GTO: Could you introduce TÜV NORD to us?
Jack Yeh: In Taiwan, we are having 60 employees, including an office in Taichung, Kaohsiung and Tainan. With over 30 years of history in Taiwan, we started a new slogan this year: passion for safety. It stands exactly for what we are.
We provide digital functional safety, for example in the cyber security or automotive industry: ISO/SAE 21434. Another important field for us is sustainability and carbon-neutrality. Volume wise, our main customer group is the semiconductor industry. Our certification covers the product itself, the hardware, the software, personal background checks and the complete process.
GTO: What kind of services are you offering in the field of sustainability?
Jack Yeh: I want to make a short introduction into our carbon business: In our department, we provide greenhouse gas and product carbon footprint verification services. To verify the company's carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions according to international standards ISO 14064 and ISO 14064, and finally verify the energy management system. Since most of the greenhouse gas emissions comes from the combustion of fossil fuels for electracy generation, companies can save greenhouse gas emissions by using energy more efficient. Therefore, our customers can save their energy costs in short-term, and in the mid-term, they can save the carbon tax, especially after next year, when the EU will start with its carbon border adjustment mechanism.
In the long-term, we hope to enable companies to reduce their impact on climate change, so that they can provide our children and grandchildren an environment with the same conditions as we are having now. This is what we call sustainability. We want to support our customer with establishing this system and reduce their emissions. This is a win-win situation for our customer, the government, and the society.
Additionally, we are focusing on verification of sustainability reports. We already started to cooperate with some industries and discuss to develop our capacity for ESG-reporting insurance. We also conduct seminars to have more updated news for our clients. For example, last year, we had a seminar about the ESG reporting issues, including a training plan with ESG sustainable management and the key points of ESG report verification.
GTO: Can you tell us a bit more regarding to cyber security?
Jack Yeh: We provide the CyberSecurity Certified (CSC) mark of conformity to our customers, who in turn profit by proving to their end-customer that the security of their device is confirmed by and independent third party. I would say this more enhance the security standard in a different domain. Our service testing of many different devices, such as smart watches, home routers, smart TVs, house control systems, smart vehicles, smart factories, and much more. Whether hardware or software, we evaluate according to Common Criteria, the international standard for IT security. With this security mechanism, we do not only focus on the safety of a product, but make sure to optimize of the complete security of our customers IT infrastructure.
GTO: In what way are you profiting from being a German company?
Jack Yeh: In Taiwan, we profit a lot from the great reputation of the German brand name and from the end customer expectations. If our customers want to sell their products or services to Europe, they usually need to provide a European or German certificate, to compete it with other competitors on the market and use it as an advantage. The brand “TÜV” really counts for the customer. We have some customers, who’s major target market is in Europe. That’s why they expect to have a German certificate, because the brand name means something to their end customers.
GTO: Where do you see TÜV NORD in Taiwan in 10 years?
Jack Yeh: I already mentioned our new slogan: Passion for safety. It means in the future we will focus on safety with holistic thinking. We will combine software, hardware, and the latest technology to bring different concepts together and provide excellent service. I think this vision is our future.
Please find the English version of the interview here.
Please find the Chinese version of the interview here.