The Concept of Sustainable Development
Since its establishment, Groundhog Inc. has continuously upgraded its core technology as wireless communication technology has evolved globally, culminating in the era of 5G technology. We have been progressing towards our vision of “creating high-efficiency wireless communication network applications with positioning technology.” While we strive for continuous growth, we deeply understand that pursuing goals of sustainable operations requires the cooperation of stakeholders, including employees and customers, in addition to solidifying market competitiveness through technological development.
In response to the increasingly severe global climate change, and to mitigate risks and fulfill corporate social responsibility, our company established the “Corporate Sustainability Development Promotion Measures” on December 30, 2022. We formed a dedicated Corporate Sustainability Development Promotion Team, which includes members from the General Manager’s office and various departmental managers. The team is responsible for facilitating the allocation of resources and planning management methods for various sustainability initiatives. The General Manager ensures the implementation of relevant corporate sustainability responsibilities and continuously reviews and adjusts the implementation status and plans.
The Sustainability Development Promotion Team reports the execution of sustainability efforts to the Board of Directors annually. The Board receives reports from the management on the company’s operations and sustainability execution. The management presents the company’s strategic plans to the Board, which assesses the feasibility of these strategies and provides recommendations to the management as necessary.
We plan to establish a sustainable operating model that considers the environment (E), society (S), and governance (G), gradually practicing corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, we utilize telecommunications data analysis and precise positioning technology to assist customers in sustainable development during network deployment and optimization, aiming to create contributions and value for all stakeholders.
Sustainable Development Roadmap
| Schedule & Aspects | Short-term Goals (by the end of 2024) |
Medium-term Goals (from 2025 to 2027) |
Long-term Goals (from 2028 onwards) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental Protection |
Raise awareness among employees about environmental protection | Raise awareness among company suppliers about environmental protection | Reduce annual electricity consumption by 1% per employee |
| Use energy-saving equipment when replacing old ones | Maintain a high local procurement rate | Continue to increase the local procurement rate | |
| Social Engagement |
Increase the proportion of internal training for employees | Strengthen international talent training | Increase the proportion of external training for employees |
| Continue to participate in charity-related associations | Continue to increase the retention rate of existing employees | Continue to increase the retention rate of new employees | |
| Corporate Governance |
Planning for listing company stock on Taiwan Stock Exchange | Improving the diversity of the Board of Directors | Continuously improving customer retention rate and achieve steady overall profit growth |
| Raise awareness among company insiders about stock ownership regulations | Continue to improve employees’ awareness of legal compliance | Continue to improve the diversity of the Board of Directors | |
| Increase the revenue contribution of existing customers and expand the customer base | Continue to increase information transparency | Implement the brand review mechanism to achieve responsible marketing |
Action Plan
| Aspect | Focus | Strategies and Paths |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental | Carbon Reduction | Advocating energy-saving and carbon reduction measures and encouraging colleagues to engage in. |
| Carbon Management | Implementing carbon assessments, recording office water and electricity consumption, and calculating carbon emissions. | |
| Social | Friendly Workplace | Hiring a diversified workforce, promoting gender equality, preventing sexual harassment, rejecting workplace bullying, and safeguarding the basic human rights of colleagues. |
| Employee Benefits | Conducting regular performance evaluations and salary adjustments, providing additional benefits beyond compensation. | |
| Workplace Safety and Health | Conducting regular building and fire equipment inspections, preventing workplace accidents, offering health check-ups for colleagues, and on-site medical services. | |
| Social Inclusion | Providing financial support to charitable organizations. | |
| Governance | Legal Compliance | Establishing corporate governance structures and implementing internal control mechanisms. |
| Corporate Governance | Overseeing the operations of the board of directors and functional committees, executing internal control systems, and managing intellectual property rights. | |
| Ethical Operation | Formulating the “Code of Ethical Conduct,” with the Corporate Sustainability Development Promotion Team responsible for developing and overseeing policies and prevention measures for ethical business conduct, and regularly reporting to the board of directors. |
For the implementation status of the promotion, please refer to the content on the following pages in the ESG section.
