Case study: How Acer creates economic value for its stakeholders
Founded in 1976, Acer is one of the world’s top ICT companies with a presence in more than 160 countries and 7,700 employees dedicated to the research, design, marketing, sale, and support of products and solutions that break barriers between people and technology. Acer seeks to leverage and implement its core competencies, so as to generate sustainable value for all its stakeholders. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2022 Sustainability Report by Acer, 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
Creating, through its operations, long-term value for employees, shareholders and all its stakeholders, is a key priority for Acer. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Acer took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for shareholders
- create economic value for the state
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Acer has identified;
- How Acer proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Acer to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2022 Sustainability Report Acer identified a range of material issues, such as energy, carbon emissions and climate action, information security and privacy protection, product responsibility and customer safety. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for Acer.
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 Acer engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Employees
| · Acer Good News · Acer Daily News · Chairman & CEO’s message · Internal Website (My Acer/company intranet) · External Website (Acer Group) · Labour-Management Meetings/Employee Representatives Organization · Employee Benefits Committee · Email Bulletins · Internal Investigations · Education and Training · Pandemic Prevention Team Mailbox |
| Charity Groups/Communities
| · Acer Sustainability Website · Sustainable Report · Acer Official Website · Acer Foundation Website · Volunteer Activities · Complaints Mailbox |
| Customers
| · Email and Telephone Contacts · Questionnaires and Surveys · Acer Sustainability Website · Corporate Sustainable Report · Corporate Responsibility Mailbox (cr@acer.com) · Acer Official Website · Customer Service Line · Online Chat · Social Networking Software |
| Suppliers
| · Annual Supplier ESG Communication Meetings · ESG Scorecard · RBA On-site Examination · Launch Second-tier Supply Chain RBA Management (document review, on-site spot-checks) · On-site Education and Training · Business Review Meetings · Supplier Surveys · Whistleblower Complaint Mailbox |
| Investors
| · Regular Shareholders’ Meeting/Institutional Investors’ Conference Call · Issue Annual Reports, Quarterly Reports and Sustainability Reports on a regular basis · Investor Mailbox · Investor Relations Webpage · Analyst Report · Investors Summits · Investor Questionnaires |
| Industry Associations
| · Participating in organizational conferences and fulfilling membership obligations · Participating in cooperative events and meetings · Email and telephone |
| Educational and Research Institutions
| · Industry-Academia Exchanges · Surveys and Interviews · Conference Activities · Acer Sustainability Website · Sustainable Report |
| Government Agencies
| · Responding to Legal Advice · Policy Advice Meetings · Topic Meetings · Circular Economies and Innovation · Digital Inclusion and Social Philanthropy |
| Advocacy Organizations
| · Acer Sustainability Website · Sustainable Report · Questionnaires and Surveys · Corporate Responsibility Mailbox · Complaints Mailbox |
| Media
| · Press Conferences · Press Releases and Promotional Articles · Social and Digital Media · Corporate Websites · Marketing and Media Communication Events |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Acer engaged with its stakeholders through an online questionnaire.
What actions were taken by Acer to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2022 Sustainability Report Acer reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2022, Acer paid NTD 14.251 billion for staff remuneration and welfare.
- Creating economic value for shareholders
- In 2022, Acer paid NTD 1.50 in dividends.
- Creating economic value for the state
- In 2022, Acer paid NTD 2.271 billion in income tax expense.
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 Acer, 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:
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