Giant took the lead to get Taiwan’s industry ready for the future and initiated the Bicycle Alliance for Sustainability. The initiative has set clear goals for 2023, but what comes after that and what will be the impact on the supply chain? Giant Group CEO Bonnie Tu explains more.

What is the goal of the Bicycle Alliance for Sustainability?

Our goal is to be able to cut down at least 25% of carbon emissions by 2030. And that means, 25%, means for each bike is 40 kilograms of carbon emissions. So we already have a very clear goal.

What initiatives can the industry expect to come out of Bicycle Alliance for Sustainability this year?

In 2023 we have it very clear that we ask all our members, that all the members that you have to do your internal sustainability audit. At least you have to find out what your carbon emission is. And this is not only for the assembler, but also the level two and level three suppliers. They have to start their own audits and then they have to work upstream to their vendors. In most of our factories, we already changed our motors, so that it is more efficient, more energy saving. We have already finished our internal audit not only in Taiwan, but also in China.

Which steps has Giant Manufacturing taken so far to make its production more sustainable?

In our products for 2023, we already have one model that is 'less is more'. We have to test the water, see how the consumer reacts. But believe me, we have more to come. But the most important of all is we already integrate this kind of ESG concept into our culture, into our values. I think that if we want to have design, that is ESG, that is sustainable, people have got to believe in it. Otherwise if you don't believe it, you cannot come up with a design. We are working very closely with the E3 institutions. And then we also already recycle part of our aluminium and we also talking about the tyres and hopefully for 2024 we'll be able to come up with a solution to recycle carbon.

What main problem did Giant Group come across in the process of making its production more sustainable?

The main problem is, of course, is the technology. Because we have all the intentions and such as the on the bicycle; aluminium bicycles before painting need to be treated and that treatment chemical is very harmful. But in order to use the non-toxic chemicals, the cost is very, very, very high. So how to find a more affordable way to do that treatment - that is one of the examples. We need a technology to recycle carbon. We need a technology to recycle aluminium. And we need to at the moment, we are already starting to do the recycling of bicycle tyres. Actually, another very important thing here, we need a support from the battery manufacturers because with e-bikes, we have many batteries. Just recycling the battery is actually not enough. Before it is recycle, actually. If we can refresh them, actually, it can prolong their life cycle. So we need the technologies from the battery makers. Also, when we are going upstream, maybe our vendor will say "yeah, yeah, yeah, we did it, we did". But whether they really take action, we have no idea.

How do you expect to get support and cooperation from the industry?

We are not a government. So we need the support from the government to set up more strict rules. So all we have to do is to ask our vendor that they must follow the law. So, if we say you must follow the law, it is more easy for us to say you must follow the ESG regulations. I have strong confidence, if we really can work with CONEBI, with EBMA, I think our possibility of success will increase a lot. Whoever is supporting sustainability is the supporter of ESG. We will really work with them no matter what. I strongly believe ESG is not just something very fancy. So we know what we can do. So whoever is willing to cooperate with us, we are very happy to share our knowledge and also cooperate. And we also welcome anyone who is willing to share their experience with us, we would be more than grateful.