Statement of the Management
Thank you for taking the time to peruse the 2024 "ESG Report" issued by HTC. We continue to follow the latest "Global Reporting Initiative Standards" and AA1000 standards Type II High Level of Assurance to report information disclosure to the general public and all stakeholders. The relationship communicates with HTC's commitment and achievements in reflecting social responsibility and moving towards sustainable development.
2024 proved another commercially challenging year, with decelerating growth in the consumer goods market amid a subdued global economy and inflation remaining above pre-pandemic levels. Despite this, HTC manifested good performance over the year, with product launches from all of our business areas that raised the bar of innovation and garnered wide recognition.
HTC continues to nurture the business units into viable companies with exciting growth potential, and our landmark collaboration agreement with Google on XR technology in early 2025 represents the first successful milestone in this strategy. This saw VIVE Systems merged into the VIVE Intelligent Systems business unit; enabling a more streamlined portfolio along with greater operational efficiency. We believe this strategic move will boost the development of the whole XR ecosystem, to the benefit of consumers and all players in this market. Our goal is to realize our vision of VIVE Reality through these open, connected, and intelligent partners.
By embracing cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and the metaverse, HTC aims to pioneer innovations that adhere to strict ethical standards, ultimately enhancing human life. Indeed, HTC was founded to create products that make people’s lives better. HTC’s numerous partnerships with innovative organizations around the world have sought to align with that purpose, such as enabling immersive education in schools and companies, or improving healthcare. In 2024, our partner Mynd Immersive launched the ‘Great American Elderverse’, an excellent initiative that is set to transform the lives of millions of older adults through the delivery of virtual reality therapeutics to hundreds of underserved senior care communities, powered by HTC VIVE’s XR devices. Technology being used for the good of humankind lies at the heart of HTC’s mission.
HTC earned continued global recognition of our carbon reduction strategies and the application of appropriate technologies on our path to net-zero by 2050. In 2024, HTC put in place six key carbon reduction strategies on its pathway to net-zero by 2050, and expanded its scope of greenhouse gas inventory and verification to include parent and subsidiary companies. Additionally, the company strengthened its ESG evaluation indicators, and further invested in renewable energy and smart management solutions, such as solar power systems.
For this, it earned a spot on the CDP Supplier Engagement Leaderboard (A grade), and again qualified for the FTSE4Good Index Series and a Silver Medal rating from EcoVadis. HTC became only the fifth Taiwanese high-tech hardware equipment company to pass the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) verification and receive approval for its net-zero target, and was the first company to win the “National Sustainable Development Award” for the last two years. HTC was also included in Taiwan’s Top 100 Sustainable Companies Awards. This is a remarkable achievement in just a few years.
HTC is committed to promoting a low-carbon value chain and creating a broader ecosystem that supports carbon reduction, and will continue to focus on innovation to achieve low-carbon transformation and a sustainable value chain.
Over our 28-year journey, HTC has continually reinvented itself — transitioning from smartphone pioneer to leading in virtual reality and now driving 3D virtual worlds and technologies. We have evolved from a hardware-centric company into a comprehensive metaverse ecosystem company, on the journey towards our vision of VIVE Reality.
HTC wishes to express our appreciation to our shareholders for their continued trust in our vision of shaping the future of technology in a manner that is both groundbreaking and responsible. In this rapidly evolving digital era, we will adopt a pragmatic and enterprising approach to continuously build our core competitiveness. With the right strategies, world-class talent, and innovative R&D capabilities, we are committed to driving HTC's next stage of growth. Actively collaborating with numerous global partners, we focus on environmental protection and innovative R&D, aiming to create a better life for people, move towards sustainable business operations, and create value for all stakeholders.
HTC
Chairwoman and CEO
Cher Wang