The Taiwan Monthly

ESG

Enhance ESG risk management and advocate emphasis on climate risks

The Taiwan Stock Exchange made reference to the trends in disclosing non-financial information and announced on January 2, 2020 its amendment of the "Rules Governing the Preparation and Filing of Corporate Social Responsibility Reports by TWSE Listed Companies" to improve the publicly-listed companies' disclosure of non-financial information and their practice in corporate sustainability. The amended measures will be implemented starting the date of the announcement.

 

The main focus of this amendment is to make reference to the standard practice in the disclosure of non-financial information adopted by stock exchanges around the world. This includes the risk assessment of environmental, social and governance factors in the disclosure standards to improve the link between the key performance indicators of non-financial information and how it is managed. This is to facilitate the connection between Taiwan and other exchanges with respect to the disclosure of non-financial information.

 

In order to guide the TWSE-listed companies' attention to climate changes, the Taiwan Stock Exchange refers to the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures published by the Financial Stability Board and adds content on governance of climate risks and opportunities and actual and potential impacts on climate. The Exchange also explains the processes of identifying, assessing and managing climate risks, indicators, assessment goals, and climate management issues to improve the firms' capabilities in responding to climate risks.

 

In order to enhance the quality of TWSE-listed companies' corporate social responsibility reports, the Taiwan Stock Exchange and the Taipei Exchange jointly commissioned the Business Council for Sustainable Development of Taiwan to hold three sessions of "Corporate Social Responsibility Report Composition Briefing Sessions," one in Kaohsiung on December 17, 2019 and two in Taipei, on December 18 and 19, 2019, respectively. The briefing session was to share the current development of corporate social responsibility reporting quality issued in 2019 and case studies of better disclosure. The session also explained the analysis results of CSR reports in accordance with the GRI standards and invited the representatives from benchmark companies to share their experience and communication practices to effectively improve the accuracy and comparability of the contents of the reports of TWSE-listed companies. Please refer to the website of the Exchange's Corporate Governance Center for additional information (https://cgc.twse.com.tw/responsibilityRef/listCh).

 

For further inquiries, please contact Mr. Kao at 1219@twse.com.tw .