Background:
Taiwan is a densely populated industrialized country with high-polluting industries. In particular, petrochemical, steel, thermal power, and electronics plants consume a high level of energy. Furthermore, vehicle exhaust emissions are a major contributor to pollution. Collectively, these problems have resulted in high levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

Material and methods:
To solve these problems, the government of Taiwan has been active in promoting policies aimed at cultivating seed teachers in field of environmental education. In addition, courses on environmental protection have been made mandatory for students at all levels of education, from elementary school to university.

Results:
To enhance the effectiveness of cultivating seed teachers in this field, this study adopted the analytic hierarchy process and utility theory to identify critical factors influencing the success of this initiative in environmental education.

Conclusions:
The results may serve as a reference in the formulation of future policies to environmental protection and education.