Reporter: Xu Xiaoxiao Editor: Chen Junjie
On April 30, 2024, Giant Network (002558. SZ, share price of 11 yuan, market value of 21.709 billion yuan) released its 2023 annual social responsibility report. According to the Brand Value Research Institute, the latest social responsibility report of Giant Network has a total of 11 pages, which is mainly qualitative description and insufficient quantitative data.
Giant Network responded to the reporter of "Daily Economic News" and said: "As a listed company, Giant Network attaches great importance to fulfilling its social responsibilities, closely links the company's own development with social progress, and effectively coordinates the company's benefits with social benefits, short-term interests and long-term interests, and its own development and social development, and continuously enhances the company's value." At the same time, Giant Network said that the company adheres to independent research and development, focuses on the boutique strategy, promotes the development of the industry with innovation for many times, and takes the "longevity" game as a strong driving force to promote the sustainable development of the company.
However, in April 2024, Giant Network attracted attention and controversy due to underage consumption and refunds. In an interview with the National Business Daily, Wang Kai, deputy dean of the China ESG Research Institute at the Capital University of Economics and Business, suggested that "Internet companies should actively assume the responsibility of promoting social welfare, including protecting underage users, improving the refund process, and strengthening user education and publicity." ”
The report is 11 pages long and lacks key quantitative data
The latest social responsibility report of Giant Network has a total of 11 pages, and compared with the previous year's report, some of the data has been updated, mainly announcing the number of shareholders' meetings, the composition of the three meetings, the number of documents disclosed (103) and shareholder returns. However, in general, the report is mostly qualitative, and lacks quantitative data on key issues and related charts.
From the perspective of the report structure, the relevant parts of social responsibility include six parts: the protection of shareholders' rights and interests, the protection of employees' rights and interests, the protection of the rights and interests of suppliers, customers and consumers, environmental protection, social welfare and poverty alleviation.
Regarding the protection of shareholders' rights and interests, Giant Network said that it has a complete internal control system (revised 7 systems and organized to participate in the training of regulatory agencies), the operation of the three committees, and the fulfillment of information disclosure obligations in accordance with regulations. However, key governance structures such as the gender composition of senior management, remuneration policies, audit processes, and corruption and bribery prevention measures were not disclosed.
In terms of the protection of employees' rights and interests, Giant Network proposed measures such as establishing an employee incentive mechanism, increasing internal referral rewards, and creating a comfortable office environment, but the training duration, age structure, gender structure, employee turnover rate and other contents were not mentioned.
In terms of social welfare, it mainly donated to schools and poor counties, such as donating learning utensils worth more than 20,000 yuan to Erlang Primary School in Chenghai Town, Lijiang City, Yunnan Province and Penn No. 3 Middle School in Dali City; donated 100,000 yuan to Yuanyang County.
Giant Network replied to the interview with the reporter of "Daily Economic News", indicating its own social responsibility fulfillment goal: "As a listed company, Giant Network attaches great importance to fulfilling social responsibilities, closely links the company's own development with social progress, and effectively coordinates the company's benefits with social benefits, short-term interests and long-term interests, and its own development and social development, continuously enhances the company's value, and strives to achieve the healthy and harmonious development of the company and its employees, the company and society, and the company and the environment. Make more contributions to the development of the industry and social progress. ”
According to the Brand Value Research Institute, some leading companies have relatively simple ESG-related reports. In response to this phenomenon, Wang Kai said in an interview with the reporter of "Daily Economic News": "Some companies may not realize the importance of ESG reporting to enhance their corporate image, attract investment, and meet the expectations of stakeholders, and they may think that ESG reporting is only an additional cost, rather than an investment that can bring long-term benefits." ”
Expert: Internet companies also need to pay attention to environmental responsibility
In the environmental protection part of the company's sustainable development, Giant Network emphasizes that it strictly abides by relevant laws and regulations, has no illegal behavior, and practices the concept of green development. In terms of specific environmental protection measures, the content is exactly the same as that of the previous year.
