Contributor: Patrick Ko (Intern)

New Taipei City won three "2022 Asia-Pacific Sustainability Action Awards (APSAA)," including the highest honor, "Outstanding City," which once again affirmed the New Taipei City government's commitment to promoting SDGs. The other two awards, respectively the Asia-Pacific Bronze Award and the Taiwan Silver Award, were won by the city's first certified all-gender public restroom. 

This first-year APSAA was derived from the "Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Awards (TCSA)," which is known as the Oscar of Taiwan Sustainability Awards. APSAA aims to promote the outstanding achievements and contributions of SDGs in the Asia-Pacific region. Enterprises, universities, and government from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and other Asia-Pacific countries will participate in the grand event. It is expected that more than 50 entities from public and private sectors will co-curate the exhibition, and more than 180,000 visitors are expected to visit, leading to social visibility and international recognition.

New Taipei's 2019 VLR was awarded the "14th TCSA Taiwan Corporate Sustainability - Gold Award" in 2021 and received warm responses from the sustainable community. In addition to being invited to speak at the Foundation's Sustainable Governance Seminar for two consecutive years, New Taipei was also invited to share the experiences with local governments and academia, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japanese think tanks, Yilan County Government, Kinmen County Government, Taitung County Government, Normal University, as well as partners in the fields of architecture, law, accounting, etc. Winning the award again this year is a great affirmation to New Taipei.

The sustainable, inclusive, and gender-friendly public restroom that won the Asia-Pacific Bronze Award and Taiwan Silver Award are suitable for parents bringing children to use, age-friendly, and equipped with assistive device. Meanwhile, the restroom embody the spirit of SDG 17 because it was built by the city government's cross-bureau cooperation and public-private cooperation, including the New Taipei City Environmental Protection Department, the Social Welfare Department, the Secretariat, TID Gold Award Designer Miso Design, New Taipei's local HCG enterprises, Kina Brand, and the Friendly-to-All Co-Parenting Organisation (NGO). It was set up to start a cycle of good public policy. New Taipei embraces diverse and integrated ethnic groups and makes SDGs a part of its citizens' lives.

Competent Authority: The Secretariat × Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy