Focus of Analysis

The Taiwanese government has made it compulsory for all TWSE/TPEx-listed companies with capital over NT$5 billion and specifically chemical engineering, food, and finance, companies to prepare an annual CSR report since 2015. It has been three years since this directive came into effect, and the influence of CSR has gradually expanded and become ingrained in the companies. By collating statistical data of the past three years (2016, 2017, and 2018), this research hopes to demonstrate the level of change in information disclosure in Taiwan’s Sustainability reports, analyze the transformation and influence of CSR on business, and identify business opportunities through CSR.

Scope of Analysis

-Analysis sample:Research has been conducted on 606 Sustainability reports, in which 528 reports were from Taiwan (written in Chinese), and 78 reports were from Asia (written in English). Asian companies included the top 10 largest companies from eight countries and territories, including Japan, China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and South Korea.
-Reporting year:Sustainability reports published in 2018 covering content disclosed from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017. Disclosure period of partial reports is from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.
-Areas of disclosure:Taiwan-funded companies, foreign invested companies, and other organizations based in Taiwan.
-Source of information:Sustainability reports published by various companies. The reports were all taken from their respective company websites or Market Observation Post System (MOPS); financial data from TWSE/TPExlisted companies were all taken from MOPS and Taiwan Economic Journal (TEJ); and Forbes Global 2000.
-Boundaries of information:List of investigation targets included TWSE/TPEx-listed companies, and companies and organizations that have received Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Awards (TCSA), Commonwealth Magazine Corporate Social Responsibility Awards, and Global Views Corporate Social Responsibility & Social Enterprise Award, as well as sustainability movements and trends CSRone has observed on a day-to-day basis; and Asian companies named in the Forbes Global 2000.
▌ Presentation
-Corporate Sustainability requires a long-term vision, commitment and passion for fulfillment. Therefore, the research team used the concept of a thermometer this year, and hopes that through its
simple temperature identification and presentation style to provide stakeholders a more appropriate and concise communication framework to facilitate their understanding on reporting quality maturity.
-Each degree marks a company’s maturity level in terms of disclosure of management involvement on a particular ESG factors. 1 degree equals "mentioning” a particular ESG factor, 2 degrees equals “describing actions” , 3 degrees equals "demonstrating performance" , 4 degrees equals "setting goals", and 5 degrees equals "describes future improvement plans.
▌ Defining Industries
-Technology sector: Other electronics, electronic parts/ components, computer and peripheral equipment, communication and internet, optoelectronic, electronic products distribution, semiconductor, information services.
-Service sector: Tourism, shipping and transportation, trading and consumer goods, cultural and creative industries, others
-Traditional manufacturing sector: Chemistry, food,textile, electric machinery, automobile, iron and steel, cement, building materials and construction, biotechnology and medical care, plastics, oil and gas and electricity, electrical and cable, rubber, pulp and paper, glass and ceramic.
-Financial sector: Finance and insurance