Dedicated to promote a low carbon footprint city, the New Taipei City Government rolled out a “community carbon rating and awarding system” in 2011 aimed to promote the adoption of green building, green energy, recycling, and green life among New Taipei City communities. The evaluation and rating is carried out based on 20 indicators, with the best-performing communities to be given “Platinum Award,” followed by “Golden Bear” and “Silver Goose” Awards. According to the local government, at least 52 communities have garnered the honor.
The local government’s Environmental Protection Department (EPD) Deputy Chief Wang Mei-wen indicated that this year the evaluation laid emphasis on the performance of waste reduction and recycling being implemented in the communities. Among the winners of this year, Dongfang Laureate Community is awarded with the top honor of “Platinum Award;” MRT Top Town, Taipei Laureate, and Tien-che Community are awarded with the “Golden Bear Award;” Farglory Big Future, Hyde Park, and World Cup Sydney Zone, Mediterranean, Chuan Kun Fen Hua, and Hokan Baishida are awarded with the “Silver Goose Award.”
The EPD explained that the ten winning communities have adopted energy-efficient lighting devices with adoption rates between 50 to 90 percent. The winners have also excelled in planting greens in gardens or on the roof and thoroughly implementing waste separation and recycling.
According to the department, these communities have been dedicated to promoting green transportation including cycling, electric scooters, and shared vehicles, adding that these winning communities have been vying to construct low carbon environments over the years, and the judges have seen the improvement. “Their efforts pay off eventually,” said Wang.
The department advises that the communities interested in joining the contest can apply for the subsidy to carry out green transformation from the EPD to improve the living quality of the community and furthermore to add to the property value through these awards.