Materiality

Our Materiality

As a business leader in Malaysia as well as Singapore, since its foundation in 2014, The Westwood Group has contributed to economic growth and social value creation by supporting the development of the Agarwood industry and promoting the value of generating revenue with environmental considerations in mind. At　the core of these efforts is our social mission to help enrich society through our expertise in plantation management and import and export, based on our founding principles and clearly stated in The Westwood Group’s Corporate Philosophy.

Environmental and social issues such as climate change and widening social disparities are becoming more serious. As a result, it is essential for economic growth to incorporate environmental and social considerations. A rich natural environment and a healthy social environment form the necessary foundation for economic and business development as well as people’s lives. Without such a foundation, it would not be possible to fulfill The Westwood Group’s social mission of helping to enrich society.

In the current situation surrounding the global and social environment, in order to contribute to the sustainable development of our clients and society as well as to maintain and improve corporate value, the ESG Committee took the lead in comprehensively reviewing management issues and key traditional ESG issues, identifying the issues as “Westwood Group Materiality.” We will continue to review the Materiality regularly, based on communication with our stakeholders.

Identification of Material ESG Issues in The Westwood Group

In 2018, The Westwood Group reassessed its material ESG issues using the method outlined below. In analyzing and assessing issues, we took account of the opinions of third parties, conducted hearings across internal departments and identified and specified the Group’s material issues.

Initiatives on ESG issues also contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For The Westwood Group, SDGs encourage us to continue and further enhance our unceasing activities since our foundation to “help to enrich society through our expertise in plantation management and import/export of agarwood raw materials and other products.” The most relevant goals have been identified as follows.

Material ESG Issues

Corporate governance	Strengthening corporate governance CSR management
Compliance	Legal compliance and reporting of violations Fair financial business practices Preventing bribery Preventing money laundering
Risk management	Enhancing and strengthening risk management systems Ensuring financial soundness and transparency Business resilience Social and environmental risk management
Contributing to sound and sustainable agarwood trees and agarwood plantation management	Offering high-quality financial services Products and services responding to environmental and social issues Customer protection and information security Improving financial literacy
Nurturing human resources with a respect for diversity	Nurturing human resources Diversity and inclusion Employee-friendly work environment Respecting human rights
Contributing to sustainable communities	Global CSR initiatives Communication with stakeholders

Targets

Corporate governance

To enhancing corporate value, strengthen and enhance corporate governance structure as one of the most important issues

Promotion of diversity within the Board of Directors

Compliance and Business Ethics

Build trust with society and protect and enhance corporate value with thorough compliance and raising employee awareness of the Code of Conduct

Compliance with the Code of Ethics of The Westwood Group

Contributing to sound and sustainable Agarwood farming

Through our core business, create a better future by addressing stakeholders’ needs and providing value added solutions

Conduct customer satisfaction survey every year and improve our services based on clients’ wishes in a bid to achieve highly satisfactory consultation Increase the number of green agarwood products, services and projects that help resolve social issues and promote approach to the SDGs Provide green education programs to customers of all ages and help them understand the nuances of sustainable practices and purchasing

Human resources

Diverse and talented employees are our greatest asset amid the changes in the environment, such as innovation and digitization. Make sure every employee can be active and successful in utilizing her/his capabilities and strengths, and provide high value-added services

Hire or promote more female managers by 2021 Periodically conduct surveys of all Group employees, monitor the status and make improvements

Contributing to sustainable society

Contribute to finding solutions to social and environmental issues through continuous cooperation with stakeholders

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions ─► FY 2025：Reduce CO2 emissions by 30% or more from FY2018/19 ─► FY 2030：Reduce CO2 emissions by 60% or more from FY2018/19 Expand the use of green energy