ESG Integration & Case Studies

Sido Muncul

Sido Muncul is Indonesia’s largest, most established, integrated herbal products brand owner and manufacturer, listed on the IDX (Indonesia Stock Exchange) since 2013. Sido Muncul’s vision is to be a pharmaceutical, traditional medicine, health food and beverage, and herbal ingredients company which benefits the community and environment. 

Since Affinity’s investment in 2018, and through our representation on Sido Muncul’s board, we partnered with the Company to formalize its ESG approach into five key pillars: (i) Environmental preservation (ii) Inclusive business (iii) Employee welfare (iv) Product integrity and (v) Sustainable sourcing.

A key ESG agenda is community relations and the development of farmer networks.  

• Sido Muncul supports the inclusion of local farmers through farming community partnerships, partnering with more than 1,700 farmers in Indonesia. It provides farming advice and higher quality seeds for better crop yields and income stability through offtake schemes. 
•  One example of this partnership is Sido Muncul’s support of cardamon farmers in the Sambirata Village through its Fostered Farmers Programme. Farmers received training on proper cultivation methods and learned to make biopesticides and compost. Sido Muncul supported the development of a Cardamom Drying Facility, where energy is generated by micro hydro power plants. Through Sido Muncul’s offtake scheme, farmers received nearly six times more income because of the proper processing of cardamom.  The younger generation is also returning to the villages to farm cardamom as jobs become available.  

Since Affinity’s investment, Sido has been added to all four IDX ESG indices, and the share price has been re-rated upwards.

In recognition of our efforts, Affinity was awarded the AVCJ ESG Responsible Investment Award in 2022 for our ESG value creation work done in partnership with Sido Muncul. An article written by the AVCJ on this topic can be found here. 

JobKorea

JobKorea is Korea’s largest online recruitment platform operator. Through Affinity’s control investment ownership of JobKorea, Affinity worked closely with management to address the ESG risks and opportunities through three key ESG initiatives:

• Diversity and Inclusion:
  • JobKorea identified that women had lower representation in the technology industry. To promote gender inclusivity, JobKorea held a Women’s Technology Job Fair in October 2022, designed to provide employment opportunities for women and bridge the gender gap by matching technology companies with talented women.
  • For young jobseekers in the technology industry, JobKorea recognized that it could further improve inclusivity and promote training to improve young jobseekers improve their chance of obtaining a job. The company provides training tools and self-check coding tests to prepare young jobseekers for job interviews.
• Equal and Fair Hiring Practices: JobKorea ensures fair hiring practices in the labor market supporting both hiring managers and jobseekers. JobKorea uses Artificial Intelligence to help hiring managers eliminate plagiarized resumes and those created by generative AI such as ChatGPT. To protect jobseekers from fraudulent job postings, JobKorea requires employers to provide identity verification prior to job postings. Further, JobKorea uses big data technology to monitor postings, thereby detecting any fraudulent activities and suspicious listings.
• Cybersecurity: JobKorea places high emphasis on cybersecurity. It is the first in the industry to acquire the Information Security Management System (ISMS) certificate. JobKorea’s cybersecurity systems help ensure that it has a structured framework for managing and safeguarding its information assets.

Affinity continues to work closely with JobKorea on the above ESG value creation opportunities.

Trimco Group

Trimco is a global supplier of sustainable brand identity products. It provides trims, packaging and care labels for international fashion and sports brands. Trimco’s technology-enabled labels provide the fashion and apparel industry an essential solution to the issue of supply chain traceability and transparency, connecting brand owners to consumers, and driving positive change throughout the supply chain.

Since Affinity’s control ownership investment in Trimco, we have helped develop Trimco’s ESG Playbook and built a suite of strategic ESG capabilities, making sustainability a core pillar of the business. This includes:

• Sustainable materials used in production: 25% of the woven labels and 69% of care labels are produced from recycled material, 54% of paper used is FSC certified.
• Sustainable Track-and-Trace IT System: Proprietary system developed to rapidly support brand owners to substantiate any sustainable claims, fulfil regulatory requirements, and increase usage of sustainable materials. Since its launch in 2020, Trimco has supported clients and enabled supply chain transparency of over three million fashion items sold per week.
• Climate change: Developed the ability to measure Scope 1 & 2 emissions and increased the use of renewable energy at production sites through installation of rooftop solar panels.
• Diversity and inclusion: Committed to create a diverse and inclusive culture, 66% “C” level management, 50% board members and 43% overall staff are female.

