Survey

A total of 202 responses have been collected from participants who were surveyed to challenge their understanding and knowledge across a range of topics related to sustainability. The survey specifically delved into areas such as environmental friendliness, the use and awareness of renewable products, and the principles of a circular economy. In addition, it explored respondents’ familiarity with Spring Pool Glass, a company known for its recycling and sustainable manufacturing practices. By examining these areas, the survey aims to provide insights into public awareness, attitudes, and knowledge about sustainability and the role of companies like Spring Pool Glass in promoting a greener and more sustainable future.

Catalog

Section 1: Personal Information

Section 2: About Spring Pool Glass

Respondents who chose Yes/Unsure

Respondents who chose No

Section 3: About Environmental Friendliness

Section 4: ​About Resource Renewable Products

Section 5: ​About Development of Sustainable Industry

Section 1

Personal Information

Out of 202 responses, 124 were female, 76 were male, and 2 chose inconvenient to disclose. This shows a higher tendency of females responding to this survey. Given there aren’t any gender-specific questions in this survey, this information can be negligible.

Out of 202 responses, 1 has an educational background of elementary school, 55 of junior high school, 72 of senior high school, 32 of college, 25 of master's, 14 of specialists, and 3 of doctorate. Given that this survey was sent to the whole school via a school Gmail system, the educational background corresponds to the educational background present in a school. With that said this survey’s reliability should be taken note of when analyzing given minors might not have enough experience in certain topics such as the participation of sustainable actions or the shopping of sustainable items.

Out of 202 responses, 13 were aged 7 to 12, 74 were aged 13 to 18, 3 were aged 19 to 25, 26 were aged 26 to 35, 41 were aged 36 to 45, 29 were aged 46 to 55, 14 were aged 56 to 65, 1 was aged 66-75, 1 if 75 or above. This data aligns with the previous question as well as the context of this survey. Given that this survey was sent to the whole school via a school Gmail system, the age corresponds to the age ratio present in a school. With that said this survey’s reliability should be taken note of when analyzing given minors might not have enough experience in certain topics such as the participation of sustainable actions or the shopping of sustainable items.

Out of 202 responses, 91 were students, 4 were in the construction industry, 6 in the manufacturing industry, 3 were in the financial industry, 35 were in the education industry, 7 were in business, 35 were in service, 2 in family management, 2 in the hairdressing industry, and 5 are retired. The rest are negligible due to the small number. This indicates a high variety in occupation, prompting a more diverse response to our question due to different familiarity with the topic in work. Again, the majority of the occupation corresponds with a school, given that this survey was sent to the whole school via a school Gmail system.

Out of a total of 202 responses, 159, or 78.6% are not familiar with Spring Pool Glass, 22, or 10.9% are familiar with Spring Pool Glass, and 21, or 10.4% are unsure. This data indicates that the popularity of Spring Pool Glass, Taiwan’s highest glass recycling company, isn’t high in our pool of respondents, which has a high number of students and teachers. This may infer that sustainable companies are not exceedingly popular or well-known in these groups. We continued to survey the respondents who chose “Yes” and “Unsure” to inquire about their understanding of Spring Pool Glass and its aims.

For respondents who chose Yes/Unsure....

Out of 22 responses (multiple options), 3 knew Spring Pool Glass from news and magazines, 4 from TV and media, 4 from social media, 2 from advertisement, 9 from the internet, and 8 from friends and family. This data indicates a success in Spring Pool Glass’s promotion strategies. It’s valid that a total of 20 responses got to know Spring Pool Glass from media/online resources because Spring Pool Glass has made the news multiple times, especially since President Tsai once visited their factory and complimented it as “Taiwan’s model of sustainable economy.” Furthermore, Spring Pool Glass hosted multiple workshops and lessons in the past regarding DIY glass making and recycling glass materials, therefore, knowing Spring Pool Glass from friends' or families’ experiences with these workshops is reasonable.

Out of 10 responses, 6 mentioned “environmental-friendly,” 2 mentioned “innovative,” 1 specifically mentioned “eco-friendly cups,” 1 mentioned “recycled glass,” 1 mentioned “pretty,” and 1 mentioned “fake charity.” From this, it is apparent that the first impression of Spring Pool Glass is mostly positive, with keywords like “environmentally-friendly” and “innovative” mentioned, Spring Pool Glass has set a memorable and sustainable image and impression of themselves. One anomaly from the responses was “fake charity,” which Spring Pool Glass is not a part of. This indicates that it is easy for people to correspond with sustainable practices as a way of marketing or making money. This offers the team a new perspective on how sustainable businesses are viewed.

