Kedge Construction Co., Ltd., since established in 1982, has been undertaking various projects on architecture, public constructions, as well as railway and bridge infrastructures. Kedge has been building sustainable cities in collaboration with the government and enterprises for forty years, and leading the construction industry in Taiwan to low-carbon construction in compliance with the goal of national net zero emissions. Looking back on 2022, despite the gradual relaxation of the control measures against the COVID-19 pandemic and the mitigation of the port congestion issue, there was still a decline in terminal consumption demand due to the US economy’s inflation challenge and the problem of lifting interest rates. Price indexes in the construction industry also increased by 7.36% in the year. Facing the influence of the pandemic and various challenges such as a shortage of labor on site, unstable supply chain costs, uncertain delivery dates, and so on, Kedge has not only still successfully completed the scheduled construction projects from categories including housing, civil construction, turnkey construction projects, hospitals, manufacturing plants and offices. The revenue reached NT$142.05 billion and peaked a record high, demonstrating an increase of NT$3.432 billion and a growth rate of 31.8%. Furthermore, in light of the result of the Corporate Governance evaluation in 2022, Kedge has made a great leap into the class of 6% to 20%, demonstrating professional excellence in aspects from finance to corporate governance.
Kedge upholds the management principles of “sincerity, quality, service, innovation, and sustainability” and strives to offer high quality service in construction management. With the goal of continually competing for holding construction projects involved with high-level techniques and added value, we have also led the whole construction fellows to conduct major engineering constructions which entail strong competitive advantages and match the trend of sustainable development. Meanwhile, in order to build a green supply chain, Kedge’s expense on green procurement for 2022 has amounted to NT$ 500 million for the first time, accounting for 3.6% of the total expense of the whole procurement. We have also won the “Distinguished Green Procurement Award” bestowed by the Environmental Protection Department of New Taipei City Government for the consecutive four years. Kedge promised to establish a more resilient supply chain by increasing the proportion of green procurement year by year and implementing local procurement.
In response to the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) and the National Sustainable Development Policy, no enterprises were acting idly in developing multiple ESG policies. Kedge is one of the members within the Kindom Corporation group. In compliance with the five utmost blueprint policies of “Green Home, Smart City, Joint Innovation, Reliable Enterprise, and Happy Enterprise,” Kedge has also officially established the “Corporate Sustainable Development Commission” in 2022, engaging in the organization and supervision of various sustainable projects in progress. Kedge not only autonomously completed the “Greenhouse Gas Inventory” disclosure and the third-party verification in advance; it also surpassed other companies in collecting the emission data of “all categories” for analysis use in academic and research units which thus aim to reduce emission in construction and develop Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Furthermore, in following the fine tradition of autonomously publishing ESG reports, Kedge has also officially released the first report of Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), helping investors and decision-makers understand major risks within an organization and accurately evaluate various risks and opportunities under climate changes.
In order to progressively achieve the goal of net zero emissions, apart from extending the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) into Facility Management (FM) and Carbon Management study, Kedge has also largely utilized low-carbon construction methods such as the precast method and the aluminum formwork method at construction sites. Sustainable materials such as highly recyclable building materials and low-carbon concrete were adopted, and the construction sites in Taiwan under our charge were all equipped with the air quality and noise monitoring system for mitigating various impacts on the environment. Kedge has already finished its contraction projects in 2022 and thereby obtained three Green Building Labels. Our employees also demonstrate enthusiasm in participating in various carbon negative initiatives and can be seen present at multiple activities such as beach clean-up, forestland tree-planting, and eco-friendly farming. From low-carbon construction to low-carbon life, Kedge has exhibited the “ESG spirit in all employees.”
Kedge not only maintains its competitiveness in construction management but also engages itself in social welfare to reveal its professional expertise in supplier management. Striding into the second year of the “Kind-Repair Cycling Project,” Kedge continues to express concerns for the need of underprivileged families in remote villages. We reused the remaining building materials from finished construction projects, and invited suppliers to take part in the house repair work for the underprivileged in order to solve the perennial predicament of the construction labor shortage in remote villages. Kedge fully fulfilled the true meaning of the sustainable cities development in Goal 11 within the SDGs. In addition, in continuing the founder Mr. Ma Yu-san’s emphasis on education and reading, Kedge has been supporting the Kindom Yu San Education Foundation to produce and broadcast the program Celebrity Study as well as to hold lectures on art and literature. This reading atmosphere has been now also introduced to construction sites. “Kedge’s Co-prosperity Bookstore” provides migrant workers with books in their native languages and activities regarding cultural experience and growth to help those who comes from across the sea integrate into the society in Taiwan. In doing so, we are able to create a more humanistic, more resilient working environment sticking to the values of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).
Forty years have passed by already, and the actual construction performances of Kedge have been around Taiwan. We continue to build sustainable cities and happy homes for the country, enterprises, and people. With the hands of our Kedge people in every generation, we stride together with Taiwan towards a sustainable future, leading Kedge to transcend time and generations and achieve timeless business success. In early 2023, Kedge held the first “Supplier Conference,” and advocated that the industry should step towards net zero, grasp green business opportunities, and look forward to the future. On our way to sustainability, Kedge will continue to call for more cooperation partners, people in communities, investors, and even all stakeholders to give support and responses. “Kedge 41, sustainability +1.” We invite you to join us and create a sustainable future together.
▍Chairman, Kedge Construction Co., Ltd.
Yuan, Ai-Wei
