From CSR to ESG – Cymmetrik's Journey to Sustainable Development

The " 2022 Taipei International Graphic Arts Exhibition" has been running for 38 years and is a benchmark event held every two years for the Taiwan printing industry and related equipment, materials, and suppliers. The exhibition's focus has evolved from industrial 1.0 standalone printing equipment to industrial 3.0 precision and high-efficiency production with computerization and programmable control. During the exhibition, the "TIGAX22 Seminar" organized by the Chinese Association of Graphics Science & Technology explored three major themes: "ESG and Green Printing," "Internationalization of Packaging Printing," and "Digital Printing and the Digital Transformation of the Printing Industry." Printing industry professionals, scholars, and experts were invited to participate and discuss these topics.

 

Cymmetrik's General Manager, Alex Mei, was invited to participate and delivered a presentation titled "From CSR to ESG – Cymmetrik's Journey to Sustainable Development." Combining the three main themes, Alex shared Cymmetrik's sustainable development journey during the seminar, emphasizing how the company enhances its sustainability and implements sustainable business practices.

 

 

In its sustainable development strategy, Cymmetrik starts with the principle of "Less is more," using minimal resources to create maximum benefits and achieve the corporate mission of "Beautify Products, Beautify Lives." By promoting the 3R concept (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), Cymmetrik aims to reduce resource waste, encourage reuse, and implement recycling to further incorporate Rethink and Redesign. Cymmetrik aligns with customer demands and global sustainability trends to contemplate ways to reduce carbon emissions and become part of a green supply chain. The company also integrates green design practices in ink materials, production processes, and facility decorations, forming a new green concept based on the 5Rs.

 

To effectively integrate internal resources, Cymmetrik established the Sustainable Development Office (SDO) in early 2022, focusing on five major sustainable development strategies: Green Design, Green Production, Green Living, Green Digital, and Green Energy. The Green Design aspect involves building a sustainable material database and developing green products. Green Production focuses on greenhouse gas inventory certification and equipment energy consumption management according to international certification standards. Green Living emphasizes creating a friendly workplace environment and encouraging all employees to adopt sustainable actions and values in their daily lives. Green Digital involves planning and establishing a digital management platform and digital innovation to achieve goals through digital tools and data analysis. Lastly, the company plans to develop renewable energy and a smart energy management system to achieve its long-term carbon neutrality goal.

 

 

To address the challenges brought by the US-China trade war and geopolitical conflicts, Cymmetrik Group actively strengthens supply chain resilience and digital transformation. It has set up production facilities in locations such as Hanoi, Vietnam; Bangkok, Thailand; and New Mexico, USA, to meet customer demands and enhance cross-border logistics capabilities. Additionally, Cymmetrik has invested in a production park in Tainan, Taiwan, focusing on forward-looking technology development and allowing innovative businesses to participate. Starting from 2020, Cymmetrik strategically deploys resources in Taiwan, Greater China, Southeast Asia, and North America to support regional demands, seize market opportunities, and enhance supply chain resilience.

 

Aligning with international brand customers and market demands, Cymmetrik Group actively develops green products, concentrating on ink, materials, and processes. The company seeks optimal solutions in these areas to create a product and service development blueprint for its five business sectors: Information & Communications Technology, Consumer Packaged Goods, Automotive Application Solutions, Medical & Healthcare Solutions, and Green Energy Solutions.

 

Regarding ink, Cymmetrik employs environmentally friendly inks, with a particular focus on using soy-based inks certified by the American Soybean Association. The company continuously increases the usage of UV inks, currently reaching around 60-100% usage across its locations, effectively reducing VOC emissions. Cymmetrik has also developed antibacterial inks with a 99.9% antibacterial efficacy, obtaining SGS testing certification and meeting the standards set by the US EPA, Japan's SIAA, and the EU's ECHA regulations on biocidal products. In terms of materials, Cymmetrik actively seeks environmentally friendly material suppliers to build a sustainable material database. This database considers recyclability, degradability, process carbon emissions, and cost performance data for each material, ensuring they match customer demands. The sustainable material database primarily includes three types of materials: reusable and renewable materials, recycled materials, and biodegradable materials, requiring suppliers to provide certifications compliant with European and American standards. In process development, the company emphasizes green production, replacing spraying with printing for surface decoration to reduce air pollution, using conductive ink printing instead of etching to minimize waste liquid pollution, and adopting digital printing for small-batch, customized demands to reduce material waste and excess inventory.

 

Overall, Cymmetrik Group focuses on carbon reduction in its green product development, aiming to eliminate plastic, reduce petroleum-based consumables, and switch to bio-based and reducible materials. It uses recycled materials such as recycled paper, rPET, and rPP and develops recyclable products, such as recyclable labels or bio-based plastics, to promote a circular economy and safeguard the environment through concrete actions.

 

 

To cope with the rapid changes in industry markets and technology trends, Cymmetrik Group adopts a "dual-track transformation" strategy for growth. This strategy involves repositioning existing core businesses to better understand customer needs and find more efficient ways to meet them. Simultaneously, the company accelerates investment in future transformational businesses, exploring new market gaps, creating new growth engines, and combining core capabilities to generate transformational momentum. Digital transformation is a crucial strategic direction to support Cymmetrik's overall transformation. The company invests significant resources and introduces digital tools to progress from digitization to digital optimization and innovation. This includes implementing ERP/MES tools to optimize operational processes and advance regional organizational operations for enhanced operational excellence. CRM tools are used to focus on market opportunities and deepen local market penetration, improving customer engagement. Cymmetrik continuously innovates its products, services, and business models to enhance product leadership. Through digital transformation, the company aims to improve management efficiency and decision-making quality, achieve global distribution, accelerate transformation, and develop new businesses.

 

Cymmetrik places ESG at the core of its "Green Transformation" combined with "Digital Transformation," forming a "Dual-Axis Transformation" framework. This framework aims to achieve carbon neutrality through green transformation and establish a green supply chain. Simultaneously, the company seeks operational optimization through digital transformation, utilizing precise analysis and innovation to create more low-carbon innovative applications and services. Cymmetrik Group faces the challenges brought by changing business environments, strives for global governance, enhances sustainability competitiveness, and implements sustainable business practices.