Blood Donation and Carbon Reduction | Environmental Sustainability | Taiwan Blood Services Foundation ESG
Environmental Sustainability
Blood Donation and Carbon Reduction
The Taiwan Blood Services Foundation continues to integrate climate action and low-carbon operations into the core of organizational governance. Through diverse strategies such as equipment upgrades, energy management, and green transportation, the Foundation is gradually building a sustainable blood donation system that combines public welfare services with environmental responsibility. Among these efforts, the bloodmobile fleet serves as an important mobile base for blood collection, carrying out outreach blood recruitment missions in campuses, enterprises, communities, and public venues. It is also a key part of the Foundation’s carbon reduction transformation. To reduce carbon emissions, noise, and energy consumption generated by traditional diesel vehicles, Taipei Blood Center took the lead in promoting the electrification of its bloodmobile fleet and introduced Taiwan’s first large fully electric bloodmobile, the “Rotary Hope,” opening a new model of green transportation for public welfare medical services through concrete action.
However, the Foundation fully understands that sustainable transformation does not stop at equipment replacement. Scientific verification is also needed to confirm the environmental benefits and social value created by the resources invested. To further understand the carbon reduction outcomes, energy efficiency, and overall operational benefits of electric bloodmobiles after actual deployment, Taipei Blood Center partnered with National Taiwan University of Science and Technology to jointly promote the research project “Comparative Analysis of the Benefits of Promoting Electric Bloodmobiles in Taiwan.” Through an industry-academia collaboration model, the project established an empirical foundation for the low-carbon transformation of public welfare transportation vehicles.
In addition to carbon reduction benefits, the research also found that electric bloodmobiles deliver positive benefits in both social and operational aspects. Noise monitoring results showed that the external noise of electric vehicles during driving and parked operations was significantly lower than that of diesel vehicles. This provides blood donors with a more comfortable and quiet donation environment, reduces disturbance to surrounding campuses, commercial districts, and communities, and enhances the image of green public welfare services. In addition, through Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis, although the initial purchase cost of an electric bloodmobile is higher, when combined with off-peak charging and smart energy management mechanisms, it is estimated to save approximately NT$111,000 in energy expenses each year, demonstrating long-term operational resilience and cost advantages.
Taipei Blood Center verified the substantive benefits of electric bloodmobiles through this research project. This not only demonstrates the Foundation’s determination to drive sustainable governance through data, but also provides a clear basis for future fleet replacement, equipment investment, and low-carbon operational strategies. Looking ahead, the Foundation will continue to promote green transformation across all blood centers, gradually expand the scale of the electric vehicle fleet, and integrate renewable energy, smart dispatching, and energy-saving management mechanisms. In this way, every blood donation service trip will fulfill both the mission of saving lives and the responsibility of protecting the environment, putting into practice the sustainable vision of “donating blood to save lives and reducing carbon together.”
Unpowered blood donation vehicle, electric blood donation vehicle (reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions)
"Rotary Inspiration 1" is the first drag-type and electrically-powered blood donation vehicle in Taiwan, combining convenience and comfort
The Hsinchu Blood Center has the first drag-type and electrically-powered blood donation vehicle in Taiwan "Rotary Inspiration 1", donated by the Rotary Club. The vehicle was remodeled with a container to make it more spacious and more comfortable, and it solves the problem of blood donation vehicle exhaust emissions.
The drag-type and electrically-powered blood donation vehicle is mechanically moved with a trailer. The external power supply is used for the blood donation operation, so the parking area must have an independent power supply. As there is no need to run a diesel engine, there is no noise and exhaust gas generated. This is more environmentally friendly and greatly enhances the convenience, comfort, and safety for people when donating blood.
"Xiao Ying" drag-type and electrically-powered blood donation vehicle
In order to solve the problems of environmental pollution and engine noise caused by the Daan diesel blood donation vehicle, an environmentally friendly drag-type and electrically-powered blood donation vehicle was specially built. The vehicle body is moved with a trailer and is parked in the Daan Park. Independent power supply and water source are installed to provide a zero-pollution and quiet environment for blood donation.
First Eco-Friendly Hybrid Blood Donation Vehicle in Taiwan
The “Rotary Wonderful 1" blood donation vehicle is the first hybrid blood donation vehicle in Taiwan to serve blood donors in the Taoyuan area. Not only does the vehicle provide more comfortable space, but more importantly, the vehicle is a dual-energy system blood donation vehicle that can run on diesel. The system is connected to a plug-in charging blood donation site and then externally powered to provide the power for the vehicle's air conditioner and related equipment for blood donation to solve the problem of exhaust emissions, making donating blood more environmentally friendly. In 2023, we added two hybrid blood donation vehicles - the "Qiqin Jianshe", which was donated by Kuntin Architecture Co., Ltd. to the Kaohsiung Blood Center, with two charging piles available at Mega City and Kaohsiung Dashun Branch; the "Happy Angel 5" hybrid blood donation vehicle was donated by Happy Recome Group to the Taichung Blood Center, with a charging pile at the Zi Nan Temple to serve local blood donors.
Taiwan's first all-electric blood donation vehicle - Fubon
In 2020, Fubon Charity Foundation reached an agreement with the Taipei Blood Center to build the first all- electric blood donation vehicle in Taiwan. After continuous seeking for technical advice and repeated evaluation, the vehicle was finally delivered on October 15, 2021. When on duty, the environmentally friendly vehicle can reduce carbon emissions, and creates no noise or no exhaust emissions.
Supporting blood donation is a way to fulfill corporate social responsibility, and the development of an electric blood donation vehicle carries the significance of ESG indicators. As public welfare activities need to incorporate the concepts of ESG, this specific action demonstrates the dual significance, and it is also a joint social practice with TBSF , further demonstrating the meaning of social responsibility and sustainable development.
Establish a sustainable policy that takes into account blood donation and environmental protection
In order to fully meet the medical blood demand and save the lives and health of patients, our blood centers continue to collect blood from various sources and send blood donation vehicles to various enterprises, clubs, schools, military units, temples, remote villages, and remote islands to perform blood donation tasks. At present, our 15 fixed-site electrically-powered blood donation vehicles have been fully electrified, providing a noise-free, energy-saving and carbon-reducing blood donation environment. In the future, we will continue to combine social resources and strive to promote environmental protection of blood donation vehicles. The existing 60-odd diesel blood donation vehicles will be gradually replaced by eco-friendly ones, in order to strive to achieve the goal of carbon reduction, fulfilling our responsibility for the sustainability of the earth.
