2024.11.23

永光化學：用信仰經營企業、用愛打造綠色未來

Everlight Chemical Embraces the Biblical Love in Building a Greener Future

化學染料工業向來與汙染劃上等號，但綠色模範生永光化學顛覆了這個產業的環境殺手形象，2005年起便投入碳盤查，目標2030年降低25%碳排放。2023年，永續產品占永光化學總營業額比例已來到70%，透過研發大量省水、節能、無鹽無鹼的化學染料，並將事業觸角延伸至半導體、光電等，永光化學已成為代表台灣之光的高科技化學集團。

永光化學創辦人家族是虔誠基督徒，經營理念受聖經啟發；圖為集團感恩禮拜。

Everlight's thanksgiving service in 2021. The founder family are devout Christians and embraces biblical love in corporate values.

　　籃球員盡情揮灑汗水，雙方你來我往、互不相讓，場邊觀眾也不吝惜掌聲，歡呼加尖叫，將比賽氣氛炒熱到最高點！

　　仔細一瞧，這群球員的交談語言和膚色都不像台灣人，原來這是化學染料大廠永光化學，特地為外籍員工舉辦的體育競賽。2023年，永光化學共聘僱134位外籍員工，為了讓他們兼顧工作與健康，管理單位平日除了提供運動場地、舉辦各類休閒活動外，歲末年終也會舉辦感恩禮拜、聚餐，並透過定時安排諮商人員到廠關懷，以及自由參加教會團契，讓離鄉背井的員工也能在台灣找到歸屬感。

　　體恤員工身心健康，少不了照顧員工的胃。永光化學在桃園觀音、大園等四個廠區，員工餐廳均獲得桃園市「低碳健康廚房」標章認證，不僅選用當季在地食材、減少碳足跡和農藥殘留，另外還兼顧營養均衡、低鹽少調味，讓員工吃得安心又滿足。

    Basketball players pour their energy into the game, competing fiercely, while spectators on the sidelines enthusiastically cheer and shout, heightening the game’s atmosphere to a peak!

      Looking closer, one notices that these players, speaking in different languages and with diverse backgrounds, are not local Taiwanese. This is a special sports event organized by Everlight Chemical specifically for its foreign employees. In 2023, Everlight Chemical employed 134 foreign workers. To help them balance work and health, the company provides sports facilities, organizes various recreational activities, and holds year-end Thanksgiving services and dinners. Regular counseling sessions and church fellowship opportunities are also offered, allowing foreign employees to feel a sense of belonging in Taiwan.

      Caring for employees’ physical and mental health also involves taking care of their dietary needs. Across four plant locations in Guanyin and Dayuan in Taoyuan, Everlight Chemical’s staff cafeterias have earned “Low Carbon, Healthy Kitchen” certifications from Taoyuan City. These cafeterias use local seasonal ingredients, minimize carbon footprints and pesticide residues, and focus on nutritious, low-sodium meals that provide employees with safe and satisfying dining experiences.

    To help employees balance work and family and reduce commute time for childcare, Everlight Chemical began collaborating with local community preschools 11 years ago, offering employees discounted childcare services. Additionally, parents of newborns receive a NT$20,000 birth incentive and NT$2,000 per child as birth subsidies, benefiting 18 employees with a total of NT$360,000 in 2023.

   Furthermore, Everlight Chemical awards annual educational scholarships for employees’ children, benefiting 575 children from 224 employees in 2023. The company also provides living allowances and holiday support for children of deceased employees, demonstrating its commitment to a people-centered social responsibility.

    With a 52-year history, Everlight Chemical ranks as Asia’s leading and one of the world’s top five dye manufacturers. Its specialized chemicals include UV stabilizers (UVA) for semiconductor processes, UV absorbers, as well as electronic chemicals like photoresists and polishing solutions, traditional pigment chemicals, pharmaceutical chemicals, and nanomaterials. To create environmentally friendly and non-toxic products, Everlight Chemical invests 4% of its revenue and over 10% of its workforce in R&D annually.

