Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Business
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MOEA 12 - 3 September 2011 Corporate Social Responsibility and 1 Special Reports Sustainable Business ●Translating Implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility into Responsibility Competitiveness Editor’s Notes ●Achievements of Promoting Corporate Development in the twenty-first century will be a matter of Sustainability Reporting in Taiwan balancing economic, environmental and social concerns. Along with the 12 Sustainable Industries in Taiwan wave of sustainable development thinking worldwide, the expanding globalization of corporate economic activities and the growing urgency ●Corporate Social Responsibility – An Exclusive Interview with Dr. Eugene of environmental issues, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a focal point of public attention. Many countries and corporations Publisher: Chien, Chairman of the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy have begun to emphasize greater CSR in industrial and commercial Zih-jyun Du, Director General activities. This involves a role for Corporate Sustainability Reporting (also lndustrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs 22 Current Affairs abbreviated as CSR), the publicizing of corporate efforts and outcomes ●Taiwan Enhances International in the area of balancing economic, environmental and social objectives. Competitiveness by Becoming World's Address: For this issue of "Special Reports" the editors have specially Third Country with the laboratory of invited the Secretary General of the Business Council for Sustainable No.41-3, Sec. 3, Sinyi Rd., Da-an Dist., Taipei City 106, Taiwan (R.O.C.) Fire Prevention Testing Technology for Development of Taiwan, ROC, Mr. Niven Cheng Chung Huang, to Photovoltaic Modules contribute the exclusive article "From the Practice of Corporate Social Publishing Directors: ●Cogeneration Systems Promoted Responsibility to "Responsibility Competitiveness," in which he gives by BOE Account for 15.6% of Total insights into the current development of Corporate Social Responsibility Wei-Ji Can, Liang-Tung Chen, Fenn-Yue Lin, Yi-Chi Wang Installed Capacity as of 2010 in Taiwan, and analyzes how corporations are turning social responsibility ●Outcomes of Government Carbon into a key component of creating long term value. It is hoped this : Reduction Promotion: Carbon Emissions Advisory Committee information can assist Taiwan corporations deepen their understanding from Electricity Generation Fall for Fifth Yuh-Ming Lee, Chin-Sen Lin, Sian-Lun Hu, Yung-Shuen Shen, Jyh-Shing Yang Consecutive Year and incorporate CSR as a necessary part of business strategy. The editors have also invited Dr. Yung-Shuen Shen, Associate ●Four Low Carbon Demonstration Cities Editor-in-Chief: are Selected to Reduce 12 Million Professor of the Holistic Education Center at Mackay Medical College, along with others, to jointly contribute the exclusive article "Sustainability Fu-Tien Jeng Tonnes of Carbon within Three Years ●Low Carbon Chrysanthemum Island Reporting of Businesses and Other Organizations in Taiwan." This article (Penghu): Maximum NT$28,000 Subsidy gives an introduction to the current status of the reporting by businesses Executive Editors: for Electric Powered Motorbikes and other organizations in Taiwan on their non-financial affairs. The Zong-Chang Jian, Yung-Fa Lee, Li-Yan Wen ●Leading Experts Attend International article displays not only Taiwan's economic vitality and democratic Energy Outlook Forum in Taiwan, US politics, but also points the way to a new model of sustainable industry. and Taiwan Research Institutes Sign The editors are also extremely honored to feature in this issue of For inquiries to the newsletter, please contact: MOU and Cooperation Agreement Sustainable Industries in Taiwan, an exclusive interview with Dr. Eugene : Address 6F.-1, No.48, Baociao Rd., Xindian District, New Taipei City 231, Taiwan (R.O.C.) ●Taiwan Soon to Complete Converting All Chien, the Chairman of the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy. Tel:886-2-2912-2910 Traffic Lights to LEDs Dr. Chien shares with readers his insights into the Taiwan Corporate Fax:886-2-2914-6494 ●BOE broadens incentives for installing Sustainability Reporting Awards selection process and corporations' efforts to fulfill their social responsibilities. The Taiwan CSR Awards Website:http://proj.moeaidb.gov.tw/isdn/english/sidn/ solar hot water systems - maximum subsidy through local governments provide a common focal point for the participation of corporations in raised to NT$9,000 per square meter the compilation of corporate sustainability reports. By striving for good 32 Announcements reports, businesses can help relieve burdens on governments, ease concerns along supply chains, satisfy