Out of 22 responses, 7, or 31.8% have bought or used products from Spring Pool Glass, 10, or 45.5% have, and 5, or 22.7% have not bought or used products from Spring Pool Glass but are interested in doing so. This indicates that Spring Pool Glass’s products are not so common in the pool of respondents. This is reasonable because Spring Pool Glass’s majority of work focuses on selling glass cullets to manufacturing companies, instead of manufacturing itself. Even so, their products have gained enough popularity and interest from the respondents, as indicated by the 22.7% of respondents in this section who have not bought or used their products but are interested in doing so.

Out of 22 responses, 19 respondents understand and support the eco-concept of Spring Pool Glass, 1 doesn’t understand but supports, 1 understands but doesn’t support, and 1 has no comment. A total of 20 out of 22 respondents support the eco-concept of Spring Pool Glass, which indicates that the action of Spring Pool Glass is supported and justified. Only 1 respondent doesn’t support this eco-concept. One regret of the team is that the team wasn’t able to contact the original respondent and ask them why they didn’t support it. This is something the team will try to improve upon next year.

Out of 22 responses, 12 agree that Spring Pool Glass has inspired other raw materials companies to produce renewable raw materials, 6 abstain, and 4 disagree. The negative responses are reasonable because while Spring Pool Glass was given the title “Taiwan’s Model of Sustainable Economy” by President Tsai, the glass recycling industry in Taiwan remains small, as it’s not the most profitable way to make glass.

Out of 202 responses, 38, or 18.8% know other renewable materials companies and 164, or 81.2% don't know. This result is expected and valid because renewable material companies are not the most common to see in life. Plastic and producing “new” materials are more common and often a cheaper option for manufacturing companies. Taking this a step further, typically, people don’t pay much attention to the materials of the products they buy, which makes it difficult to notice whether or not the items they own are made out of renewable materials or not.

Some names of the recycling materials factory include EVOPURE+, IKEA, Semisils (mentioned thrice), ASMedia Technology Inc, GSPE, SABIC, BoReTech, Shinfox Energy, Cheng Loong Corp (mentioned twice), Daya Paper, Global Green Material (mentioned twice), and CCILU. This result shows that respondents not only know but can recall names of sustainable companies, indicating high familiarity with these companies. Plenty of businesses, such as Semisils, Cheng Loong Corp, and Global Green Material are mentioned more than once, underscoring the popularity of these companies within the respondent pool.

Out of 202 responses, 50 individuals are attentive toward recycling and reusing issues, 78 don’t intentionally focus on these aspects, and 64 pay little attention. The passiveness shown through the responses is not reasonable, especially since the government and schools around Taiwan have made persistent efforts to promote sustainability and educate citizens to recycle. Nevertheless, not paying close attention to such issues doesn’t necessarily mean the responders are not working towards protecting the planet—we hope our website can guide communities to pay closer attention to recycling and promote the sustainable movement.

Out of 202 responses, 130 are paying attention to environmental protection events and activities, 56 are participating in such activities, and 41 are not paying attention but are interested in them. The high rate of respondents who are paying attention to but not participating in environmental protection activities might not be doing so due to time constraints, given a majority of the survey respondents are students and teachers who are at school from Monday to Friday. A high number of respondents are paying attention and participating in the activities, which aligns with the modern trend of sustainability and eco-friendly production. The team is more than satisfied to see such a high number of people paying attention to environmental protection issues and is expecting the number of people who pay attention/participate in these activities to rise in the following years as the eco-trend expands.

Out of 202 responses (multiple options), the top environmental actions or activities responders have participated in are waste sorting, old clothes recycling, taking public transportation, and using eco-friendly (reusable) tableware. These responses are reasonable as schools and the government has persistently promoted citizens, from a young age, to learn how to sort garbage into specific categories, recycle, take public transportation to reduce their carbon footprint, and use reusable tableware to reduce the greenhouse gases released through production.

Out of 202 responses, the most chosen roles of business in promoting and offering renewable products are supply chain sustainability (125), waste reduction programs (125), advocacy and education (122), and innovation and research (119). These are all practices that are common in today’s world and are more common to see than other options, which makes it a valid choice for the respondents. Some less-believed roles include transparency and certification, carbon neutrality commitment, and collaboration with NGOs. While transparency and certification may promote a better understanding of how the business’s procedure works, it isn’t necessarily mandatory because the businesses might want to gate-keep their technologies for profit while promoting sustainable practices, which is completely reasonable. While collaboration with NGOs might promote renewable products to far-reaching audiences, they don't necessarily make a huge difference in sales, so putting resources into manufacturing or recycling can be a priority for companies. To end, carbon neutrality commitment, while good for the environment, may be really difficult to achieve for businesses because it costs more than typical production, which makes this option’s lower popularity valid.

Out of 202 responses (multiple options), responders generally believe that the Packaging (170 individuals), Fashion (107), and Food and Beverage companies (102) should lean toward renewable materials. On the other hand, the lowest number of responders (37) consider the Medical and Health industries to need renewable options the most. These responses are reasonable, especially since the top three industries produce vast amounts of disposable products that contribute significantly to waste generation. This perspective is further supported by the fact that these consumer-driven industries are more likely to undergo frequent product replacements and updates, resulting in substantial environmental impacts that require sustainable management.

