Recent Publications

Taiwan Economic Research Monthly Valorizing Agricultural ESG: From Compliance to a Natural Capital Economy ‧ As IFRS disclosure standards and supply chain decarbonization requirements intensify, agriculture, spanning carbon sinks, biodiversity, and food security, is becoming a strategic resource for enterprises facing Scope 3 and ecological pressures. This reflects a shifting institutional landscape. TNFD (2023) and the Kunming-Montreal Framework now require disclosure of nature-related impacts, while Taiwan's ESG matching guidelines and first ESG assessment have taken effect, placing agricultural sustainability at the core of compliance. Based on 119–121 listed companies' sustainability reports (2022–2024), this feature identifies a "nature turn" in agricultural ESG. Food firms are driven by supply chains, financial firms by investment exposure, and electronics firms by client demands, calling for sector-specific strategies. The feature then examines three project types: carbon sequestration, covering pathways and practices across forest, soil, and ocean sinks; circular economy, using Taiwan's leisure farms to show value creation from resource circularity to cross-sector symbiosis; and conservation, with pangolin habitat restoration and raptor recovery as public-private models delivering verifiable outcomes. Together, these address enterprises' shift from declared intent to measurable execution. When agricultural ESG links food safety with sustainability and builds consumer trust, it generates brand premiums that break through market homogeneity, mapping ESG's evolution from mandate to economic transformation.