All listed firms in Taiwan are required to file a sustainability report this year and complete the disclosure by the end of August to showcase their dedication to environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, according to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).
Listed companies with a paid-in capital of less than NT$2 billion (US$610.8 million) are required to prepare a sustainability report for last year starting from this year, the commission said. Firms with larger capital already did so last year, it added.
As of August last year, 1,020 firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) or the Taipei Exchange had filed the report for the previous year, constituting 56 percent of the total, data published on the commission’s Web site showed.
Photo: Carlos Garcia, Reuters
That includes 578 mandatory and 442 voluntary submissions, the commission said. Among them, 613 companies obtained third-party assurance in filing their report, it added.
To assist companies in preparing the report, the TWSE has included a sustainability report generation function on its ESG digital platform, which went online on May 6 last year.
After several listed companies were invited to conduct trial generation, the exchange would formally launch the function this month after system adjustments based on the companies’ feedback.
However, the commission reminded listed companies to improve the quality of their sustainability information and avoid greenwashing and untrue statements, which would reduce public trust and affect market competitiveness, it said.
A sustainability report contains qualitative and quantitative information on listed firms’ ESG metrics and insights into their sustainability strategy, goals and initiatives, Taipei-based public relations firm IR Trust Corp (笠信) said.
Firms that fail to file the sustainability report would have difficulty securing bank financing or becoming components of index funds in the future, as banks and fund houses support ESG practices, IR Trust vice president Sandy Cheng (鄭友慈) said last month.
Costs for preparing sustainability report have become more reasonable —from NT$4 million two to three years ago to NT$600,000 these days, Cheng said.
Still, non-tech firms are less ready for the sustainable development trends and in great need of ESG consultancy, she said.
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