Giant Network 2023 Social Responsibility Report (Source: Shenzhen Stock Exchange)
Giant Network 2022 Social Responsibility Report (Source: Shenzhen Stock Exchange)
Based on this phenomenon, Wang Kai believes that although Internet companies do not directly cause major environmental problems, they still need to bear environmental responsibilities in terms of data center energy consumption, e-waste disposal, and the sustainability of the industrial chain. He suggested that Giant Network could fulfill its environmental responsibility by improving the energy efficiency of its data centers, using renewable energy, and paying attention to the accounting and disclosure of Scope 3 emissions.
Wang Kai also believes: "For Internet companies, data security is of paramount importance. Giant Network needs to ensure the security of user data, prevent data leakage and abuse, and comply with relevant data protection regulations. In addition, companies should be transparent about user privacy and ensure that users have full control over their data. ”
Responding to the key aspects of sustainable development: Shi Yuzhu attaches great importance to AI
Regarding the most important link in the sustainable development of Internet enterprises, Giant Network replied to the reporter of "Daily Economic News" that an Internet company should focus on improving its core competitiveness to maintain sustainable development, continue to make breakthroughs in technology and R&D system innovation, and at the same time, attach importance to talent construction and inject fresh strength into ensuring the continuous innovation of enterprises.
At the same time, Giant Network said that it adheres to independent research and development, focuses on the strategy of high-quality products, promotes the development of the industry with innovation for many times, and takes making "longevity" games as a strong driving force to promote the company's sustainable development.
Giant Network said that in 2023, the company will continue to make efforts in technological innovation and application. Shi Yuzhu, chairman of Giant Network, has always attached great importance to the layout of AI. In addition, in the R&D and operation of games, Giant Network encourages innovation to maintain vitality and competitiveness in the fierce market competition and achieve corporate sustainable development goals. Among them, "The Original Journey" was supervised by Shi Yuzhu, chairman of the company, and lasted three years of research and development, with a turnover of more than 300 million yuan in the first month after its launch, a turnover of more than 1.5 billion yuan throughout the year, and a total of more than 15 million new users.
The popularity of game products has brought a steady stream of revenue to Giant Network. At the same time, it also brings the protection of consumer rights and interests, especially the protection of the rights and interests of minors. In the latest social responsibility report, Giant Network said that the company's online game revenue mainly comes from the virtual prop charging model, and the report only briefly mentions the protection of consumer rights by strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights.
More than 1,000 "Black Cat Complaints" have caused controversy due to minor consumption and refunds
In April 2024, the media reported that Giant Network had an incident of "unsuccessful refund of 16,000 yuan for the minor recharge game 'Space Kill'", and then signed a refund agreement with the intervention of The Paper. The reporter of "Daily Economic News" noticed that on the well-known complaint platform "Black Cat Complaint", there are 1,225 complaints related to Giant Network, most of which are related to the refund of minors.
Image source: Black Cat Complaint Platform
Giant Network replied to the reporter of "Daily Economic News": "The company has been practicing the concept of green games, and has made efforts in the field of protection of minors for many years, including the implementation of the real-name registration system, full access to the real-name authentication system, strict control of minors' recharge, and the creation of a parental monitoring platform for minors. In addition, the company has set up a game addiction prevention team to strictly review in-game information, standardize promotional materials, and curb excessive consumption by players. ”
From an ESG perspective, how should similar Internet companies better establish a sound protection mechanism for minors?
Wang Kai gave his own advice: "Internet companies should actively assume the responsibility of promoting social welfare, including protecting underage users, improving the refund process, and strengthening user education and publicity. ”
"First of all, companies should strengthen real-name authentication and age verification measures for game users to ensure that minors cannot easily bypass system restrictions to top up," he said. Second, businesses need to establish a clear and easy-to-operate refund process, so that parents can easily apply for a refund when minors inappropriately top up. Finally, through education and publicity inside and outside the game, enterprises can enhance the awareness of users, especially underage users, about reasonable gaming and consumption. ”
National Business Daily