INVESTOR INFO

MERIDA ESG REPORT

• Merida ESG  report(EN)_2022
• Merida ESG  report(EN)_2023
• Merida ESG  report(EN)_2023 ASSURANCE STATEMENT

Message from the President

          Sustainability concerns, like the ever-changing seasons, persist and evolve
continuously, both locally in Taiwan and globally. In 2015, on the 70th anniversary
of the United Nations, the 'Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development' was announced, focusing on people, the planet, prosperity, peace, and
partnerships. It aims to establish an inclusive society, protect human rights, promote
gender equality, safeguard Earth's resources, and ensure economic growth, among other
sustainable development goals. In Taiwan, the Financial Supervisory Commission has also
released the 'Corporate Governance 3.0 -Sustainable Development Roadmap', hoping
to collaborate with Taiwanese companies to advocate for the planet, preserve available
resources, and contribute to sustainability efforts.
          Over the past year, MERIDA has made significant progress towards environmental
sustainability. In addition to continuing its stewardship of the Yuanlin Agro-Industrial
Ecological Park Air Quality Purification Zone, which received the prestigious High
Distinction Award from the Environmental Protection Administration, MERIDA also
continued its tradition of organizing the Changhua Classic 100K cycling event. In addition,
MERIDA commissioned a large-scale solar power generation system from Tatung Forever
Energy in 2023, which is expected to produce over 1.3 million kWh of green energy annually,
equivalent to 10% of MERIDA's total electricity consumption, with a carbon reduction effect
equivalent to 39 hectares of forest. Moreover, the Company has been actively reducing
pollution emissions internally, achieving a remarkable 26% reduction in energy intensity
from 2020 to 2022. MERIDA plans to implement the ISO 50001 energy management system
and obtain certification by 2024, demonstrating our commitment to energy conservation,
carbon reduction, and green energy.
          In the future, we aspire to progressively implement the policies set by the Company
and align with the government's guidelines in all three aspects of Environmental (E), Social
(S), and Governance (G), advancing steadily on the path to sustainability. As the saying
goes, ‘The exuberant years of life will not return, the morning of the day does not repeat
itself. Seize your time and brace yourself up, for time does not stop to wait for you’, as time
passes, never to return, we must seize the limited time we have, racing against nature,
hoping for the day when darkness fades and light blooms, endeavoring to truly transform
the world, safeguard the Earth, and uphold lasting peace.

Sustainability Policies and Promises

          With regard to responsible business practices, MERIDA not only maintains smooth
communication channels with its creditors, employees, consumers, suppliers, communities,
or other stakeholders of the Company, but also respects and protects their legitimate rights
and interests, and also set up a dedicated“Stakeholders”section on the Company website.
In the event of infringement of the stakeholders’legitimate rights and interests, the Company
will uphold the principle of integrity and handle them appropriately. In addition, to implement
human rights protection, the Company meticulously abides by the Labor Standards Act, the
Act of Gender Equality in Employment and other employment-related laws and regulations.
For instances, MERIDA does not hire children under the age of 15 as employees. In the case
of childbirth, MERIDA provides paid maternity leaves. MERIDA also establishes or discloses
preventive measures, complaints, and disciplinary measures against sexual harassment
besides prohibiting restrictions on the basis of gender, religion, age, race during recruitment
and interview, etc. MERIDA has yet to adopt the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Code
of Conduct and the relevant human rights policies, hence has not implemented the Human
Rights Due Diligence (HRDD). Nevertheless, MERIDA intends to introduce the relevant policies
in the future and is now progressively planning for the preparation to adopt HRDD.
          Furthermore, MERIDA has also joined forces with suppliers to implement the
sustainable development policies including environmental protection, human rights
protection, and resources recycling. During suppliers’selection, MERIDA gives priority to
suppliers who implement human rights requirements and policies. To state MERIDA’s position
on this, the Company will revise the“ Third-party Vendors Application Form”in 2023, whereby
preparation of the ESG Report will be one of the criteria for the suppliers’ selection, as well
as to include ethical corporate management principles and anti-corruption clauses in the
procurement contracts. In the future, MERIDA will gradually make planning for the relevant
policies to extend the concept of ESG to all third-party vendors and fulfill our corporate
social responsibility.
          The Company has worked out the Regulations on Prevention, Complaint and
Punishment of Sexual Harassment at Workplace in accordance with the Act of Gender
Equality in Employment and the Regulations for Establishing Measures of Prevention,
Correction, Complaint and Punishment of Sexual Harassment at Workplace, so as to provide
a work environment free of sexual harassment and to protect the rights and privacy of the
persons involved. If any of the employees is proven to be guilty of sexual harassment, the
Company would decide the punishment in accordance with the Company’s rules and relevant
regulations, subject to the seriousness of the situation.
          The abovementioned Regulations has been published on the Company’s online
platforms for the employees’reference. To prevent sexual harassment, the Company
organizes education and training from time to time and posts the latest information on
bulletin boards. Each department also strengthens the promotion of prevention of sexual
harassment and complaint channels through departmental meetings and internal documents,
so that all employees are able to comprehend how the Company value and protect the
employee’s rights and interest, so as to implement gender equality and to maintain an
egalitarian and safe workplace. MERIDA conducts pre-employment education and training
for the newcomers, which includes training on the awareness against sexual harassment
prevention. However, the education and training were suspended in 2022 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic and is to resume in 2023. In the event of causing negative impacts on the
economy, environment, and people (including human rights), the Company has the following
measures for improvement in place:
          1. Pursue sustainable development and proactively implement corporate social
              responsibilities, so as to build transparent and effective communication with the
              stakeholders, continuously review the effectiveness of the Company’s implementation
              of corporate social responsibilities through understanding and responding to the
              stakeholders’concerns in a timely manner, and promptly refining the relevant policies
              and systems.
          2. In addition to maintaining interaction with stakeholders through various channels
              in daily business activities, MERIDA has set up a“Investor Info”section on the
              Company’s website, as well as a dedicated“Stakeholders”section on the Company
              website, to offer yet another channel of communication between the stakeholders
              and the Company, and has the dedicated department responding appropriately to
              the comments and feedback from stakeholders.
          In order to implement and promote sustainable development, MERIDA has in 2022
established the ”MERIDA ESG Promotion Committee ”to work on corporate governance, risk
management, corporate social responsibilities, climate change policies, and environmental
protection. The Committee is also dedicated to grasping the global sustainable development
trends and concentrating on sustainability issues such as corporate governance,
environmental protection, corporate social responsibilities, etc., and integrating the operation
targets to form a strategic sustainable direction to execute relevant programs. Our Chairman
being the highest management representative of the Committee is the person who oversee
the formulation of sustainable development policies and concrete implementation plans
and leads the teams to boost the implementation efficiency of all departments so that every
sustainable management work can be implemented efficiently, which will enhance the
overall effectiveness of implementing corporate sustainability and social responsibility across
departments, allowing sustainable business practices to be more effectively implemented.
Our President, Tseng Shang-Yuan is the chairperson of the”MERIDA ESG Promotion Committee
”while our Chairman acts as the advisory member and supervisor of the implementation
progress.