The rapid global development of technology in the past decades has brought convenience and progress to human society and life, but it has been accompanied by many negative effects. Industrial and domestic waste pollutes the air, water, and soil and has an irreversible impact on the earth's environment. In order to solve the above problems, we must move away from today's traditional linear economy (extraction-manufacturing-waste) and instead further improve the efficiency of resource use and the recycling of waste.

In order to accelerate industrial transformation and upgrading, the country has listed "green energy technology" and "recycling economy" as five plus two innovative industries to drive the growth of next-generation industries in Taiwan. According to the above description, "green technology" can be categorized into the following three major directions: provision of clean energy, improvement of product design, and recycling of resources. With the rise of international environmental awareness, countries are emphasizing methods to save energy and reduce carbon and encouraging innovative green manufacturing processes. Even the production process requires the use of green renewable energy, which refers to the so-called "circular economy" and "sustainable manufacturing process."

A circular economy focuses on promoting better resource efficiency, eliminating waste, and avoiding pollution of the natural environment by redesigning products and business models. The circular economy addresses not only the manufacture of products, the provision of services, and the consumption of purchases, but also the use of energy (switching from fossil to renewable sources) and the diversification and modularization of production systems to increase resilience. Even the role of investment and finance is included in a circular economy; for example, some pioneers of the circular economy see this as an opportunity to update the "indicators of economic performance."

The development of green technology is expected to improve production efficiency and optimize the effectiveness of products while improving the utilization of resources and energy, reducing the use and disposal of toxic substances, focusing on recyclable and reusable designs, and reducing the pollution load on the environment in order to improve the environment. Therefore, analyzing and understanding the environmental risks in the process of economic development is necessary in order to identify key areas for the development of green technology in response to each risk.

In light of the development of global high-tech industries, human beings should prioritize the sustainable development of the environment. The School of Engineering's future "green technology" talent cultivation requires interdisciplinary knowledge in chemical, materials, energy, and environmental engineering, as well as economics, to prepare students for future challenges in process, energy, product design, recycling, and sustainable development. Therefore, during the inter-disciplinary study of "Green Technology" in our bachelor's program, students can build and develop in different fields on the foundation of chemical engineering:

• Green process area: innovative and environmentally friendly green processes are proposed for existing chemical products.
• Development of energy materials: new energy materials are developed to reduce the dependence on existing energy sources and processes.
• Program design and optimization: energy-saving and sustainable designs are proposed to replace existing processes.
• Economic assessment of environmental risks: economic analysis is used to find the least environmentally harmful process through a cross-sectional approach.

Our university is located in Northern Taiwan and has long been combined with the Academia Sinica, ITRI, and nearby high-tech industrial areas of Taoyuan, Jhongli, Pingchen, and Youshi (covering a variety of livelihood industries, traditional industries, and semiconductor and electronic industries). Therefore, our bachelor's degree program can cultivate practical problem-solving skills through industry-academia cooperation, enabling students to seamlessly connect industry and academia, cultivating the technological talents needed in the next century, and developing the green processes and products needed for the future.