Introducing the First Food Made Good Accredited Business in Taiwan

Wistron NeWEB Corporation: A background

Wistron NeWEB Corporation (WNC) has been embedding sustainability into operations in its employee cafeterias for over 10 years. In addition to providing organic and healthy meals, WNC also actively promotes a culture of sustainability in the lives of its employees, connecting with social enterprises and organising sustainable dining exhibitions, healthy eating lectures and carbon reduction activities.

In order to align with international standards, the sourcing behind all meal ingredients used in WNC’s employee cafeterias have been disclosed to employees since 2023, while the company also ensures that the supply chain of ingredients complies with specific requirements for carbon emissions, natural resources, biodiversity and fair trade.

WNC was one of the first large enterprises in Taiwan to sign the Green Dining Pledge and join the GDG initiative in 2023. The company has also been recognised by Taiwan’s Ministry of the Environment as an Eco-Friendly Restaurant, obtained the Social Inclusion Leadership Award in the 2023 Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Awards (TCSA) and won the Pioneer Enterprises in Green Dining Award presented by GDG.

At an awards ceremony on 27^th August in the Grand Hyatt Taipei, Green Dining Guide (GDG) launched the new Traditional Chinese language option on the Food Made Good platform, along with unveiling their new Green Dining Guide website. A highlight of the event saw Wistron NeWeb Corporation (WNC) – the first business to complete the Standard in Traditional Chinese – awarded with two stars (out of a maximum possible three) in the Food Made Good Standard. 

We spoke to Molly Lin, Chief Sustainability Officer and Spokesperson at WNC, to learn more about their approach to sustainability in their cafeterias, what they’re most proud of and what they took from the process of the FMG Standard.

5 quick questions on sustainability at WNC

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE SUSTAINABILITY IN FOODSERVICE IN TAIWAN IN 2024?

“We can all clearly see that more and more players in the restaurant industry are committing to the promotion and implementation of sustainable dining, taking diverse measures to reduce environmental impact,” says Molly. “These include sourcing ingredients that are more friendly to the environment and animals, reducing food waste, adopting healthier cooking methods, and creating dining environments that reduce plastic and waste. Of course, we are also very grateful for Green Dining Guide’s vigorous promotion in Taiwan over the years.”

WHAT SUSTAINABILITY ACHIEVEMENTS ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN WISTRON NEWEB CORPORATION?

“I think we’re most proud of our collaboration with suppliers. In addition to advocating for the reduction of carbon emissions and the consumption of natural resources, we have also set green design guidelines that embed environmental awareness into our product design. This includes a low-carbon material selection mechanism in collaboration with our suppliers.

“In fact, regardless of which aspect of ESG we’re looking at, the most valuable part is driving both our employees and suppliers to act. Many of the performance metrics and scores are just the final results, but the most significant meaning behind them is the consensus we've built across the entire company, supply chain and even the entire industry. We’re leading everyone and working together to contribute our respective expertise, creating synergies and achieving mutual prosperity.”

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THESE EFFORTS ON THE COMPANY AND ON SOCIETY?

“Whether in terms of carbon reduction, achieving net-zero or the SDGs, the contribution a single company can make to the planet is limited. However, we hope to do our part by connecting with industry partners and gathering the strength of more enterprises, and even governments, to create a greater impact.

“At the same time, internally, we’ve implemented many environmentally friendly and DEI-promoting measures. We hope that through our long-term, step-by-step efforts in the workplace, we can drive our employees, their families, suppliers, customers and partners to incorporate sustainability concepts into their lives and work, creating a positive cycle.

“I think our employee cafeteria is a great example. Starting from caring for our employees, we also support organic small farmers, connect with social enterprises and organise sustainable dining exhibitions, healthy eating lectures and carbon reduction activities. Through various awards and promotions, we let more business partners know that such methods can be used to promote sustainability. We can care for more internal and external stakeholders while continuously expanding and extending this influence.”

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THE FOOD MADE GOOD STANDARD?

“What I like most about the Food Made Good Standard is its emphasis on holistic thinking. From ingredient selection and kitchen operations to customer experience, there is a comprehensive set of evaluation standards. This all-encompassing assessment method helps us (especially as a non-restaurant company that still wishes to improve the sustainability of our dining) better understand the meaning of sustainable dining and continue to improve in all aspects, inspiring us to constantly pursue higher sustainability standards.”

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO F&B OPERATORS IN TAIWAN?

“Adapting to climate change is an important issue that no industry can ignore, and the restaurant industry is even more closely related to the natural environment. Perhaps Taiwan’s restaurant industry can prioritise reducing food waste, choosing local and seasonal ingredients, providing a low-carbon dining environment, improving the efficiency of energy and resource use in operations, introducing energy-saving and waste-reducing measures or using renewable energy. These actions can not only directly reduce environmental impact but also, in the long run, effectively lower overall operating costs and enhance brand image. 

“Additionally, as information flows faster and people increasingly value physical and mental balance and health, maintaining high transparency in communication with customers and sharing efforts made for environmental sustainability and commitments to human health can all help build stronger customer loyalty.”

You can learn more about Wistron NeWeb’s sustainability work here. Find more information about the globally-available Food Made Good Standard here. Keep up to date with more sustainability and hospitality news, stories and insights from across our worldwide network – sign up to our newsletter and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn!