The charter ceremony was held at the 2018 Sustainable City Forum in Taipei. UL formally presented ASUS Chief Sustainability Officer, Sandy Wei, with the validation. “ASUS is committed to sustainable practices and environmental protection, and we carefully consider the use of resources when implementing circularity innovation,” said Ms. Wei. “After receiving the Zero Waste validation in 2016, we further extended our sustainability strategies and actions to influence society and our industry partners. It is an honor to participate in the development of international standards, to establish a paradigm for circular economy, and to go through the world's first Circularity Facts program. We will continue to contribute to society with meaningful actions.”

For the validation of ASUS, UL examined the circular economy material flows of a laptop and desktop computer and the facility where they were refurbished. ASUS supplied waste diversion data for one year of operations, demonstrated the quantity of recycled or refurbished component content in the products, and worked with third party labs to assess the recyclability of products. These lab reports, including recyclability rates, were then provided to UL Environment.

In addition to internal efforts, ASUS has also helped a partner recycling and refurbishing company to achieve a 97% landfill diversion rate — an impressive feat that has previously obtained UL’s Zero Waste validation.

“Achieving circularity is a critical goal for companies that want to move from product-focused sustainability to a more comprehensive sustainable strategy,” said Alberto Uggetti, Vice President and General Manager, UL Environment. “In order to help companies progress their efforts, UL Environment launched the first circular economy program that evaluates companies based on their product, facility and company efforts toward circular economy. We congratulate ASUS on being the first participant in UL’s Circularity Facts program.”

The circularity economy project that ASUS has put into action goes beyond what UL has evaluated in their program, and is not limited to waste diversion and recycling. It also extends to initiatives such as the Digital Inclusion Project, which is responsible for the donation of refurbished computers, as well as the creation of a Digital Learning Center and a volunteer program that helps underprivileged individuals have access to digital education.