    For instance, coating materials are used in car exteriors, high-speed train compartments, buildings, and wooden furniture. However, coatings exposed to prolonged sunlight can yellow, chalk, or crack. Adding UV stabilizers protects them, but early stabilizers were oil-soluble molecules that clumped in water-based paints. 

    Everlight Chemical’s innovation efforts led to UV-resistant products without volatile organic compounds (VOCs), avoiding harm to humans and the environment. This revolutionary coating technology has received numerous national awards, underscoring Everlight Chemical’s commitment to high-value-added product development toward an ultimate goal of environmental sustainability.

永光化學創立於1972年，圖為新北市鶯歌的第一座廠房。

Everlight Chemical was founded in 1972; the first factory was build in Yingge, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

永光的綠色產品Eversorb® AQ獲2024台灣精品獎，右為董事長陳建信。

2024 Taiwan Excellence Award was given to Everlight for its green product Eversorb® AQ. Chairman James Chen(right) receive the medal.

    Recognizing that effective carbon reduction is crucial for global competitiveness, Everlight Chemical has invested in circular economy research for over a decade, striving to reduce resource consumption and waste and convert hazardous chemicals into reusable resources.

    For example, in its dye production process, Everlight Chemical generates about 950 tons of dilute sulfuric acid annually. To mitigate environmental impact, the company used to neutralize and transport the waste for further treatment. Adopting circular economy principles, it now combines dilute sulfuric acid with iron slag to create ferrous sulfate for wastewater treatment, saving NT$3.6 million in disposal costs and NT$3 million in ferrous sulfate procurement annually, achieving both economic and sustainable circular goals.

永光化學的桃園四廠，獲得綠建築標章及綠色工廠認證。

    However, the circular economy cannot thrive in isolation. Collaboration with industry partners is essential for broader impact. Working with upstream and downstream suppliers, Everlight Chemical replaced raw material drum packaging with bulk shipments, storing materials in batches based on order schedules. This optimization reduces the use of 8,000 waste iron drums annually, saving NT$7.5 million in processing costs.

    Additionally, Everlight Chemical collaborates with external vendors to recycle plastic waste from its plants into pyrolysis oil, reducing plastic waste disposal costs while achieving circular economy goals.

    With over 20 operating sites and 1,800 employees worldwide, Everlight Chemical has established an internal “Circular Economy Promotion Committee” to review implementation results. The company also set proposal KPIs to encourage departments to suggest circular practices. Teams that pass the review receive bonuses and pilot their ideas, promoting employee involvement and exploring more possibilities within the circular economy.

    According to Everlight Chemical's 2023 Sustainability Report, the company has achieved remarkable progress in water conservation. Through equipment water recycling and everyday water-saving initiatives, total recycled and reused water volume reached 10,942.5 million liters in 2023, equivalent to saving 4,377 standard swimming pools’ worth of water.

      Simultaneously, Everlight Chemical has optimized its processes and equipment, replacing outdated machinery like chillers, air compressors, and ice makers, and implemented systematic energy management  along with renewable energy investments, all contributing to reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In 2023, the company saved 1,231 kWh, reducing carbon emissions by approximately 609 tCO2e, equivalent to the annual carbon absorption of 50,750 trees.

      Furthermore, Everlight Chemical has increased waste recycling rates, achieving an industrial waste recycling rate of 71%, with 6,125.2 tons of waste recycled and reused out of 8,616.0 tons produced in 2023, and hazardous waste recovery at 10.3% (181.3 tons).

      Not only focused on sustainable operations, Everlight Chemical has made environmental protection a corporate mission, pioneering high-tech chemical innovations that reshape the chemical industry and contribute to a better society.

永光化學為員工舉辦的循環經濟工作坊。

Everlight's internal workshop on circular economy.

永光化學產品型錄中的環保永續宣言。

The pledge for greener products in Everlight's product catalogue.