Up to 22.7 billion green points were given to 1.11 million people over the past decade, generating a total of NT$2.1 billion (US$68.3 million) in green consumption, Deputy Minister of Environment Yeh Jiunn-horng (葉俊宏) said yesterday.
The Ministry of Environment launched the Green Point scheme in 2015 with the Green Point app, where users could collect and redeem green points for discounts or products.
Several functions were included in the app to provide immediate user feedback, the ministry said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Environment
For example, users’ rail transportation mileage would be tracked and represented as carbon reduction amounts on the app, it said.
Users can also redeem points for products in plastic-free shopping at the Jianguo Flower Market (建國花市) in Taipei and get a preferential price if the vendor has a plastic reduction label or offers coupons, it added.
“Give Circle,” the largest resource sharing platform in Taiwan, would soon be launched to help extend products’ lifespans, the ministry said.
Users can donate second-hand clothes or other items via the platform and get green points in return, it said.
Aside from 7-Eleven, FamilyMart and Hi-Life convenience stores, OK Mart stores would also participate in the scheme to allow point collection and redemption, the ministry said.
The cooperation with FamilyMart stores has been extended to recycling batteries, burying expiring fresh foods and using reusable cups or shopping bags, through which users can collect points, it said.
Green points collected via iPass cards can be redeemed not only for purchases in convenience stores, but also to take public transportation or pay utility bills, the ministry said.
The ministry plans to scale up the scheme by adding point redemption products, as well as cooperating with more sales channels to redeem points, Yeh said.
Green points used to be collected only through environmentally friendly actions such as green purchases, and their redemption was limited to products with green marks, he said.
Such restrictions have been relaxed, as points can be redeemed for products without green marks from this year, Yeh said.
Companies — especially listed and over-the-counter companies — are encouraged to buy green points from the government and use them as little gifts for investors at their shareholders’ meetings, he said.
People who are not interested in redeeming their points can also donate them to charitable organizations, Yeh said.
The ministry would continue to cooperate with local governments, as well as more sales channels and e-commerce platforms, to promote the scheme over the next decade, he said.
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