FE SOGO Department stores create a corporate culture of ESG for all employees

        More and more research and examples have proven that investing in sustainability can create better financial performance, and venture capital companies are also inclined to seek business models that can combine social influence and create value for both the enterprise and society. It is generally recognized that the biggest driving force for companies to introduce sustainable and practical ESG comes from employees responsible for daily operations. By demonstrating commitment to the three major aspects of ESG, companies can motivate employees to produce better work performance.

        Encourage internal innovation to drive sustainable transformation from bottom to top

                In 2022, FE SOGO Department stores (hereinafter referred to as "FE SOGO Department stores"), in response to international trends, will hold 7 consecutive years of "CSR Contribution Awards" internally, renamed as "ESG Contribution Awards", and added "ESG Innovation Proposal Awards". We hope to encourage colleagues to use creativity and work together from bottom to top to promote sustainable actions that contribute to the company's transformation.

        Due to the fact that the innovation proposal unit does not need to be responsible for execution and can freely brainstorm, the winning team is more likely to receive award money, thus receiving many exciting proposals. Among them, the personnel education course in Hsinchu Store proposed a proposal of "being friendly to the workplace, taking care of motherhood and young children". Although it was not promoted due to fierce competition, one of the proposals was that "employees who have raised children under three years old can take one hour of" childcare shortened work leave "on a daily basis and receive 80% salary". After evaluation by the human resources department of the headquarters, it became the first innovative proposal to be put into practice, Effective from January 1, 2023, NTD10000 childcare subsidy will be provided for each newborn, reflecting the care for employees.

        After 15 years of internalizing sustainability into corporate personality

        In fact, before the concepts such as CSR and ESG were popularized, FE SOGO Department stores, led by Sophia C.W. Huang Chairman, began promoting the SOGO NEW LIFE project in 2008, creating a new social and cultural life through four dimensions: "care sharing, sustainable home, high-quality life, and cultural innovation".

        In 2015, the United Nations announced the "2030 Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs)". In the same year, the FE SOGO Department stores established a CSR committee, chaired by Chairman, to promote corporate social responsibility through cross departmental communication and implementation.

        In 2020, the FE SOGO Department stores established the "Vision Engineering Committee" with the goal of developing strategic blueprints and reshaping organizational culture. The members are composed of 30 selected colleagues, and through the promotion of vision engineering, potential talents are cultivated and succession plans are developed.

        Subsequently, in response to the high attention and expectations of global consumers and capital markets on ESG issues, the FE SOGO Department stores in 2021, under the decision of the Sustainability Committee, refocused and planned the 2030 Sustainability Development strategic blueprint, targeting three major aspects: "energy conservation and emission reduction", "sustainable consumption", and "circular business model", And in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we will work together with all operating sites, suppliers and consumers to carry out a number of governance, environmental and social action programs.

        So far, although FE SOGO Department stores are not listed companies, they have independently published the "Enterprise Sustainability Report" for 8 consecutive years and have won over 150 CSR and ESG related awards at home and abroad. Over the past 15 years, from NEW LIFE to CSR, and then optimized to ESG, Sophia C.W. Huang Chairman has gradually introduced a sustainable culture and injected sustainable DNA into colleagues. It has also witnessed the transformation of FE SOGO Department stores from "external influence" to "internalization into corporate personality".

        Starting from Perception and Joining Hands with Stakeholders to Exert Social Influence

        FE SOGO Department stores' care for social welfare began with the SOGO NEW LIFE project, serving as the origin of "people-oriented" services for Taiwan's retail industry. They leverage their channel advantages, gather department stores, manufacturers, customers, and the general public, and create a unique spirit of social care.

        Until now, the Pacific Chongguang Cultural and Educational Foundation and the Pacific Chongguang Social Welfare Foundation have continued to play the sustainable driving forces of FE SOGO Department stores, and each operating site has made self promises as a "sustainable influence base", working together with stakeholders such as customers, colleagues, communities, suppliers, government agencies, public welfare organizations, and schools to continuously invest resources in "Caring" The public welfare projects of "Sustainability" and "Reliability" share three common aspects, and strive towards the vision of a happy city.

        In order to deeply cultivate the spirit of public welfare in the hearts of colleagues, in 2021, the FE SOGO Department stores changed the "Volunteer Leave" to "Public Welfare Leave", which was originally limited to volunteer activities during duty hours. It was opened up for volunteer activities outside of duty hours to apply for compensatory leave afterwards, encouraging colleagues to participate in various public welfare actions. The number of people applying for public welfare leave in 2021 increased by 164% compared to 2020. In 2022, with the gradual easing of the epidemic, the total number of hours of public welfare leave applications increased by 98% annually.

                For FE SOGO Department stores, the biggest challenge in implementing "social responsibility" in ESG is to create a meaningful experience for stakeholders. Sophia C.W. Huang Chairman is a senior media figure who has been committed to public welfare for a long time. She organized Taiwan's first non-profit television station and led her team to be nominated for the National Communication Award. She guided her colleagues to invest in meaningful activities, create more storytelling, bring greater social influence, and solve "pain points" for stakeholders, making impossible possible.

        Taking the long-standing Christmas public welfare and dream realization activities for disadvantaged children organized by the foundation as an example, they are carried out every year after the arduous anniversary celebration. Due to the continuous rotation of vacations after the anniversary celebration, colleagues in the past showed a lack of interest in volunteering. With the restructuring of public welfare leave, colleagues in the business and customer service departments will use their vacations as volunteers in 2022, proving that frontline colleagues are also willing to actively participate in public welfare actions.

        In addition to employee participation, Sophia C.W. Huang Chairman also hopes that FE SOGO Department stores can leverage the power of channels and drive brand counters to expand social influence together. During the epidemic, FE SOGO Department stores combined online and physical handling of epidemic prevention meal competitions, becoming the first culinary competition with the theme of "epidemic prevention" in department stores. In the second year of preparation, Sophia C.W. Huang Chairman specially invited the head of the catering department to invite popular restaurants in the department store, optimize the previous edition of Yousheng cuisine into a menu for sale in the store, and share the results with more stakeholders. Over the past few years, the types of restaurants we cooperate with and the total number of dishes we sell have gradually increased. Even high-end steakhouses are willing to cooperate and launch refreshing roasted vegetable dishes. The epidemic prevention meal competition has become a part of FE SOGO Department stores to strengthen the resilience of the supply chain. From the perspective of catering counter management, we work together to promote healthy eating.

        The highest score for employee satisfaction sustainability is 90%, and colleagues agree with ESG

                At the beginning of 2023, the human resources department of FE SOGO Department stores conducted a 2022 employee satisfaction survey, and 'ESG's views and core values' was the aspect with the highest score. Among them, 93.1% of colleagues agree with the company's core value of 'Sustainability', and 89% are willing to practice ESG within their work scope.

        Sophia C.W. Huang Chairman, when promoting the concepts of CSR and ESG, believed that this was a lonely career. She often told herself and her colleagues, "If you go the right way, you are not afraid to go far." Now it has become the eternal motto of FE SOGO Department stores from top to bottom, and some colleagues have mounted this famous saying and put it in their wallet to constantly improve themselves.

        With the warmth of spring blooming and the global epidemic gradually emerging, FE SOGO Department stores are also about to launch two major stores on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Sophia C.W. Huang Chairman has turned to encourage department store colleagues, who have a majority of women, to say, 'If you bloom, butterflies will come.' Whether it's grassroots employees or mid to high level executives, the most important thing is whether you can do this job brilliantly! 'Because you value and practice your work value, It's the display of sustainable DNA!

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