In recent years, CSR and ESG have become more and more frequently heard among international companies and listed OTC companies, and their evaluation scores have been increasingly valued by supply chains and consumers, and have also become one of the evaluation indicators for corporate cooperation and financial financing. In addition to the manufacturing industry that needs to abide by the regulations, and the disclosure of corporate governance information and CSR corporate social responsibility reports, together with the service industry, catering and food industry, financial industry, real estate construction industry, hospitals and government agencies in colleges and universities, etc., global SMEs, listed companies have also stepped up to contribute to "sustainable development".
Before understanding the sustainable development of enterprises, there are three common terms to understand first. They are so similar to each other, but they actually have very different interpretations in terms of definitions.
SDGs: Guidelines for Global Sustainable Development
In order to promote global human rights, reduce poverty gap and improve social responsibility such as climate and environmental protection, production and consumption, the United Nations formulated 17 core sustainable development goals and their sub-indexes in 2015 - "2030 Sustainable Development Goals" (Sustainable Development Goals, referred to as: SDGs).
Its positioning is the core goal that “all countries and their people around the world” need to aim for. For example, the core goals mentioned in the Paris Climate Agreement are also linked to the actions and thinking of CSR and ESG. Therefore, in terms of coverage, it is the most extensive of the three, and is subdivided into 169 sub-targets. It has been extended from the original plan in 2015 to the goal of joint efforts of the world in 2030. The general content can be shortened for:
"Committed to eradicating poverty and hunger, establishing a sound social welfare and peaceful system, and popularizing education, reducing social inequality and supporting gender equality, in terms of energy and resources, I hope everyone can have access to clean and hygienic energy, such as: water resources, and these resources are affordable by everyone. However, economic development not only builds foundations and can resist disasters, such as reservoirs, power stations, etc., but also hopes to create social employment opportunities and industry innovation. , and can well maintain the living quality of communities and cities, people can consume rationally, enterprises produce products responsibly, do not affect the environment and ecology, and do not over-produce, protect the biological ecology of land, sea and air, and slow down the damage to the climate and the environment...etc. , anyone can work hard to achieve long-term and good social operation; these projects are not just for countries to close their doors and deal with them themselves, the SDGs also hope to establish a "country-to-country partnership", help each other, maintain global sustainable business!"
CSR: Corporate Responsibility to Society
The full name of CSR is "Corporate Social Responsibility". As the name implies, as the title suggests, it means that enterprises should not only focus on the pursuit of monetary interests, but also need to have relationships with stakeholders such as supply chains, shareholders, labor and employees, and generally the environment, economy, etc. It must be taking a certain responsibility to promote the influence of positive growth in the society, the core content covered is "enterprise" as the main body, so it has a very different volume and scale from the "global" of SDGs.
Another CSR interpretation is "Corporate Sustainability Reports", which refers to the realization of the rights and interests of stakeholders that can be taken into account by the company's capabilities and exposed to written electronic files, website CSR corporate social responsibility units, etc. The frequency is once a year.
ESG: Substantive Actions for Sustainable Development, Practice of Corporate Social Responsibility
ESG corporate sustainability can be interpreted as three aspects: "E-Environment", "S-Social", and "G-Governance". ESG can be said to be the substantive action for companies to fulfill their social responsibilities. The reason is that CSR is a scope and a It is a very broad concept, and ESG makes it clearer about the actions that can be realized, so that enterprises have a direction to implement.
1. "E-Environment":
Enterprises' protection of climate, ecology and environment, such as: waste water/waste gas treatment, saving energy consumption, etc. For example, the company stipulates that turning off the faucets and lights at all times, correctly recycling garbage, reusing paper, and bringing your own tableware to reduce single-use tableware, etc., can be regarded as efforts to the environment.
2. "S-Social":
The intention is to hope that companies can have the responsibility to participate and make efforts within their ability to support human rights, maintain good community relations, employees’ wages and benefits, and customer protection.
3. "G-Corporate Governance":
The management and operation of the company by the board of directors/company decision makers, external and internal risk management, maintenance of stakeholder relationships, rights and interests of supply chain manufacturers, and safety of labor and working environment, etc.
ESG performance is no longer just an assessment of a company's contribution to society, it should be used as an investment indicator for investors to check whether a company can operate in the long term. ESG is not only the responsibility of a company to participate in society, but also a checklist for investors, shareholders and the financial industry. The United Nations published "Who Cares Wins" in 2004, proposing: "ESG actions and scores can show the company's performance, longevity and financial performance”, in vernacular terms, means that a company with a higher ESG score can gain the trust of investors, and can go on for a relatively long time. Social issues such as environment and energy, such as wastewater treatment, energy conservation, etc., will damage social interests. The core of ESG sustainable management lies in "taking it from the society and using it for the society". A company with transparent and clear financials, and a low-risk and stable operation strategy can gain the support of the public and investors, and will make a better chance to operate for a long time.
