The Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA) 2023 is pleased to honor 78 outstanding business leaders and enterprises for championing sustainable and responsible business practices. Presented by leading regional NGO Enterprise Asia, the AREA is the most reputable award recognition program recognizing organizational efforts in creating a culture of compassion, integrity, and in being socially responsible corporate citizens. The AREA serves as a badge of excellence to spur further innovation and best-practice for sharing about the organization and the world at large.
Yulon Motor Co., Ltd. (Yulon) was among the recipients who were conferred with the Social Empowerment Award. As the first auto-manufacturing company in Taiwan, Yulon is committed to developing its R&D capability and has successfully launched its self-owned brand, Luxgen, in 2009. The company has devoted efforts to the development of green energy vehicles and has contributed to developing a sustainable society.
Yulon has been committed to corporate social responsibility for a long time. In recent years, Yulon has realized that Taiwan will soon enter a super-aged society by 2025, which means that the demographic of over 65-year-olds will exceed 20% of the domestic population. More attention will need to be paid to the issue of vehicles for all ages and the need for accessible transportation.
To solve this problem, starting in 2016, Yulon’s self-owned brand, Luxgen, began to independently develop accessible welfare vehicles to provide the disabled with freedom of mobility. Yulon in cooperation with its partner, OurCityLove Social Enterprise, established a friendly, integrated transportation information platform and provided innovative services for accessible transportation.
Thus, began the “9453 Friendly Traveler Project: Innovated Service for Accessible Transportation” (9453 is the homonym of friendly in Taiwanese). Its focus is on providing convenient, friendly, and mobile support for the elderly and the disabled.
Yulon has invested more than NTD4.8 million and the cumulative number of participants in the program has exceeded eight hundred people. The project has three major achievements so far.
First, 37 groups and 456 individuals with disabilities participated in the training to construct user-friendly information. All of it is accessible on the “9453 Friendly Travelers website”. Using the information, Yulon also published and sold travel magazines, creating more than 5 million donations to welfare organizations.
Secondly, by utilizing government resources, Yulon assisted the Chiayi City Government to cultivate 21 commissioners with disabilities. These commissioners visited 126 friendly stores and 42 accessible attractions to conduct friendliness tests and complete the construction of the “Chiayi City Friendly Life Information Platform” for free information on accessible transportation, food, accommodation, and attractions.
Finally, since 2017, so far 21 sessions of synergistic initiatives within the company have been held. These activities come in the form of a series of elderly tours within the Yulon group, these public welfare charity trips were organized as a sign of filial piety and respect.
Yulon will continue to plan and promote activities related to this project in the future. The company hopes that through the popularization of its friendly, integrated transportation information platform and the improvement of its software and hardware, NGO groups and government departments can continue to design more socially friendly services and create a friendly city and tourism environment. Yulon also desires further assistance for the elderly and the disabled to step out the door physically and mentally to truly enjoy the freedom of mobility. With this “9453 Friendly Traveler Project: Innovated Service for Accessible Transportation”, Yulon will build the bridge to happiness with Love and Accessibility.
About Enterprise Asia
Enterprise Asia is a non-governmental organization in the pursuit of creating an Asia that is rich in entrepreneurship as an engine towards sustainable and progressive economic and social development. Please visit https://www.enterpriseasia.org/ for more information.
About Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards
With a presence across 19 countries and markets, the Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards is the region’s most prestigious award recognition program for organizational efforts in creating a culture of compassion, and integrity and in being socially responsible corporate citizens. For more information, visit enterpriseasia.org/area.