Identify stakeholders- seven major categories of stakeholders
In alignment with the five principles of the AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standard (AA1000SES) as well as the experience of various departments and the industry, the functional teams under the Sustainable Development Committee considered stakeholders’ issues of concern, the frequency of communication, and their important relevance to our company’s sustainable development through multiple meetings, and identified seven major categories of stakeholders: the media, government agencies, shareholders/investors, communities/NGOs, suppliers, employees, and clients.
Understand the context: collect ESG issues – 21 ESG issues
As per the international sustainable principles and standards (GRI standards, SASB, SDGs, ISO26000, TCFD), cases in the construction industry in Taiwan and abroad, and the process of communication with stakeholders, the functional teams collected and listed 21 ESG issues. In addition, to ensure the objectiveness, completeness, and inclusiveness of the material issues, the teams also review the matrix table of the materiality analysis of the ESG issues in the previous report.
Identify the actual and potential impacts
At the internal meetings the functional teams invited 20 department heads to discuss the 21 issues that are collected and identify the actual or potential negative/positive impacts as well as the influence that the impacts may cause in various aspects including finance, business reputation, environment, and human rights.
Evaluate the significance of impacts: 323 external questionnaires and 20 internal questionnaires
Through the “Kedge Construction stakeholders ESG questionnaires,” the functional teams investigated the influence of the seven major categories of stakeholders on 21 ESG issues concerning aspects from individuals, communities, counties and cities, the country, to the globe. The teams also examined the degree of impact (concerning the degree of influence, the arrange, and the reversibility) and the possibility of occurrence. A total of 323 valid responses were collected. Meanwhile, 20 department heads were also received internal questionnaires for an evaluation of various ESG issues about their aspects of influence, the degree of impact, and the possibility of occurrence in relation to the company.
Sort material issues by significance: 13 material issues
After examining the situation of stakeholders and the results of internal questionnaires, and following the materiality standards, we identified 13 highly concerned sustainable issues (with high probability and high impact degree) as the major material issues in this year. We drew up the materiality matrix and reported on it towards to the Board of Directors and the ESG Committee.
Material issues and the meaning of the value chain
Kedge conducts a survey of materiality every two years. In 2022, 13 material issues were identified. The results show that the stakeholders’ concerns are diverse and evolving, covering topics such as “biodiversity,” “sustainable supply chain management,” “human rights protection,” “innovative technology and services,” “green and energy-efficient buildings,” “community relations and social welfare,” and “participation in public infrastructure.” These align with the sustainability issues that have been the focus of both domestic and international enterprises in recent years. Therefore, Kedge addresses these major issues by adhering to the three main aspects of ESG, integrating ESG into sustainable development policies and risk management strategies. The impacts of each material issue, whether directly or indirectly caused by Kedge through the upstream and downstream industries, as well as the goals and actions for each theme, will be explained in each chapter of this report. The corresponding GRI standards disclosure items for each major issue can be found in the GRI Standards Content Index in the appendix of this report.
