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Taiwan’s ESG Reveals Outstanding Performance

Publish time:2019-03-08

According to Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) statistics at the end of 2018, TWSE-listed companies issuing 2017 Corporate Social Responsibility Reports (CSR Reports) reached 345 companies. This accounts for 37% of the total number of TWSE-listed companies and reflects the increasing importance of non-financial information disclosure in the standalone report in Taiwan.

According to the TWSE, since promoting disclosure of CSR Reports in 2015, the quantity and quality of TWSE-listed companies’ non-financial information disclosure have significantly improved. This is in large part due to educational training programs, advocacy and implementation of the Corporate Governance Evaluation System. Take the number of listed companies that prepared CSR Reports in 2015 as a reference, this was a total of 267 companies. This is a substantial increase compared to the 171 companies in 2014. As of 2017, TWSE-listed companies issuing the 2016 CSR Reports already comprised of more than 30% of the total number of listed companies, with 2018 reaching a record high.

As stated by the TWSE, among the listed companies issuing the 2017 CSR Reports, 204 voluntarily adopted the GRI Standards which became mandatory in January of this year. This upsurge accounts for up to 59% of all the companies issuing reports. Additionally, more than half of the CSR Reports were assured, verified or certified from an independent third-party. These quantifiable statistics demonstrate Taiwan’s commitment to sustainable development and non-financial information disclosure quality in its capital market are being substantially enhanced. 

The TWSE emphasizes that in addition to the disclosure of non-financial information, the ESG performance of Taiwan’s listed companies has also gained global recognition. In the CG Watch 2018 Survey released by ACGA (Asian Corporate Governance Association), Taiwan’s ESG information disclosure achieved the highest overall score among countries in Asia.

RobecoSAM’s national sustainable development rating ranked Taiwan as 20th in the 2018 global ranking, and third in Asia. Based on three major index companies tracking ESG emerging markets in January 2019, Taiwan’s weight ranked number one in the both the Dow Jones Sustainability Index-Emerging Markets (DJSI EM) and FTWSE4Good Emerging Markets Index (29% and 19.27%, respectively).

MSCI Emerging Markets ESG Leader (MSCI EM ESG Leader) gave Taiwan the second highest weight (14.13%). All these top rankings are indicative of Taiwan’s relentless effort to advance non-financial information disclosure as a priority and reflect international recognition of our effort in driving ESG performance.