Year 2023 was a challenging year. We are currently facing an international situation that is unpredictable, and global economy, society, and environment are under unprecedented pressure and changes. A thinking style that combines corporate development with sustainability topics has become the core of business management while governments, shareholders, policy holders, and the public have higher expectation towards corporate sustainability. To respond to global sustainable development actions and national goals of net zero emissions, the competent authority launched “Sustainable Development Action Plans for TWSE/ TPEx Listed Company in 2023. Our Company also unfolds key actions of sustainability through strengthening corporate governance system and combination with our core competence and builds the short-, medium-, and long-term blueprints of sustainability strategy. By standing in a higher position to look at ESG topics, we keep our promises to all the stakeholders.
In response to increasing climate risks and relevant drive of international laws and domestic policies, we clearly understand that as an enterprise in the financial industry, except voluntarily support net zero carbon reduction and risk management, a more important key responsibility is to exercise the influence of the market investor. Through evaluation and selection, we support invested enterprises that focus more on ESG values. By radiating our humble efforts as a single enterprise, we aim to collaborate with partners to exercise sustainable impacts together. Therefore, other than deepening corporate climate scenario analysis and resilience evaluation in our operating strategy integration and the plan of quarterly “Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Assurance” under the supervision of the Board of Directors, the Company conducted self-inventory on the Scope 3 data of 2023 greenhouse gas emission and implemented the third-party assurance in 2024, which is better than the requirement of legal pathway in order to control our own hot spots of carbon emissions. What’s more important is the Company was also proactive in responding to the green finance policy announced by the government to guide the economy to sustainable development in low-carbon investments. In 2023, we spent a total amount of NT$392.952 billion in sustainable investments. Through the promotion of green finance, we support national transitional policy to net zero.
As for low-carbon transition in the dimensions of insurance products and services, we are fully engaged with the promotion of services to e-policy holders. In 2023, ratio of e-insurance for new contracts was more than 98%. Moreover, the increasing global carbon emissions will certainly be hazards that must be not ignored no matter to the environment or to national health. For this, the Company actively develops low-carbon insurance products. In 2023, we launched fitness spillover-effect insurance policies and products that encouraged policy holders to use public transportation. In the future, we will continue promoting more varieties of low-carbon products to provide policy holders more choices and protection as well as to take our responsibility to the protection of the environment.
We are devoted to implement corporate governance to ensure high standards in transparency, responsibility, and risk management. We firmly believe it not only helps enhancing the competitiveness and business reputation of the corporate brand but also provides confidence to our shareholders, policy holders, and numerous stakeholders. Insurance industry is an industry built on the foundation of trust from policy holders, and personal data protection is also a key to maintain the trust of policy holders. Because of this, the Company protects personal data of policy holders’ in the highest standards. Besides, we voluntarily conducted strict inspection by a third party. It covered the Company’s whole system, including certification of ISO27001:2013 Information Management System (ISMS) and BS10012:2017 Personal Data Management System (PIMS) which was passed for the first time in 2023.
Talents are the important partners when enterprises pursue sustainable management. The Company carries out diverse cultivation measures for office and field personnel, and the content covers leadership and ESG literacy. In the future, we will continue the cultivation of digital talents to respond to unstoppable AI era as well as match with the Company’s plan in digital transformation and expand employees’ career competitiveness to achieve our vision of being a happy workplace.
The life insurance industry is a business of people orientation. We carry higher requirements on the contribution to the society. The Board of Directors values the whole process from formulating the principle of treating clients fairly, conducting supervision, to physical participation to ensure top-down implementation of matters related to treating clients fairly. In 2023, we optimized “financial friendly service zone” on the website and specifically set an “dedicated zone for treating clients fairly”. We obtained the accessibility certification mark in the highest level of AAA. Besides, we offer “sign language service appointment” at the customer service reception to reduce the digital gap for seniors and the disabled.
In terms of social participation, we set forth from the core specialty of risk management in the life insurance industry and combine that with the resources in the industry to support six key actions, including encouraging academic development of insurance, pushing inclusive financing education, cultivating sports activities, caring children’s health, engaging in community services, and promoting arts activities. This year, we also work with several NPOs and social enterprises & organizations to achieve interdisciplinary cooperation and to add new value and innovation to our engagement in social participation.
In the future, Mercuries Life Insurance will continue carrying the service spirit of “a word of promise, a friend for life”, maintain “the focus on operation and steady growth” as our medium-and long-term management goals, and develop with five key strategic management policies, including “sound finance, expertized channels, digital transformation, highlighted brand, and winning over customers”. We will work with internal and external partners to create a common-good sustainable finance ecosystem and become a professional insurer capable of creating the best value. Please move forwards and create a wonderful future with us!