Environmental Performance and Decarbonization Challenges Across Taiwan’s Industries: An Industry-Level Analysis Using ESG Environmental Indicators

Abstract

In response to the growing demand for environmental responsibility, companies are encouraged to publish sustainability reports intensively. This study investigated the environmental performance of Taiwanese companies between 2016–2023 based on the divergence between management effort and real carbon results. The study uses 18,054 data from the Taiwan Economic Journal (TEJ) database to analyze greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy management indicators, and waste management indicators. The results show a persistent gap between organizational efforts and environmental outcomes. While many companies have strengthened environmental governance and improved energy management practices, these improvements have not translated into significant reductions in GHG emissions, particularly in carbon-intensive industries. Results indicate that TESG ratings may not fully capture real-world environmental impacts, especially regarding GHG reductions. This highlights the need to complement ESG ratings with outcome-based environmental metrics to better facilitate net-zero goals.