Risk Identification and Assessment
The company conducts risk assessments related to environmental, social, or corporate governance issues that are significant to the company’s operations, based on the principle of materiality. Subsequently, the company formulates relevant risk management strategies and measures in response to the assessed risks. The details are as follows:
| Assessment Items | Management Strategies and Measures |
|---|---|
| Environmental Protection and Ecological Conservation | Company’s primary business is software platform development and sales. We do not engage in manufacturing, producing physical products, or emit greenhouse gases from production processes. Our office generates general waste, which originates from daily life waste, including both general refuse (including kitchen waste) and recyclable waste. Our colleagues sort the waste into designated bins for general waste and recycling. The building cleaners collect waste and transports it to storage site for disposal. Currently, the building admin center has a contracted arrangement with the waste removal company for centralized waste collection throughout the building. The fees are not separately charged as long as the monthly waste weight remains within a fluctuation range of ±20% of 7 metric tons. Individual waste weights for each tenant on each floor have not been measured as of now. Company leases only one floor of the building, and the daily waste generation is not substantial.
Our company has established a “Greenhouse Gas and Waste Management Policy,” which explicitly outlines management policies and practices for water conservation, energy conservation, and waste reduction. It also sets annual goals for water and energy conservation. We promote turning off lights and shutting down unused computers and appliances, using scanning instead of printing, recycling and reusing photocopier paper, and conserving water in our office among colleagues. Starting from 2021, we have been keeping track of water and electricity consumption in the office, with the annual goals of reducing carbon emissions, water usage, and electricity consumption, to implement environmental protection measures. |
| Social – Workplace safety | Company has obtained ISO45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management System certification, verified by French Cert UK LTD. In accordance with ISO standards, building safety regulations, and Occupational Safety and Health Act, we regularly conduct building safety inspections, fire equipment inspections, fire drills, and provide fire safety training. In creating a friendly workplace, we have established dedicated lactation rooms, equipped with fitness equipment, and set up rest areas. To maintain the physical and mental health of our employees, we organize regular employee health check-ups, sponsor employee sports club venue rentals, invite medical staff to assist with employee health management, and offer health counseling services. |
| Social – Product Safety | Company has obtained ISO9001:2015 Quality Management System certification, verified by French Cert UK LTD. We persist the core values of “Quality First, Customer Service Foremost,” with the primary goal of providing high-quality services and products to our customers and keep communication channels open to them. |
| Social – Risks Arising from Company Operations to the Community | Company’s main business is software platform development and sales. An assessment of our operational activities indicates that it does not pose any risks or negative impacts on the neighboring community. |
| Governance – Social and Legal Compliance | By establishing a corporate governance structure and implementing internal control mechanisms, Company ensures that all employees and processes comply with relevant legal regulations.
The technology developed exclusively by our company has obtained patent certificates in the territory of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the United States, Japan, the European Union, and other countries. |
| Governance – Stakeholder Communication | To enhance communication channels with stakeholders, company has a “Stakeholders Engagement” section on our official website, providing corresponding communication channels for various stakeholders to improve information transparency and response speed. |
| Governance – Strengthening Director Functions | To support our directors, we arrange professional training courses and provide director liability insurance. |
Supplier Management Policy
Groundhog Inc. has established a “Supplier Sustainability Management Policy,” mandating that suppliers address various issues such as environmental protection, labor rights, safety, health, and sustainable development. New suppliers are required to sign the “Supplier ESG Commitment” and the “Supplier Code of Conduct.” For existing suppliers, the company annually selects key suppliers and sends them the “Supplier ESG Self-Assessment Questionnaire,” requesting them to conduct a self-evaluation of their sustainability practices and return the completed questionnaire for assessment. Suppliers with poor scores are provided with guidance on sustainable practices and are required to make improvements. If a re-evaluation after the implementation of corrective actions still results in non-compliance, the supplier will be replaced with a new one, and the business relationship will be terminated. Regardless of whether they are new or existing, all suppliers are required to meet sustainability requirements in occupational safety and health, labor rights, ethical business conduct, environmental protection, social responsibility, and community engagement, in addition to complying with relevant legal regulations.
Groundhog Technologies 2023 ESG Report
For our past ESG reports, please visit MOPS and make a inquiry with stock symbol: 6906 (Listed Companies / Digital and Cloud Services).