E.SUN identify material issues by latest GRI Universal Standards 2021 and AA 1000 Account Ability Principle Standard, including the principles of materiality, inclusiveness, responsiveness, and impact, to identify material issues. We further assessed the impact of each material issues on the economy, environment, and human rights. These materiality is the basis for planning our sustainable development strategy, and also the basis for information disclosures.
■ Implementation Steps
1.Identify targets of communication
7Key Stakeholder Groups
According to the five aspects of the AA1000 Stakeholder
Engagement Standard: influence, tension, responsibility, dependency, and diverse perspectives, a stakeholder questionnaire was distributed to members of the Sustainable Development Committee's task forces.
The results were approved by task forces of the Sustainable Development Committee, and stakeholders were divided into 7 groups by level of importance: customers, employees, shareholders/investors, government agencies, media (including credit rating institutions), communities (surrounding communities, charity, environmental protection, and industry-academia collaboration partners), and suppliers.
2. Collect sustainability issues
26 sustainability issues
After referencing international sustainability regulations and standards (GRI Standards, SASB, SDGs, GRI Financial Services Sector Supplement, ISO 26000, TCFD), sustainable investment ratings (DJSI, CDP, MSCI), cases of domestic and foreign financial institutions, and the stakeholder communication process, task forces under the Sustainable Development Committee summarized and listed 26 sustainability issues.
3. Survey stakeholders' level of concern
780 external questionnaires
The 2021 E.SUN FHC Stakeholders ESG
Questionnaire surveyed the level of concern that the 7 groups of stakeholders have for the 26 sustainability issues. Task forces of the Sustainable Development Committee identify subjects with a close relationship and influence, and collected
780 effective questionnaires, including customers (31), employees (623), shareholders/investors (3), government agencies (25), media (9), communities (53), and suppliers (36).
Nearly 50,000 customer opinions
We used AI to analyze nearly 50,000 customer
opinions between January and September
2021 (sources include customer satisfaction questionnaires and visitor message board), and quickly learned the contents of a large number of customer opinions by finding keywords and further observing the issues they are concerned about, including customer services, customer experience, inclusive finance, and personal data protection.
4. Analyze the level of impact on sustainable development
18 internal questionnaires
We distributed the "Sustainability Issue Impact
Assessment Form" to task forces of the Sustainable Development Committee, and assessed the 26 sustainability issues from 6 aspects, including
increase revenue, reduce cost, increase customer satisfaction, lower operational risks, and create innovation opportunities, collective a total of 18 effective questionnaires.
5. Verify material issues
18 material issues
The Sustainable Development Committee's task forces examined the results of steps 3 and 4, and made adjustments according to suggestions of the management team, selecting 18 medium and high concern sustainability issues as material issues for the current year. They then prepared a materiality matrix and reported it to the Sustainable Development Committee and Board of Directors.
6.Assess the significance of impact
3 impact indicators
Steps 1-5 were implemented and completed between September and November 2021. After the GRI Universal Standards 2010 was announced in October 2021, task forces of the Sustainable Development Committee further assessed the intensity and probability of impacts that operating activities relating to the 18 material
issues have on the economy, environment, and human rights, and determined the boundaries of impacts and involvement of material issues in the value chain. E.SUN verified that the 18 material issues all had a significant impact through this step.
7.Verify the priority of issues and disclose contents
16 GRI topics
Task forces of the Sustainable Development
Committee prioritize the material issues according
to their impact, and describe response strategies, short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals, and management policies for each issue in this Report according to reporting requirements. The 18 material issues correspond to 16 GRI topics, including 11 topics, 4 general-disclosure topics, and 1 aspect in the GRI G4 Guidelines and Financial Services Sector Supplement.
