Case study: How CAL creates economic value for its stakeholders
China Airlines (CAL) is the largest airline in Taiwan. Based in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, CAL mainly provides international passenger and cargo air transport services, with flights to / from 29 countries and 159 destinations worldwide. CAL seeks to embrace mutual prosperity along with its stakeholders Tweet This!, and endeavours to create sustainable value for them all.
This case study is based on the 2020 Corporate Sustainability Report by CAL, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
Generating shared value for its employees and other stakeholders, responding to their concerns, is a top priority for CAL. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders CAL took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for the government
- create economic value for society
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) CAL has identified;
- How CAL proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by CAL to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2020 Corporate Sustainability Report CAL identified a range of material issues, such as flight safety management, public health and safety, governance and integrity management, labour relations and engagement. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for CAL.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups CAL engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Employees
| · Labour-management meetings · Labour unions · Employee suggestion boxes · Employee feedback website · China Airlines newsletter · China Airlines Retirees Portal |
| Customers
| · Customer satisfaction survey · Global business meetings · Taiwan business meetings · Discussions with travel agencies · CAL’s website, CSR website, Facebook / Instagram, e-mail, and text message · Customer service hotline · Corporate customer visits |
| Investors
| · Shareholders meeting · Shareholder’s hotline / mailbox · Road shows · Interviews |
| Government
| · Missives · Visits · Participation in projects · Participation in public hearings, seminars, or negotiation forums · Organisation of or participation in business seminars and audits · Participation in initiatives · Audits |
| Partners (Suppliers and Contractors)
| · Telephone · Coordination meetings · Business visits · Site inspections |
| Community
| · Charity events · Community activities · News releases · Online mailbox |
| Media | · News releases · Press conferences · Interviews · Active communication of industry information |
| Associations (including Aviation Organisations)
| · Participation in project meetings · Participation in work seminars · Organising or participating in summits, executive summits, committees, and coordination meetings · Participation in government-convened meetings · Telephone, e-mail, and exchange platforms |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics CAL engaged with its stakeholders through a survey, with 43 valid questionnaires returned by members of an internal sustainability team.
What actions were taken by CAL to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2020 Corporate Sustainability Report CAL reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2020, CAL spent TWD 12.892 billion in salary expenses, TWD 18.931 billion in employee benefits and TWD 1.587 billion in post-employment benefits.
- Creating economic value for the government
- In 2020, CAL spent TWD 0.031 billion in income tax expense (interest).
- Creating economic value for society
- In 2020, for its contribution to social investments, CAL donated TWD 7,162,191. Commercial initiatives, charitable events and community investments represented 46%, 30%, and 24% of its total social investment, respectively.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed
Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.1, 8.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Targets: 9.1, 9.4, 9.5
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References:
This case study is based on published information by CAL, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:
https://calec.china-airlines.com/csr/en/download/2020/2020-en-CSR.pdf
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