Interview
JHI takes stock of company's capabilities, upgrades technology, and implements green business objectives
With the highest principle of "Green Chemistry" in product development, JHI has completely overturned the stereotypical image that many people have of chemical factories. Its brands include Formaldehyde-Free House formaldehyde removal products, which eliminate the harm of formaldehyde to the human body, and Gold Shield, an antibacterial product for infants and children, which even benefits hairy children, conveying the brand's commitment to "peace of mind with continuous evolution" and deeply rooting ESG (Environment), Social and Governance in the daily operation of the company and the brand. G (Governance) in the daily operations of the company and the brand.
Recently, Process invited (left) May Kuo, Vice Chairman of JHI, and (right) Macy Kuo, Special Assistant to the General Manager, to share how JHI builds up the brand's sustainable operation and gradually moves towards the ESG goal, and finally gives reminders and suggestions to the enterprises.
(Right) May Kwok, Vice Chairman of JHI, (Left) Macy Kwok, Special Assistant to the General Manager
Standard equation for initiating carbon reduction and net zero: inventory, analyze, reduce, offset
According to the FSC's "Sustainable Development Roadmap for Listed Companies", a carbon inventory of listed companies is expected to be conducted in four phases from 2023 to 2027 based on paid-in capital. Macy Kuo, Special Assistant to the General Manager of JHI, pointed out that since she realized in 2021 that the Taiwan government's requirement for enterprises to "reduce carbon and go net zero" is a real game, she officially started the relevant response operations, and it took her six months to obtain the relevant certificates for product carbon footprints and GHG inventories (ISO1600 64 and ISO160067, respectively), and she expects to obtain the Energy Management System certification (ISO160067) in 2022. It is expected to obtain the Energy Management System Certification (ISO50001) in 2022.
Like most of our peers, JHI has sought the assistance of professional consultants in the process of net-zeroing, and we have been guided through the process hand-in-hand, so that our colleagues can have a clearer understanding of what they should do at each stage. Although we are still in the "weighing" stage, the process has made the company's outline of future development in the direction of environmental sustainability clearer and clearer.
In order to achieve this goal, the technological aspect of JHI has also been greatly enhanced. For a long time, listed companies have been required to save at least 1% of electricity per year. Though Polyhex International is already very experienced in electricity, carbon inventory is a completely different field, and it is only later that the company has slowly figured out a few areas to work on. Currently, the green electricity supplied by Taipower only accounts for 6%, which must be supplemented by reducing waste and solvent use, and recycling sewage internally before it is discharged.
Subsidiary Juho Biomedical Technology's brand Golden Shield, which focuses on "long-lasting anti-bacterial, gentle and safe", also advocates plastic reduction in ESG, and has introduced environmentally friendly refill packs for its series of products, replacing the detergent bottles with refill packs for laundry, which immediately reduces the plasticity of the product by 76.19%. The materials are specially selected from Japanese material factories, which will only leave behind water vapors after being buried and burned, and leave behind near-zero residue, which is certified to be free from heavy metals and any ingredients harmful to the earth's environment. These residues have been proven to contain no heavy metals or any environmentally hazardous components. In addition, we also organize beach and mountain cleaning activities every year to continue to treat the environment in a friendly manner and incorporate environmental protection into our corporate culture.
Case read: HYGIENECARE Golden Shield
Identify the intersection of customer needs, industry standards, and own capabilities to plan the company's pace of progress.
"We started by taking an overview of the total usage at this stage and selected five items to review from the clients we thought would be the first to ask for carbon inventory results.", Macy said. Macy pointed out that some of the clients are brands that have been laying out net-zero plans for a long time and have set their global offices to achieve the goal by 2025, and based on the Paris Agreement that came into effect in 2016, they are gradually requiring their suppliers to achieve a reduction of 501 TP3T by 2030, and to be net-zero by 2050, and J&H was invited to understand the countermeasures in its capacity as a strategic partner, and so it slowly became clear what items were needed to be prepared. What are the items that need to be prepared. Some customers, such as paper and pharmaceutical companies, do not yet have clear requirements for suppliers. In order to understand the extent to which customers in different industries are responding to this issue, we will start by referring to the practices of the brands with the most specific goals. Since carbon reduction materials are still scarce and expensive, it is believed that they will become more and more popular with the advancement of technology and the demand of the global industry. Based on cost considerations, we are inclined to refer to the industry standards and do not rush to be the first.
(Left) Honorary Advisor of Process Pro Brand Taiwan Branch, Mr. Lee Kuo Wing
(Right) Ms. Susan Kwok, Special Assistant to the General Manager and Ms. Lin Kwok, Vice Chairman of JHI, shared the ESG related activities of JHI online.
Establishment of an ESG Committee with a clear thematic division of responsibilities to move towards the target!
With regard to carbon reduction, many Taiwanese companies are still in the process of figuring it out, and the situation in each industry can be very different. At this stage, Polyhealth International is focusing on exchanging ideas with various industries and adjusting the company's organization, and earlier this year, the original CSR Committee was changed to the ESG Committee, and the organizational structure and operation methods were reorganized to increase the frequency of meetings, to report on the progress of the monthly reports, and to set clear themes such as green chemistry, waste reduction, and water reduction. We have also established clear themes, such as green chemistry, waste reduction, and water reduction, so that the task force can work toward a common goal.
Communicate internally and involve all staff to achieve goals.
Gathering International will start to enter ESG in 2019, and the outline of ESG is very vague at the beginning. In 2020, Gathering International will decide to obtain ISO certification, and the outline will become clearer and clearer only when there is a standard. "It's like trying to lose weight. First you weigh yourself and set a goal, then you start exercising and dieting..." May Kuo, Vice Chairman of Gathering International, likened net-zero to weight loss, and after setting a goal, it's now time for all of us to get involved.
May believes that internal communication is very important after setting targets, and that it is necessary to build up the awareness of all employees. In 2021, we conducted an internal stocktaking, and in 2022, we started work after the Spring Festival with the "Chinese New Year Knowledge Worship" warm-up activity, inviting external consulting firms to make a forum and inviting all the junior management to participate in it, so that they could brainstorm together on what the company can do in terms of ESG, and to convey the company's concepts, so that we could build up everyone's concepts. It is important to build up everyone's concepts.
(Employees of the company actually participated in the environmental protection action of Mt.)
(Co-organized with corporate organizations for a beach clean-up day.)
Suppliers are asked to self-assess and make an initial self-diagnosis.
Externally, we use sustainability reports to communicate in detail, including the source of raw materials from suppliers, in order to grasp the carbon footprint. When purchasing, we also focus on current suppliers to understand their carbon footprint and provide questionnaires for suppliers to self-evaluate their carbon usage. On the other hand, we are trying to understand the main material sources of other non-suppliers and develop new partners at the same time.
Currently, 91% of Taiwan's top 100 companies have published sustainability reports by 2021, demonstrating that top performers are highly concerned about sustainability issues. Over the past seven years, Taiwan's listed companies that have published sustainability reports have outperformed the Taiwan stock market in terms of revenue and profitability, indicating that companies with strong ESG standards have better profitability.
(Right to left, top to bottom) Process Taiwan Honorary Advisor Rong Li, General Manager Shu-Yen Yang, Interviewer Ling-Yuan Wei, Gathering International GM Assistant Mei-Shan Kuo, and Vice Chairman Mei-Lin Kuo, happy group photo at the end of the interview.
JHI feels this powerful force and reminds companies of it:
To conduct a comprehensive review of the external image, internal workflow and internal/external communication.
Find the most favorable entry point!