Experience Sharing on Cathay Financial Holdings' Carbon Management Platform



On June 1, 2024, the Green Finance Technology Section of Cathay Financial Holdings' Digital Data and Technology Development Center (referred to as the "Data Tech Center") held a seminar titled "Experience Sharing on Building Cathay's Carbon Footprint Management Platform" at the Institute of Information Management, National Central University. The seminar was conducted by four lecturers, who detailed Cathay Financial Holdings' efforts and achievements in developing its carbon management platform.

The session began with an opening by Section Chief Zhang Bi-yun. Deputy Manager Huang Yu-ching then discussed how multiple companies, including Cathay Financial Holdings, have incorporated carbon inventory and carbon footprint into their internal operations to address government sustainability and green strategies. She emphasized that carbon footprints must include all carbon coefficients throughout the process, not just for products but also for services, such as insurance policies from Cathay Life Insurance. The Data Tech Center developed the GaaS (Green as a Service) Cathay Carbon Management Platform to help the group and its subsidiaries address greenhouse gas inventory needs in a digitalized, systematic, and standardized way and to solve issues related to existing carbon calculation and reduction strategies.

Project Manager Mo Jie-chung followed by presenting the evolution of Cathay Financial Holdings' climate change strategies. Cathay adheres to a sustainability vision of "Leading Green Finance, Creating a Sustainable Future," with the goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Mo emphasized that improving greenhouse gas inventory efficiency is the first step towards achieving net-zero carbon emissions, and Cathay aims to progressively meet its milestones each year.

Finally, Deputy Manager Yeh Pei-lan used a practical case from Cathay's life insurance services to detail the carbon footprint inventory analysis process. She started by asking the students how many insurance policies they had and then explained the details of the current inventory process and the challenges faced during implementation, such as data collection difficulties, dispersed information, and changes in regulatory requirements. To address these challenges effectively and in real-time, Cathay Financial Holdings developed the GaaS Carbon Management Platform, which uses technologies such as web scraping, OCR processing, and dashboard monitoring to achieve 80% automation, significantly enhancing carbon management efficiency.

The seminar greatly inspired the students, who actively engaged with numerous questions. One student, reflecting on their own company, asked, "For a small to medium-sized enterprise that provides only services, such as a warehousing business, how can it most quickly achieve the government's proposed carbon reduction targets?" Deputy Manager Yeh responded that even in service industries, operational processes still use hardware equipment, and the procurement department is the fastest place to start reducing carbon. The two-hour seminar not only broadened their understanding of carbon management platforms but also sparked more interest and involvement in green technology among aspiring youth. By advancing green finance and the establishment of carbon management platforms, Cathay Financial Holdings has not only created value for itself but also set a benchmark for the industry. The Green Finance Technology Section of Cathay Financial Holdings expressed their hope to continue such sharing sessions to help more people understand and participate in environmental sustainability actions, promoting sustainable business practices together.
 
 



Figure 1: Professor Hsu Wen-chin from the Department of Information Management, National Central University, introduces the speakers from Cathay Financial Holdings.
 

Figure 2: Deputy Manager Huang Yu-ching from the Digital Data and Technology Development Center, Cathay Financial Holdings, discusses carbon emissions and carbon inventory.
 

Figure 3: Project Manager Mo Jie-chung from the Digital Data and Technology Development Center, Cathay Financial Holdings, presents on green finance strategies.
 

Figure 4: Deputy Manager Yeh Pei-lan from the Digital Data and Technology Development Center, Cathay Financial Holdings, answers student questions.
 

Figure 5: Professors from the Department of Information Management, National Central University, with the speakers from Cathay Financial Holdings.
 

Figure 6: Group photo.
 

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