On November 7th, “The Asset” magazine announced the winners of the 25th ESG Corporate Awards at a banquet held in Singapore. Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. (“Chunghwa” or “the Company”) has once again brought home the highest accolade – the Jade Award. Chunghwa remains the sole Taiwanese corporation to distinguish itself for four consecutive years in international and cross-industry assessments, garnering international acclaim for its remarkable ESG initiatives and outstanding sustainability achievements. Chairman Chih-Cheng Chien expressed his gratitude to the international media and investors for their recognition, stating, “The Company is committed to fostering mutual prosperity with the environment, society, and stakeholders, aiming to become an international benchmark enterprise built upon sustainable development.”
The Asset ESG Corporate Awards, widely esteemed in Asia, leverage insights from institutional investors and industry analysts. Each year, a professional judging panel comprehensively evaluates various aspects of Asian publicly-listed companies, including financial performance, corporate governance, social responsibility, environmental responsibility, and investor relations. The awards recognize companies demonstrating outstanding ESG achievements and transparency.
Chunghwa Telecom underlined that, in response to heightened ESG awareness, global climate change, and the challenges posed by emerging technologies, the company has consistently upheld the spirit of innovation and value creation, driving sustainable transformation through AI empowerment. In terms of corporate governance, the company has not only increased the linkage of senior executive compensation to ESG performance and implemented the Incentive Compensation Clawback Policy to enhance interest alignment between the top management team and shareholders, but also launched an internal carbon fee fund in 2023 to encourage internal innovation in carbon reduction technology. Chunghwa is also the first Taiwanese telco to issue a sustainable bond in 2022 and fully utilize the raised funds for sustainability initiatives within two years, demonstrating outstanding efficiency. Chunghwa has implemented sustainable finance through concrete actions, and its commitment to internalize ESG has garnered praise from international investors.
Chunghwa Telecom embraces a technology-for-good (Tech4Good) approach, promoting digital empowerment for diverse communities. The company focuses on expanding internet access, supporting rural students, and providing smart home applications for seniors. Additionally, the company is dedicated to creating a family-friendly workplace with superior benefits, including 16 classes across 9 workplace childcare centers in Taiwan's six major cities and flexible policies, such as reduced daily working hours for employees caring for children under 6, annually providing additional childcare allowances, and offering various benefits and leave policies that exceed legal requirements.
In pursuit of environmental sustainability, Chunghwa is the first operator in Taiwan to commit to achieve Net-Zero by 2045, ahead of the global 2050 target, and received SBTi’s verification for its Net-Zero goal in August. To uphold the international alignment, the Company published the inaugural TNFD report as the first Taiwanese telco, procured carbon credits, and conducted a conservation project by adopting AIoT for real-time monitoring and risk management. Chunghwa also launched the world’s first IOWN all-photonic communication link with NTT, providing high speed connectivity with ultra-low latency and power consumption. Chunghwa strives to drive low-carbon transformation through innovative technology-driven carbon reduction and use of renewable energy, demonstrating the company’s commitment to supporting biodiversity conservation and climate change action.
Chunghwa Telecom was recognized by the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index as No. 1 among world-class telecommunication sustainability leaders and ranked in the Top 2% of the World’s Most Sustainable Companies by TIME Magazine. Now, for the fourth time, Chunghwa has received the highest accolade, the Jade Award, from the Asset. President Rong-Shy Lin emphasized, “The Company will continue to empower AI, build lean service resilience to response to climate challenges, and continuously promote ESG environmental sustainability. While achieving better business results, the company is advancing towards a sustainable vision of "green, low-carbon, digital empowerment, integrity, and transparency."