Abstract
Under the trend of environmental protection and carbon reduction, bicycles have become an important component of green urban transportation, and therefore, the net-zero emissions in the manufacturing process of the bicycle industry have become even more important. This study focuses on the green transformation of the bicycle industry in Taiwan and explores the carbon distribution of bicycles through the product life cycle. In order to understand the status of the industry, we invite four senior industry experts and three green design scholars. It conducts research and analysis on green design and carbon reduction in the bicycle industry through expert interviews and grounded theory. In the face of development challenges, we believe that the Taiwan bicycle industry should adopt a systematic approach, carry out phased carbon reduction tasks, and implement product life cycle carbon footprint verification in order to achieve a balance between business models and sustainable operations. In the present study, we formulate preliminary carbon reduction strategies for different-scale enterprises into four stages based on the current status of the industry: (1) product plan, (2) design and development, (3) manufacturing, and (4) collaborative carbon reduction. These strategies can be applied to different production stages of the manufacturer. In addition, we plan a green design carbon reduction flowchart for the bicycle industry from the perspective of life cycle, which allows them to think more comprehensively about product carbon reduction plans. In order to alleviate the international and internal pressure faced by the industry, we have also formulated three countermeasures: (1) risk reduction and increased implementation willingness, (2) transformation of product–service models, and (3) implementation of carbon footprint verification throughout the life cycle. Furthermore, the assembly of bicycle products depends on raw materials and parts from different countries. Therefore, carbon reduction in the bicycle industry is not a goal that can be achieved by single manufacturer or single stakeholder’s efforts. Although this study focuses on the bicycle industry in Taiwan, when facing changes in the international market, it is crucial for enterprises to seize the opportunity to transition timely. The research findings can still provide reference for other countries facing similar challenges. Subsequent studies can also test the methods and strategies proposed in this research in actual industry settings, thereby providing more practical implementation suggestions and promoting green design and carbon reduction in the industry.
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Data availability
The data in this study are available on request from the corresponding authors. The data are not publicly available due to the privacy.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the individuals and organizations that have contributed to the publication of this research paper. First and foremost, we would like to thank our supervisor, Professor Tu, for his invaluable guidance and support throughout the research process. We are also grateful to the Cycling & Health Tech Industry R&D Center for providing financial support for this research. Without their support, it would not have been possible for us to complete this project. Finally, we would like to thank all the participants in this study for their time and willingness to share their experiences. Their contributions have been invaluable in helping us to understand the topic and draw meaningful conclusions.
Funding
This research was funded by Cycling & Health Tech Industry R&D Center, and the grant number is 112-188.
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J-CT, S-CL and P-CH were involved in conceptualization, validation, and project administration; S-CL and P-CH were responsible for methodology, formal analysis and investigation, data curation, and writing—original draft preparation; and J-CT and X-YZ contributed to writing—reviewing and editing, and supervision. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Tu, JC., Luo, SC., Huang, PC. et al. Research on methods and strategies of green design carbon reduction for bicycle industry in Taiwan from perspective of product life cycle. Environ Dev Sustain (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-04131-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-04131-x