Committed to aligning corporate operations with sustainability goals, Delta Electronics has been selected for the DJSI World for the eleventh consecutive year and the DJSI-Emerging Markets for the ninth consecutive year in the evaluation of the 2021 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), an indicator of global corporate competitiveness. This year, Delta achieved the highest scores in the global electronic equipment industry, hitting a record high. In addition to its extraordinary environmental performance, Delta also obtained a significant improvement in its social and governance performance, with its social performance recording the highest score in the industry. In the subcategory evaluation, four categories, namely "Innovation Management", "Environmental Reports", "Social Reports" and "Human Capital Development", attained full scores. Together with "Product Stewardship" and "Talent Attraction & Retention", Delta achieved the highest scores in the global electronic equipment industry in a total of six categories. The industry-leading scores reflect Delta's commitment to innovation and R&D, enhancement in resource utilization efficiency and product sustainability, as well as its continuous efforts in talent cultivation and social welfare participation, which take into account the three sustainability dimensions of environment, society, and corporate governance (ESG).
Mr. Jesse Chou, Chief Sustainability Officer of Delta, said that Delta actively implements its corporate mission: “To provide innovative, clean, and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow”, and continues to keep abreast of international sustainability initiatives to take concrete actions in response to the serious challenges of climate change. After passing the SBT evaluation in 2017, Delta has introduced a total of 2,270 energy-saving projects through three major practices, including voluntary energy saving and carbon reduction, in-house solar power generation, and the purchase of green energy or receipt of international renewable energy certificates. Far exceeding our annual SBT milestones for three consecutive years, Delta not only reduced carbon intensity by 55%, but also achieved the use of renewable electricity by 45.7%* of our global operations. Leveraging our accumulated experience from implementing SBT, Delta is more confident in embracing the more challenging RE100, and is committed to RE100 by 2021, with our overall objective of achieving 100% renewable electricity and carbon neutrality by 2030. At present, we have successively entered into long-term green power purchase agreements (PPA) with TCC Green Energy Corporation and Foxwell Power Co., Ltd. to purchase 19 million kWh and 8 million kWh of land-based wind power on an annual basis, and will officially commence supply by the end of November. This is expected to cumulatively reduce our global carbon footprint by more than 271,000 tons, as we move towards net zero emissions.
In response to climate change, Delta set a science-based target (SBT) in 2017 to reduce carbon intensity by 56.6% by 2025. With the efforts of all employees, Delta’s carbon intensity in 2020 was reduced by 55% ahead of target along with an average annual absolute carbon reduction of more than 8.2%. The reduction has exceeded the target of 1.5°C, laying a foundation for achieving net zero emissions. This year, Delta further joined the “Race to Zero” initiative to set a net-zero target in line with a 1.5°C future. Delta also strives to provide innovative, clean, and energy-saving solutions, and has established R&D centers around the world. In 2020, Delta spent 9.01% of its total revenue on innovation and R&D. Delta’s product delivery from 2010 to 2020 has saved a total of 33.5 billion kWh for customers, which was equivalent to a global carbon reduction of approximately 17.8 million tons.
In 2020, Delta contributed a total of more than US$9 million* to global social engagement, which has gained rewarding results in popularizing low-carbon housing and transportation, promoting science and energy education and climate actions, and actively cultivating talents. The Delta Electronics Foundation and NHK Enterprises in Japan teamed up to produce “Water with Life” an 8K environmental documentary. The Foundation also organized the 8K documentary “The Songs of Whales” competition to educate the public and schools about water resources and the marine environment, and continued to enhance its influence at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP). At the COP26 Glasgow official side event in 2021, Delta shared with global stakeholders its technology and practices in deploying solutions that foster e-mobility, and displayed its environmental documentaries “The Birth” and “Life in the Coral Reefs” at the Blue Zone of COP26 to highlight the importance of preserving marine ecosystems and the dangers they face from pollution and ocean warming.
With respect to talent cultivation and development, Delta has implemented diverse and inclusive appointments and a global learning map to build a quality workplace that integrates industry, government, and academia to create joint R&D centers at top universities and actively recruit global talent. In 2020 Delta joined a three-year industry-academia collaboration with Taiwan's top universities and government ministries to conduct 25 research projects in fields such as electric vehicles, energy, and information and communication applications, with a total investment of over US$2.5 million*. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Delta has not only supplied pandemic prevention materials and adopted high-standard pandemic prevention measures with employees’ health in mind, but has also added approximately 1,000 digital courses, including online health seminars and exercise classes to support employees' physical and mental health and their education. Delta also won several awards, including “The Most Attractive Employers - Engineering & IT” Top 50 by Universum, the world's renowned employer brand research organization, and a silver for the “Asia Recruitment Award - Best International Recruitment Strategy” by Human Resources Online, a leading human resources organization in Asia.
In regard to the circular economy, following the achievement of the “100% waste conversion rate” of the Dongguan Plant in 2020, Delta’s Wujiang and Thailand plants have also achieved this same target in 2021 to obtain their UL2799 zero waste-to-landfill certificates. Through cross-industry cooperation, Delta also reuses glass fibers from waste circuit boards and makes it into board additives in an attempt to enhance overall added value, effectively utilize resources, and reduce carbon emissions in the processing stage. The demonstration boards were exhibited at the “TASS2021 Asia’s Sustainable Supply & Circular Economy Conference and Exhibition” in Kaohsiung from November 10 to 12. Delta has also actively assisted in the construction of key short- and medium-term targets for its supply chain and strengthened supplier operation management and risk identification, while sharing its experience in water conservation at its plants and green buildings, as well as providing greenhouse gas inventory and energy conservation training courses to achieve the vision of a sustainable value chain.
* Please refer to the 2020 Delta Electronics ESG Report.