The upgrade reflects the high recognition Tongcheng Travel has gained from the international rating agency and the capital market in respect of its ESG commitment and performance.
HONG KONG SAR – Tongcheng Travel Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries, an innovator and leader in China’s online travel industry, has received an upgraded AA rating in MSCI‘s latest Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (“ESG”) rating released in late September 2022. AA is currently the highest rating accorded to hotel and travel industry players. The upgrade reflects the high recognition Tongcheng Travel has gained from the international rating agency and the capital market in respect of its ESG commitment and performance.
As early as 2021, Tongcheng Travel established an ESG and Data Security Committee to formulate the Company’s ESG vision, goals and strategies on the corporate organizational level to comprehensively improve its ESG capabilities. Tongcheng Travel has long been recognized for its ESG performance and has previously been included in the “MSCI Emerging Markets ESG Focus Index” and the “Hang Seng Climate Change 1.5°C Target Index”. It has also been bestowed awards such as “Emerging Responsible Enterprise of the Year” 1, “Corporate ESG Practice of the Year Award” 2 and “Green Practice Pioneer Project” 3 from various organizations.
According to the MSCI report, the upgrade to AA is based on Tongcheng Travel’s strong improvements in labour management, user privacy and data security.
In the latest MSCI ESG rating, Tongcheng Travel ranks amongst the top 5 industry players in the hotel and travel industry with respect to its labour management. It is committed to establishing harmonious labour relations, protecting the legal rights of employees, providing an equal, diversified, healthy and safe working environment, and establishing an up-to-date training system under the value of “Pursuing Innovation” to enable employees’ career advancement. In 2021, more than 95% of its employees received training, with an average 7.3 hours of training per capita.
In terms of privacy and data security, Tongcheng Travel has established a comprehensive user information security management system by formulating rules and regulations such as the “Administrative Measures for the Information Security of Tongcheng Travel” in accordance with the information security requirements of relevant laws and regulations. Tongcheng Travel has obtained ISO 27001 information security system certification. At the same time, it has formulated the “Tongcheng Travel User’s Privacy Policy” to clearly explain to users how the platform manages the process of collecting, storing, and using their personal information. The Company has also set up a complaint channel and feedback mechanism for user privacy issues.
Tongcheng Travel said that the company will continuously improve ESG-related policies and practices, further promote ESG governance standards, and take practical action to fulfill its social responsibility to provide greater value to users and society.
MSCI ESG Ratings aims to measure a company’s management in financially relevant ESG risks and opportunities. It uses a rules-based methodology to identify industry leaders and laggards according to their exposure to ESG risks and how well they manage those risks relative to peers. It also rates equity and fixed income securities, loans, mutual funds, ETFs and countries.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
