China Development Financial (hereinafter CDF; TWSE: 2883) promotes low-carbon lifestyles and acts positively to fight coronavirus. CDF will call on all employees to participate in the Earth Hour initiative, organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), between 8:30pm and 9:30pm on March 28 by switching off unnecessary lights or electric devices and living a low-carbon lifestyle. During the one hour, CDF employees are encouraged to stay with family, exercise, or pray for Taiwan in positively fighting coronavirus.
2020 will be the sixth year that CDF has joined the Earth Hour campaign. On the evening of March 28, CDF headquarters in Songshan District, Taipei will go dark together with world landmarks. Daw-Yi Hsu, Deputy President of CDF, recorded a video to encourage employees to join the movement. Ten executives from subsidiaries, including Stephanie Hwang, President of China Life, Amy Tsao, President of KGI Bank, William Ho, President of CDIB Capital, and Yen-Min Chu, Chairman of KGI Securities Investment Advisory, also urge staff to turn off lights in videos. More than 600 staff domestically and abroad will participate in the event. CDIB Capital Group, the subsidiary of CDF, is also rallying three of its portfolio companies to join the campaign, amplifying its community influence.
CDF spokesperson Richard Chang said the first letter of ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) stands for environment. CDF and its subsidiaries continue to conduct environmental management pursuant to ISO 14001 standards and have been certified. In 2019, power consumption fell 5% and greenhouse gas emissions dropped 6% from 2016 levels.
In addition, CDF also promotes paperless operations, supplier management and green procurement, and the use of green power. CDF has obtained 31 Solar Renewable Energy Certificates through the National Renewable Energy Certification Center for 31mn watts of green power. In terms of green finance, CDIB Capital Group’s Growth Partners Fund, with a fund size of NT$4.54bn, focuses on competitive Taiwanese small- and medium-sized enterprises driven by smart technology or environmental innovation. CDIB Capital Group’s principal investment in green energy industries reached NT$1.2bn, equal to 16% of its total direct investments; green finance amounted to NT$20.4bn, up 16% YoY, with forecasted three-year CAGR of 8-10%; and bond financing for green energy exceeded NT$3.4bn, around 25.4% of total funds raised in 2019.
WWF started the Earth Hour movement in Australia in 2007 to raise public awareness of climate change through switching off lights. More than 188 countries and 18,000 landmarks worldwide will join the world’s largest environmental mass movement. Taiwan’s Earth Hour campaign was launched by O’right, a leading Taiwanese green hair and skin care brand. O’right is also one of the portfolio companies of CDIB Capital Group.
