Environment ministry extends Green Point Scheme

By Esme Yeh / Staff reporter

The Ministry of Environment’s Green Point Scheme has extended the redemption from products with green labels to any product, with promotional offers to run through July 20, Deputy Minister of Environment Shih Wen-chen (施文真) said.

To encourage people to shift toward a green lifestyle, the ministry launched the scheme in 2015 and gained more than 1 million members over the past decade, she said on Tuesday.

The redemption is no longer limited to products with green labeling, and all products are redeemable at 7-Eleven, Family Mart, Hi-Life and Simple Mart convenience stores, as well as E-life Co’s and Tsann Kuen Co’s retail outlets, and Leezen stores, Shih said.

Ministry of Environment officials hold placards at a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday promoting the Green Point Scheme. Photo: screen grab from the Ministry of Environment Web site

The scope of redemption was expanded to make the mechanism more tailored to the public’s needs and attract more members, she said, expressing thanks to the seven sales partners.

Department of Comprehensive Planning Director Hung Shu-sing (洪淑幸) said that green points could be earned by taking public transportation, including the high-speed rail, railway, metro, buses and YouBikes.

People would receive the points when they use an electronic stored-value card — such as EasyCard, iPass or iCash — that has been registered on the Green Point app, she said.

Green points can also be earned by purchasing environmentally friendly products at shopping malls, online shopping platforms or convenience stores that have joined the scheme, Hung said, adding there are more than 15,000 such stores nationwide for people to earn the points.

The environmentally friendly products must have green certifications, including Green Marks, carbon footprint labels, Made-in-Taiwan Smile logos, Certified Agricultural Standards labels, Taiwan Organic labels, Traceable Agricultural Products labels and Green Conservation Marks.

People could also obtain points by taking part in environmental protection events, which would be announced every month on the Green Point app, Hung said.

While green points could be redeemed for any products at stores of the seven partners, more sales channels would join the collaboration and be announced on the Green Point Web site, she said.

Green points can be accumulated without a limit, and some partner channels offer bonus points on holidays, Hung said.

For example, E-life Co’s and Tsann Kuen Co’s retail outlets would reward consumers who buy green products with 10 times the green points on weekends.

The ministry has launched the “free your points” campaign — which would run through July 20 — to promote the scheme, Hung said.

During the campaign, people who redeem points for any product for the first time would receive 200 points in return, she said.

Those who redeem up to 5,000 points would be given 2,000 points, or a 40 percent “point back,” Hung said.

The campaign would also hold a lottery that offers 5,000 green points, NT$1,000 of travel coupons, and hotel gift vouchers in reward for people who share their experience of redeeming green points on the Green Point Scheme’s Facebook page, she said.

People are also encouraged to earn an extra 15,000 points by booking a room at hotels with green labeling via one of four travel agencies: Lion Travel, Cola Travel, Flying Master Travel or Easy Travel, Hung said during an interview with the ministry’s podcast published on Wednesday.

The scheme is open to anyone in Taiwan who has their mobile phone number registered on the app.