Overview

The Eco Echo Award, organized by UMC annually since 2016, launched its call for entries on Earth Day, April 22. This year, the total prize has been raised toNT$4 million, the highest amount dedicated to environmental conservation awards in Taiwan. In addition to the award’s purpose of promoting ecological conservation, the 7th Eco Echo Award has been expanded to include a Green Innovation category, which covers climate change and the circular economy. , By broadening the scope of the awards, UMC hopes that the Eco Echo Award can support startups with innovative solutions for the environment.

UMC's Co-President & Chief Sustainability Officer SC Chien said, "Faced with the impact of the pandemic and climate change, we have actively searched for ways to do our part as a responsible corporate enterprise. The Eco Echo Award is a good platform for us to enable community efforts to protect our planet.. The Eco Echo Award has supported 39 ecological conservation projects and youth environmental initiatives over the past six years. Now we are expanding the scope to climate change and circular economy. Through this transformation, we hope to help groups that are dedicated to sustainability to succeed and bring ideas to life.”

As part of this year's awards program, UMC also invited ecological conservation experts to give lectures and hold workshops in schools. Lee Wei-wen, Honorary Director of the Society of Wilderness shared his knowledge with 200 teachers and students in a lecture at Kaohsiung Senior High School on May 16. He stated, "Most of the time we just 'live', not 'love'; but human beings should love where they live." The director encouraged students to integrate environmental actions in everyday life.. Chuang Fu-tai, Principal of Kaohsiung Senior High School, said: "We are very happy that UMC hosted this campus event. With the information shared by Dr. Lee Wei-wen, students are encouraged to appreciate the beauty of nature, and are motivated to practice environmental initiatives."

We also invited the presenter and producer of the Orphans of the Earth program, Pai Hsin-, to discuss the biodiversity crisis with Mingdao High School students on May 27. Through this online presentation, Ms. Pai shared the heartbreaking scenes she witnessed during her travels to places including Africa, North and South Pole, and the Americas. For example, a jaguar was found gnawing on PET bottles in Brazil's Pantanal wetlands; a dolphin had plastic wrapped around her beak and starved to death; people killed rhinos for their horns in South Africa, and more. In Taiwan, wild animals are also suffering due to human impact: leopards killed on the roads, black bears' paws cut by traps, Formosan pangolins attacked, cetaceans stranded, and more. She encouraged students to take the initiative to respond with their own actions, and inspire people around them to do the same.

By opening submissions to the general public and gathering a panel of experts to serve as judges for the Eco Echo Award, UMC hopes to generate awareness of Taiwan’s ecological issues and inspire people to take actions to protect the environment. The results over the past six years have been encouraging, with 39 conservation projects receiving funding from the awards.

There are eight companies participating in the awards this year: Taiyo Nippon Sanso Engineering Taiwan, 3M Taiwan, Tokyo Electron Limited, Unimicron Technology, Faraday Technology, Edwards Technologies, Hermes-Epitek, and Wholetech System Hitech. The co-organizers include uStory of UDNG, Social Enterprise Insights, and the Cultural Foundation of the United Daily News Group.

[Call for Entries Details]
1. The Ecological Conservation Project Grant is open for government-registered juristic associations/incorporated foundations (excluding corporate foundations), local societies, community development associations, and NGOs to participate. We are calling for concrete and feasible proposals in relation to ecosystem maintenance and green environmental protection or sustainable land development. The Organizer will grant each winning project NT$300,000 (minimum) to NT$1,000,000 (maximum), based on the funding needs specified in project proposals, and in accordance with the results of assessments conducted by invited professional proposal reviewers who have followed various projects and plans related to ecological environment and sustainable development. The Youth Environmental Initiative Award is open for domestic students (born between September 2002 to August 2007/must be current student ranging from the third year of junior high school to the first year of university) to participate. The Award calls for proposals in relation to approaches to practice environmental protection, and instructions for eco-friendly actions that have been physically implemented such as species protection, saying no to eco-unfriendly food, plastic reduction, resource conservation, Leave No Trace (LNT), promotion & participation in environmental initiatives, etc. The total prize is NT$200,000; one First Prize winner will be awarded NT$50,000 and a trophy. There will be three Excellence Award winners, with each winner receiving NT$30,000 and a trophy. Six Honorable Mention Award winners will be chosen, with each winner receiving NT$10,000 and an award certificate.
2. The Green Innovation Award includes two major topics –Circular Economy Issues, and Climate Change Issues. For this Award, we invite government-registered institutions that have been in existence for 15 years or less, including limited companies, companies limited by shares, juristic associations, incorporated foundations, etc., to submit concrete and implementable proposals focusing on Circular Economy Issues or on Climate Change Issues. Proposals must describe crises and pain points faced within those issues, and innovative services or products to be employed to solve the problems. Winning projects will be awarded NT$500,000 (minimum) to NT$1,000,000 (maximum). In addition to large monetary prizes, selected teams will also be provided with one-year incubation services including themed courses, mentor consultations, resource matchmaking, etc. to assist the teams in practicing and expanding their influence.

The call for entries officially opened April 22, 2022, and will close on August 31. For more details, visit the Eco Echo Award’s official website: https://ecoechoaward.com, or watch the explanatory videos on the Eco Echo Awards Youtube channel.
The 7th Eco Echo Award’s video on Ecological Conservation Project Grant:
Video: https://youtu.be/Bz1CecS3qCQ
The 7th Eco Echo Award‘s video on the Youth Environmental Initiative Award:
Video: https://youtu.be/8_o7B4EbyXs
The 7th Eco Echo Award’s video on the Green Innovation Award:
Video: https://youtu.be/yHFGiSpLaXo
The 7th Eco Echo Award Student Endorsers
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8-sbXU8r_A&t=16s