On September 18, The Financial Supervisory Commission had issued a press release, which announced that listed companies in the food industry, financial industry, chemical industry, and companies with over NT$10 billion of paid-in capital must compile a Corporate Social Responsibility Report (CSR report), aiming to bring up the awareness of social responsibility of companies that directly deal with customers (in other words, those that have a B to C relationship) and revive their consumer and supply chain vendor confidence. To assist with the implementation of this policy, TWSE has codified new rules which has been released to the public and comes into effect.
　
The rules clearly defines that listed companies from the food, financial, and chemical industries, those with annual food and beverage revenue accounting for more than 50% of total revenue, and those with paid-in capital of more than 10 billion NTD are compelled to prepare and publish CSR reports. These companies should refer to the latest version of the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and Sector Supplements released by the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI), and by also consulting other applicable standards based on the nature of their industries and prepare last year’s CSR reports. Furthermore, CSR reports of companies in the food industry and companies whose beverage revenue makes up more than 50% of its total revenue must be assured by CPAs based on standards released by the Accounting Research and Development Foundation.
　
TWSE stated that filing deadline for such reports is June 30, in principle. However, companies that have not compiled such reports or did not compile a report based on GRI guidelines in the most recent year, or companies that will make their reports assured by CPAs, may extend their deadline to December 31.
　
The rules also require publicly traded companies to disclose the following matters: The material aspects in the economic, environmental, and social categories identified by the companies; management approaches; performance indicators; and the methods of measuring these indicators. Companies should strengthen the disclosure of material issues concerning stakeholders according to their industries. By preparing CSR reports, companies can conduct a comprehensive review of the risks and challenges they face, and develop policies and measures accordingly.