On August 14^th, 2024, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the Ministry of Environment hosted the Forum on Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Enterprise Integrity. The organizers invited relevant experts, corporations subject to inventory registration, accreditation bodies, accounting firms, and other entities from the public and private sectors to share their experience and exchange views on combining sustainability disclosure with enterprise integrity for promoting greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, among other issues.

    The forum began with speeches delivered by Cheng, Ming-Chien, Minister of Justice, and Peng, Chi-Ming, Minister of Environment. Distinguished guests present included Shang, Kuang-Chi, Chief Secretary of the Securities and Futures Bureau, Chiu, Tsang-Lin, Director of Agency Against Corruption (AAC), and Yeh, I-Chang, Chairman of Transparency International Taiwan. Chief Secretary Shang delivered the keynote speech, whereas Director Chiu shared views and developments on enterprise integrity and sustainability disclosure, the Integrity Platform for Enterprise Services and other policies on clean and competent government that would help enterprises in achieving sustainable development.

    This was followed by a session hosted by Chairman Yeh. Panelists included Yang, Yung-Nane, Professor at the Department of Political Science, National Cheng Kung University, Chung, Yuan-Yao, Attorney at PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal Taiwan, Wen, Huang-Cheng, Chief Engineer at the Department of Environmental Protection, Taiwan Power Company, and Huang, Wei-Ming, Deputy Director-General of the Climate Change Administration, Ministry of Environment. They shared views on GHG inventory operations performed with enterprise integrity.

    In his speech, Minister Cheng emphasized that the MOJ and the Ministry of Environment are working closely on a variety of issues, whether it is greenhouse gas emissions, wastewater discharge and waste treatment, or the prosecutors offices handling cases related to the protection of national land. He also gave credit to the Ministry of Environment for providing ample assistance and working hard to safeguard the environment of Taiwan. Climate change has been a topic that has received much attention in recent years. Greenhouse gas emission inventory is an important underlying task for promoting reduction. This is a key government policy in promoting net-zero emissions in 2050. It is also related to the sustainable development of the country and society as a whole. Therefore, concerted efforts and cooperation between the public and private sectors are a must.

    Through the exchange platform, apart from assisting enterprises in strengthening integrity governance and legal compliance, it also brought together representatives from relevant public and private sectors, experts, and scholars to discuss enterprise integrity and sustainability disclosure, ways to promote greenhouse gas inventory based on enterprise integrity and things to be paid attention to when undertaking inventory operations. Through public-private cross-domain exchanges, with the aim of discussing issues of concern to enterprises, the platform also managed to incorporate greenhouse gas emission inventory to achieve the goals of greenhouse gas reduction strategies, making integrity and legal compliance indispensable. It also helped enterprises fulfill their social responsibility and demonstrated the government's determination to pursue a friendly environment and sustainable development.