Green energy
The building, which cost more than NT$200 million and took two years to build, opened on World Environment Day (June 5) in 2012 and was Asia’s first GMP-compliant cosmetics factory to meet the standards for green buildings. O’right has invested heavily in the idea of creating a sustainable symbiosis between people, buildings, and the environment. For the company, “environmental protection” isn’t just a slogan; it is a way of life.
Company chairman Stephen Ko’s commitment began with choosing to site the headquarters on a hillside to take advantage of difference in the elevation, which makes the facility’s grounds average two degrees cooler than flatter land nearby. To further moderate the building’s temperature, the company designed it with 40-centimeter-thick walls, and surrounded it with large trees, including sweetgum, camphor and bald cypress. These measures help keep interior temperatures constant, warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
The numerous barriers to the muggy heat make the air conditioning system little more than a decoration. In fact, it only turns on if the temperature inside the building exceeds 26ºC. “We average about 300 days a year without air conditioning.” The company is particularly proud of its energy savings in 2016, a year in which it used its air conditioning system for only 216 hours.
Solar panels cover the entire roof of the building like parasols, making efficient use of the abundant sunlight. When the autumnal monsoon rolls in, the local terrain guides the wind to a wind turbine that generates electricity. Between the two systems, the building produces more than enough power in a year to meet its own needs, and the company sells the surplus.
When the northeasterly monsoon blows, the local topography directs the winds to the company’s rooftop wind turbine, which generates green energy.