communities, and improve the ●TIGIS 2011 - Taiwan International Green understanding and enthusiasm of personnel. Industry Show Special Reports Special Reports Translating Implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility into Responsibility Competitiveness Niven Cheng Chung Huang / Secretary General, Business Council for Sustainable Development, Taiwan, ROC Introduction business model innovations in which CSR is Since the start of the 21st century, strategically nurtured and manifest in every several challenges concerning resources, trade and industry, giving rise to "responsibility environment and ecosystem, global warming/ competitiveness." climate change, corporate transparency, responsible supply chain management, poverty CSR Starts with Corporate Governance At the core of a top-level company's CSR and social justice, have created trends and practice is the commitment to pursue more tendencies that cannot be neglected. Today, rigorous corporate governance. There is a businesses everywhere must deal with these clear trend that the mainstream international issues if they are to maintain a competitive financial industry's investment policies are advantage. In this era which is carbon- increasingly taking into account the three constrained, resource-constrained, and important criteria of Environment, Society and global poverty-constrained, the practice of Governance (ESG). It is commonly recognized Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has in the international business community long ago moved beyond simply providing that by the year 2020, the leading companies charity for the sake of public relations. Now, will be those that can provide goods and CSR is not only closely intertwined in business services which help meet the challenges of operations, it has stimulated a new wave of 2 Sustainable Industrial Development Newsletter, SIDN 12-3 Special Reports sustainability. Companies will need to be run performance; direction of development of so that they are able to innovate and make operational activities related to core products breakthroughs, and the only way to do this will and services; transparency of governance be to rely on internal governance throughout mechanisms; and, the company's standards of the organization. behavior towards workers. Complying with legislation is the CSR governance also places emphasis on responsibility of technical personnel, institutionalization of practices. For example, responding to challenges and surpassing the Taiwanese brand name company Acer Inc. regulations is the responsibility of the has established a corporate sustainability office operations level, and tracking trends is a which serves to draft CSR strategies, put them responsibility of board of directors. In order to into practice, integrate CSR practices internally, keep pace with international trends and remain track the performance, and communicate with competitive in the markets of tomorrow, stakeholders. The CEO oversees sustainability, businesses need to adopt a CSR orientation, in the corporate vice president supervises actual which boards of directors and the operations operations, and reports are given regularly to level of businesses will obviously play extremely the board of directors to help draw up strategic vital roles. In both of the questionnaires to blueprints for the company's CSR operations. select components for Dow Jones Sustainability For even greater reliability and effectiveness, Index and that of the Carbon Disclosure more and more leading companies advocate Project, the governance of sustainability treating "supervision" and "execution" of CSR and CSR is the core of the questionnaire. as two distinct functions. Key elements of CSR governance include: a company's CSR vision; strategy/activities/ 3 Sustainable Industrial Development Newsletter, SIDN 12 -3 Is it Green or Not? The First Area of The Core of CSR Practice CSR Competition The essential core of businesses' efforts The green innovation has become one to be sustainable and to put CSR into practice, of the mainstream keys to competitiveness is the need to concretely manifest companies' after the advent of the global financial crisis. concern for society by integrating CSR into all Many international observers note that a areas, including core products and services, third industrial revolution, characterized business models and human resources. The by being "clean, lean and mean," is quietly sustainability reporting guidelines of the dawning. Over the past 20 years, Taiwan Global Reporting Initiative (GRI, the world's businesses have invested in the area of leading organization encouraging disclosure environmental protection, at first to deal of non-financial business performance with pollution control, then continually information), lists the four major categories of progressing to handle other issues such