Corporate leaders strive for sustainability, yet many among them comply for the sake of compliance. As《The Icons》’s interview with international ESG expert Mark Anderson revealed, even international industry leading corporations tend to fall into such a rabbit hole.
This article highlights how Taiwan Excellence Award recipient Planet Technology Corporation practices sustainability throughout their modus operandi: lead through innovation and example.
Local business turned ESG flagship corporation
Planet CEO Mr. Chen Ching Gang grew up as a farmer’s son, believing in sweat and toil he envisioned the company as a nexus of value and influence in Taiwan through local development and international recognition.
In 1990 Mr. Chen Ching Gang, witnessing the dawning of the digital age and the computer’s potential, set off on the road of entrepreneurship. Focusing on branding and R&D, the company integrated the personal computer with industrial hardware, standardizing manufacturing and leaving room for future software development and improvement as relevant technologies advance. Soon he received a contract from Germany, paving the way for future international collaborations.
ICT Village: Greater than the sum of its parts
A Taiwanese local business with contracts with over 140 nations, Planet takes advantage of the ICT Village: decentralized technologies, rapid transportation, and diverse talent pool gathers the top corporations from each field of expertise, facilitating seamless integration and collaboration, achieving a sum greater than its parts, earning contracts from all over the world.
Mr. Chen Ching Gang himself developed a unique 3R strategy: right time, right price, and right product. A thorough understanding of the target audience and capitalizing on market opportunities is key to success, providing the right services at the right moment to the right people.
Life is good, but it can be better
Growing up as a farmer’s son, Mr. Chen Ching Gang never neglected his duty and responsibility to give back to the community that raised him, promoting education and mental health for vulnerable children since 2005, and pushing for use of cellulose decomposing bacteria as replacement for traditional field burning since 2021, cutting over one third of the co2 emissions.
Yet as climate awareness rose ESG implementation has reached a much more matured state on the international stage. Cisco Systems, Inc. has maintained for the past three years over 80% employee participation in local charity work, over 60% self identified African Americans throughout the corporate ladder, and received the 2023 Great Place to Work award.
Cisco has long devoted itself to management, climate restoration, digital learning and economic equality. Through those plans Cisco has contributed to the lives of almost nine hundred million people around the world with almost five hundred million dollars donated.
Cisco has donated equipment over six million dollars in value, three million dollars in financial aid, and over 150 million dollars in employee donations to over 25 nations. During the Russo Ukrainian Conflict Cisco has donated equipment over six million dollars in value for emergency network restoration to non profit organizations, United Nations agencies, and the Ukrainian government. The Cisco Crisis Response Team arrived at Krakow, Poland to work with local volunteers to establish stable communication for relevant units.
In environmental protection the Cisco Foundation promised eleven million dollars in funding for climate solutions, setting the goal for the corporation to be carbon neutral by 2040. Cisco has achieved 89% green energy consumption, holding first place on Gartner’s top 25 supply chain for three consecutive years. Cisco demonstrates the comprehensivity and precision of sustainability practices for an international industry leader.
