Pou Chen Corporation

Sustainability strategy and accountability
Pou Chen Corporation discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy.

Stakeholder engagement
As a part of its stakeholder engagement activities, Pou Chen Corporation discloses an overview of the issues that have been raised. It also provides information on how often it engages with different stakeholder groups and how it does so.

Water
Through its supplier guidelines, the company requires access to water and sanitation, including refraining from negatively affecting access to safe water, to be included in contractual arrangements with its business relationships.

GHG emissions
Pou Chen Corporation is reducing its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, and it has a time-bound target to reduce by 46.2% its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.

No leading practices were identified for this area.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
Pou Chen Corporation does not disclose group-wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain. While the company’s Board of Directors approved the ‘Regulations governing Risk Management’, and a chief corporate governance officer has been appointed, no evidence could be found in the public domain suggesting that the Board of Directors participates in the decision-making and oversight responsibility of the sustainability strategy. No evidence was found either that Pou Chen Corporation links performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. Furthermore, it has an opportunity to disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Lobbying
Pou Chen Corporation does not report on its lobbying and advocacy practices on nature-related issues, nor whether these activities align with its sustainability strategy.

Impact and dependencies assessment
Pou Chen Corporation has not holistically assessed its impacts or how it depends on nature, including biodiversity. It has an opportunity to start such an assessment across its value chains, focused on quantification of its impacts or dependencies.

Key areas and species
Pou Chen Corporation does not disclose key species or areas important for biodiversity affected by its operations or suppliers. It has an opportunity to increase its transparency.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
No evidence was found regarding Pou Chen Corporation’s efforts to avoid ecosystem conversion, including deforestation, or promote restoration. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets.

Resource exploitation and circularity
While Pou Chen Corporation discloses its material footprint, no evidence could be found in the public domain that it reports on the materials used and inputs. The company does not report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance, and it does not disclose efforts to improve soil health.

Water
Pou Chen Corporation’s total water intake has increased in 2020 compared to 2019, and it does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce water withdrawal across its own operations. Furthermore, the company does not report how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas. It does not engage either with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. Pou Chen Corporation does not report a decrease in water pollution, nor discloses its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company does not regularly report on water pollution, and it does not disclose targets to reduce water pollution. Pou Chen Corporation does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water, and it does not disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
Pou Chen Corporation is not reducing the production of hazardous substances, and it has an opportunity to commit to avoid developing or marketing new chemicals or products with SVHC (substance of very high concern) properties. The company is not reducing plastic use and waste in its own operations, and it is encouraged to report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. Furthermore, Pou Chen Corporation has an opportunity to report time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain, and to report on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants.

GHG emissions
Pou Chen Corporation does not report progress against its scope 1 and 2 emissions target, and the company’s 1 and 2 emissions target is not aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory. The company also has an opportunity to disclose a time-bound target to reduce its scope 3 emissions that is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

Invasive species
Pou Chen Corporation has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive alien species in its own operations.

Safe, healthy, clean environment
Pou Chen Corporation does not show if it is committed to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment and to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous peoples’ and land rights
Pou Chen Corporation does not show if it is committed to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or Land rights of local communities.

While Pou Chen Corporation discloses that it conducts due diligence in general, it has an opportunity to specify that it conducts human rights due diligence which includes a process for identifying human rights risks and impacts through its business relationships. Furthermore, the company has an opportunity to describe a process for assessing the human rights risks it has identified and to disclose what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. A description of this process would include how relevant factors are considered, such as geographical, economic and social factors. Pou Chen Corporation states that it works in accordance with the human rights protection measures, including: recruitment, compensation and benefits, working hours, non-harassment and anti-discrimination, etc. Further, it states that it utilizes the Master Action Plan (MAP) platform for tracking the improvements. It also discloses corrective action plan for its human rights findings. However, it does not describe its global system to take action to prevent, mitigate or remediate its salient human rights issues which includes a description of how its global system applies to its supply chain. There is no evidence that Pou Chen Corporation provides an example of the conclusions reached and actions taken or to be taken on at least one of its salient human rights issues as a result of assessment processes. While the company discloses the categories of stakeholders it engages with generally on sustainability issues, it is not clear if these stakeholders are those whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. There is no evidence that Pou Chen Corporation provides examples of its engagement with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities.

Pou Chen Corporation has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers, and it has a publicly available policy statement which shows it expects its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers. While the company states that every worker has right to compensation which is sufficient to meet the workers’ basic needs and provide some discretionary income, and commits to provide at least minimum wage or the appropriate prevailing wage which ever is higher, it does not disclose if minimum wage/ prevailing wage is enough to maintain a decent standard of living for employees and his/her family, nor discloses a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage. There is no evidence that Pou Chen Corporation describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates, and, although it states that it expects its suppliers to pay wages that are sufficient for workers and their families to fulfil their basic needs, it has an opportunity to disclose how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers. Pou Chen Corporation discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. While the company states that it encourages its suppliers to respect employees’ right to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, it has an opportunity to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to those.

Pou Chen Corporation has an opportunity to publish a global tax strategy and should assign responsibility for this strategy to an executive-level individual or body. There is no evidence that the company describes the process for identifying its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. Furthermore, while the company states in its CSR Report that the major suppliers shall follow the company’s anti-corruption trade system by signing the company’s ‘Undertaking of Ethics and Integrity’ or provide relevant documents, the company does not indicate any consequences from a breach of the policy. Pou Chen Corporation outlines its approach to lobbying and political engagement but does not formalise this approach in a public policy document. Finally, there is no evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement that specifies that it does not make political contributions.