In recognition of our efforts, Affinity was awarded the HKVCA ESG Award of Excellence in 2021 for our ESG value creation work with Trimco. Affinity has since accomplished a successful exit of our investment in Trimco, with ESG framework an important part its value proposition. Click here for the full case study.

In 2022, Affinity sold Trimco to Brookfield Asset Management. As part of the exit, Brookfield observed that Trimco’s main product, the care and content label, contains essential compliance information which supports brand owners in supply chain traceability and transparency, an important theme in ESG.

Towngas Smart Energy

Towngas Smart Energy is China’s leading natural gas distributor. Affinity invested in Towngas to support its evolution into an integrated clean energy provider and accelerate the roll-out of distributed solar photovoltaics, in line with China’s commitment to be Net Zero by 2060.

• Net Zero by 2025: We are supporting 200 industrial parks achieve net zero by 2025. Towngas is building zero carbon industrial parks with distributed energy projects (solar, natural gas, and battery storage) to assist manufacturers reduce GHG emissions. As of 31 December 2022, the Company has 1.37GWh of installed photovoltaics, with the aim to reach their target of 8GWh by 2025.
• Sustainability Linked Bond: In April 2022, Towngas issued its first five-year Sustainability Linked Bond raising a total of USD200 million with a coupon rate of 4% p.a. In addition, two Sustainability Performance Targets were set: (i) total photovoltaic installed capacity and (ii) solar energy sales to total energy sales ratio.
• Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD): In November 2022, Towngas, together with its parent company The Hong Kong and China Gas Company, published a Climate- and Nature Directive Guide, making it the first enterprise in Hong Kong to address the TNFD framework and the business’s impact on ecology and biodiversity. Within the Guide, the group has also disclosed the potential risks and opportunities arising from climate change as recommended by the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Affinity continues to support Towngas Smart Energy’s transition into an integrated clean energy provider, through active involvement and close collaboration with management.

SSG.com

SSG.com is the e-commerce platform of Korea’s #1 hypermarket and #2 department store chains. As part of ongoing efforts to institutionalize its ESG program, Affinity has partnered with management in 2021 to assemble a dedicated ESG working team and establish an ESG committee at the board level, to ensure oversight of its ESG program. In terms of environmental initiatives, SSG.com has implemented the following:

• Reuse packaging: SSG.com is the first e-commerce player in Korea to utilize reusable cooler bags for its deliveries, which are more environmentally friendly than styrofoam and cardboard packaging.
• Reduce disposable items: SSG.com has incorporated bags made with recycled boxes discarded from their E-mart stores, across 100 packing centers. These bags are made from 30% recycled paper, certified by the FSC ("Forest Stewardship Council"), in three different sizes to cater to different order volumes to prevent excessive packaging.
• Eco-friendly materials: SSG.com has replaced chemical refrigerant with eco-friendly ice-packs made from water and paper.

Further, SSG.com holds promotions and events to support more ethical and local consumption habits:

• In September 2022, SSG.com held an 'Ugly Fruits and Vegetables Exhibition with Farmers." The event aimed to help local Korean farmers, who were affected by typhoons and heavy rains, to sell flawed (but still very much edible) fruits and vegetables at a discount. This stabilized produce prices and avoided edible produce from going to waste. SSG.com assisted farmers by purchasing the produce directly from then and selling them in Seoul where 50% of the nation's population is concentrated.
• In December 2022, SSG.com launched a “Lab Grown Diamond” specialised marketplace to promote the sale of ethical diamond-alternatives. During the festive season in December, SSG.com witnessed a three-fold increase in sales from customers aged between 20- to 30-year-old, and of which 40% are new customers to SSG.com. Following the positive response, in February 2023, SSG.com launched a Valentine’s Day promotional event to offer up to 35% discount on best-selling lab-diamond jewellery.

Affinity continues to work in close collaboration with SSG.com on eco-friendly initiatives.