▎PEOPLE

The E.SUN–NTU ESG Centenary Project, a collaboration between NTU and E.SUN Bank, was launched on March 25. The project includes two subprojects: a Cypress planting project in the Yushan mountain range and a millet revival project in Xinyi Township, Nantou.

The Cypress planting project is aimed to cultivate cypress trees native to Taiwan, including Taiwan Red Cypress, Chamaecyparis taiwanensis, Taiwania, Taiwan Incense Cedar, Calocedrus formosana, and Taiwan cunninghamia. Through this project, 100,000 trees, covering 50 hectares of land, will be planted during the next decade. These trees are expected to reduce an estimated 242,000 tons of carbon dioxide emission in 100 years.

The millet revival project sets out to reintroduce 28 varieties of millet that once were native to Xinyi Township. With the efforts of NTU, several varieties of native millet seeds were brought home to Taiwan from a seed bank in the United States. These seeds will help revive the millet industry and the culture of the Bunun community.

“NTU is actively promoting sustainability on campus, including aiming to reach 50% of carbon neutrality by our 100th anniversary in 2028 and achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2048. We have also established the “Sustainable Development Promotion Committee” and the “Office of Sustainability” early this year to map out and fulfill our sustainable development goals,” said President Chung-Ming Kuan in his opening remarks. Kuan also encouraged NTU professors to dedicate themselves to research on sustainable development issues and lead students to integrate sustainability into their lives.

Project LEAP, launched by NTU School of Pharmacy in 2018, has been offering support for sustainable development by establishing and maintaining the sustainable endowment fund for NTU. Generous donors Chung-Chiang Larry Hsu and Fung-Hwa Ann Wu contributed 2.5 million USD to the project and offered a matching fund of up to 1 million USD to encourage donations. As of 2022 Q1, Project LEAP has raised 3.2 billion TWD from over 500 alumni and affiliates.

NTU will strive to build a sustainable environment and innovate pioneering solutions to tackle society’s most pressing challenges. By joining forces and resources with enterprises and the NTU community, the school continues to forge relationships between different stakeholders and demonstrate its commitment to creating a greener future.