power generated by each solar panel included in this initiative as part of its efforts to back a more sustainable power source and amplify the value of carbon emission reductions.

 

"This year is the dawn of Taiwan Mobile's 'Net Zero,'" Taiwan Mobile President Jaime Lin said.

 

Taiwan Mobile has this year joined RE100, which is a global initiative bringing together the world's most influential businesses committed to 100 percent renewable electricity, vowing to use reusable energy by 2040 and achieve the goal of "Net Zero" by 2050.

 

Apart from striving to limit its own carbon emissions, Taiwan Mobile is also

advocating the "Solar for Good" program by combining green energy and charity to convert clean energy into positive social energy.

 

"This year we once again collaborate with our charity partners. Together we will run a funding campaign for Kanner Foundation of Taiwan, to exhibit the kindness of every donor and build a solar power plant in a bid to spread the seed of hope for autistic youths for the next 20 years and shine a beacon on their life by using green

energy to drive the circle of kindness and love," Lin said.

 

Citing a recent popular TV series "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," Lin pointed out that the prototype of the protagonist is an American man with autism who used his extraordinary gift to become an outstanding lawyer.

 

If society shows those with autism a little more backing and understanding, it

will alleviate the burden that autistic youths and their family members bear, helping

more people like Woo to execute their "extraordinary abilities" in different fields, he said.

 

"As a mother of a child with autism, we accompany our children as they stumble growing up," Kanner Foundation of Taiwan Chairwoman Peng Yu-yen said.

 

Autism is a congenital brain disorder, and its discovery and follow-up treatment are a long journey full of hardship, she said, noting that not only it is a physical and spiritual task, but also it is a huge financial burden on the families.

 

Nowadays, one in 44 people suffers from autism, but the Taiwanese society does not

accept them due to a lack of understanding of the disease, she said.

 

"Fortunately, charity programs like 'Solar for Good' fuses fraternity with the concept of sustainability, which aligns with our hope to provide a stable home for the autistic," Peng said. "We are lucky to become the beneficiary of this initiative,

and it provides us with a firm support to go forward."

 

Turning the sunshine into solar energy-based power, building photoelectric systems to create hope

 

Though unrelenting in the dojo, Yang always carries a sunny smile when outside of it.

He has been picked this year as the ambassador of the "Solar for Good" charity program.

 

At today's press conference, a promotional video featuring Yang titled "Shine A Light on the Window of Autism, Spread the Seeds of Hope for Kanner Youths for the Next 20 Years" was shown.

 

The video captured a precious moment when Yang patiently led autistic children in Judo warm ups and a session of painting. From their interactions, the patient and warm side of Yang's personality was revealed.

 

Since its establishment in 2004, Kanner Foundation of Taiwan has helped

1,331 children with autism and their families annually -- leading them to learn and helping them adapt to the environment -- as means of setting up a channel for the

domestic society to gain a better understanding of autistic youths and brace for their "uniqueness."

 

Yang, an advocate of the cause of the "Solar for Good" program, made a donation immediately during the filming of the promotional video. He hoped to use the video as a beacon to invite people to donate, so that love can shine like the sun into the hearts of autistic youths.

 

"The continuous innovation and iteration of 'Solar for Good' charity program last year broke the past requirements on non-profitable organizations that they must own the rooftop of the building to build a solar plant," Iris Liu, vice president of

sustainability and chief executive officer of Taiwan Mobile Foundation, said.

 

Under the revised measure, Noordhoff Craniofacial Foundation was able to rent the rooftop of a commercial building and turned it into a solar plant where the earning from selling green energy was reimbursed back to the foundation, Liu said.

 

"Based on the 'not owning rooftop mode' that was introduced this year, Taiwan Green Energy for Charity Association raised NT$4.427 million for Kanner Foundation of Taiwan to buy solar panels from Sunnyfounder and built a photoelectric system on its roof to insulate the heat from the sun and cool the room temperature, she said.

 

The green electricity that the system generates can be sold to Taiwan Power Company, which is capable of earning as much as NT$9.64 million in revenue for Kanner Foundation of Taiwan over the next 20 years, she said.

 

This showed that the good intentions of each donor are magnified 2.18 times, creating a compounding of interest and a win-win situation for all parties concerned, Liu said.

 

"Taiwan is on the road to energy transitions," Sunnyfounder CEO Edison Feng said.

 

Through initiatives like Citizen Power Plant, Green Energy Transactions and Green Energy Charities, Sunnyfounder welcomes members of the public to participate in this transition and help them create their social influence, Feng said.

 

Through Taiwan Mobile's "Solar for Good" program and Sunnyfounder's innovative solar energy solutions this year, the public's good intentions and caring can be turned into solar panels in any citizen power plant, with Taiwan Power Company promising to purchase the electricity that it generates over the next 20 years, he said.

 

From this day forth, the sunrise will not only provide revenue for charities

but also it will give a helping hand in the goal of decreasing carbon emission, he said.

 

"Solar for Good" program yields good results in five years, one donation can create multiple benefits

 

Taiwan Mobile has especially incorporated "energy partners" into its 2022 "Solar for Good" program," where like-minded companies that advocate the core value of sustainability were asked to participate.

 

Long-time partner Nokia became the first to heed the call to become an "energy partner" of Taiwan Mobile, followed by AMD Taiwan, Commverge Technologies Holdings Ltd., and Why-Not Universal Co., Ltd.

 

Today, Nokia's President of Greater China region Markus Borchert and Vice President

Jason Liu also attended the conference to show their support in person.

 

A total of 14 suppliers -- ASUS, Benten, HTC, Hugiga, Lenovo, Mi, Motorola, OPPO, realme, Samsung, SHARP, SONY, SUGAR, Vivo -- also participate in this year's events, with 8 of them having already lent their support for 6 consecutive years.

 

Since its inception five years ago, more than 10,000 donors have endorsed the "Solar for Good" charity program, with funding reaching NT$24.22 millions and 442.9 kWh of solar power systems built, which is expected to generate an income of NT$63.21 million and emit 9.36 million kWh of green energy over the next 20 years. It equals to a decrease of 4,907 tonnes of carbon emission, which is tantamount to planting 22,409 trees.

 

From this day forth, customers who buy phones or tablets from one of the 14 energy

partners from myfone stores or myfon online store with the golden logo of "Solar for Good" printed on the package will see a NT$2 donation per each product purchased from the supplier.

 

Momo, the leader in domestic e-commerce, has also launched a "donate with love" campaign, while National Chengchi University's jogging club also promised to donate ten times money of the total mileage of its club members have run in response to the green energy initiative.

 

What's more, people interested in making a donation can access five channels -- the fanpage of Taiwan Green Energy for Charity Association, dial Taiwan Mobile's phone number at 5180136 for instant donations, iSharing online payment, momo love donation, and Sunnyfounder (online donation) -- before Oct. 31 to spread love and caring to every corner of society.