Out of 202 responses, 175 individuals have used renewable products before while the remaining 27 have not. The high percentage of people who have used renewable products before is reasonable, especially since a vast majority of companies reusable materials for their products in the essence of promoting sustainable ideals. On the other hand, while it would be delightful if a greater number of people had experienced using resource-renewable products, it’s understandable that there is still a proportion of responders who have not, potentially because industries have struggled to effectively promote this initiative or simply due to personal preferences.

Out of 202 responses (multiple options), 92 responders believe environmental sustainability plays a significant role in their purchasing decisions, 78 are not sure, and 32 are less affected by such factors. It is reasonable that a significant proportion of consumers pay attention to sustainability when purchasing products since it is consistent with the increasing trend of industries prioritizing eco-friendly productions and practices. Conversely, it is also understandable that some individuals prioritize convenience and enjoyment over sustainability concerns. Our project aims to reach this segment of the population by promoting alternative approaches to mitigating environmental crises, making sustainability more accessible and appealing to a broader audience.

Out of 202 responses, 80 respondents intentionally purchase resource-renewable products when buying items, 66 abstain, and 56 do not intentionally purchase resource-renewable products. This result is skewed towards intentionally purchasing resource-renewable products, which is out of the team’s expectations. This result is valid because half of our respondents are minors and younger generations who have been exposed to sustainable practices and concepts from a young age. This might have built the foundation of their support for resource-renewable products. This number of people supporting environmentally friendly products, however, is lower in comparison to the previous graph, which indicates that while the environmental sustainability of items is important, renewable products are not widely considered when purchasing.

Out of 202 respondents, 103 believe that price is important when purchasing renewable products, 71 abstain, and 28 think they are not as important. The responses skew towards thinking that price is important. Renewable products usually hold a higher price than typical items because the cost of transportation, manufacturing, and processing usually takes a higher cost than typical items. This forces businesses to increase their pricing, given that the profit and cost at least need to equalize to create a circular economy. While the concerns of the respondents are valid, the results also indicate why renewable products are not widely considered when making purchasing choices, which is a big disadvantage stopping businesses from turning green and sustainable.

Out of 202 responses (multiple options), the most believed benefits of resource-renewable products are environment-friendly (178), waste reduction (164), circular economy (142), resource conservation (142), and supporting sustainable development (141). These are all valid options as resource-renewable products are made of waste products, reducing land waste, they also conserve resources through recycling and producing products that have already been manufactured. This promotes sustainable development and a circular economy where waste and new products are in a cycle, ultimately making it an environment-friendly practice. Out of all the options, the creation of green jobs is the least chosen. Given that “green or not” is not the priority when choosing jobs, the low number of agreements is valid and reasonable.

Out of 202 responses (multiple options), 165 defined “sustainable industry” as environmentally friendly, 153 as achieving a beneficial cycle with the natural ecology, 143 as utilizing renewable energy, 116 as low carbon emissions, and 150 as utilizing recycling and manufacturing. While there is no incorrect answer, we can see that the most chosen option was being “environmentally friendly,” with over 80% of responses. This may extend into the use of energy-saving machines, transportation, manufacturing practices, or even using animal-free products in their manufacturing process. The least chosen option is low carbon emissions. This also makes sense because sustainable practices aren’t all about carbon but about the sustainability of the ecological and organic, living and nonliving things on Earth. Low carbon emissions are too small of a criterion for a sustainable industry.

Out of 202 responses (multiple options), 172 believe that it is because environmental issues are gradually recognized that sustainable industries are rising in number and magnitude. 145 believe that it is prompted by the alignment with UNSDGs, and 105 believe that it aligns with the global ESG trend. To a lesser degree, 68 believe that the cause is rooted in the current modern trends, 52 for a high consumer value, and 49 for a convenient sourcing of raw materials. Some individual responses offer interesting insights into the topic. One respondent said, “Rational people realize that this is an issue,” another said, “People often think that they are valuing sustainable industries by bringing awareness to them, yet they are doing nothing to help.” With that said most respondents believe that sustainable industries and practices are gradually accepted and valued due to a global trend of promoting ESGs, environmental issues, and UNSDGs, indicating the success of promoting such goals and aim for industries and businesses to follow.

Out of 202 responses, 49 are satisfied, 101 abstain, and 22 are not satisfied. This result skews towards a satisfied attitude towards Taiwan's environmental protection and recycling industries. This is valid as Taiwan is known globally for successful recycling practices and sorting of waste materials. While recycling companies and businesses is not yet a global trend, Taiwan’s businesses are putting a lot of effort into transforming their industry into a more sustainable one. Taiwan is helping and it’s justified by the recognition as seen in this section.