SK Chairman Chey Tae-won: "Global Cooperation Must Be Strengthened to Overcome Environmental and Social Crises"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SK Chairman Chey Tae-won reiterated the necessity of global cooperation centered on ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) to overcome global environmental and social crises at the Shanghai Forum held on the 18th. Earlier this month, Chairman Chey, who drew attention by proposing global cooperation plans centered on ESG at the Tokyo Forum and Beijing Forum, is continuing his role as a global 'ESG leader.'

Chairman Chey made this statement in his opening speech at the 'Shanghai Forum 2020,' jointly hosted by the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, the Choi Jong-hyun Academic Institute, and Fudan University in China, under the theme 'The Coming Decade, A New Journey for Asia.'

Now in its 15th year, the Shanghai Forum was held online considering the COVID-19 situation, and Chairman Chey participated as the chairman of the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies and the Choi Jong-hyun Academic Institute, scholarship foundations established by SK.

In his opening speech, Chairman Chey emphasized, "Humanity is now facing a great challenge of global environmental and social crises compounded by the pandemic," adding, "These challenges require an inclusive and harmonious response from the global community."

He continued, "Although international cooperation such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement is underway, environmental and social issues remain unresolved," proposing that the global community jointly cooperate by finding systems and management measures that fundamentally change human behaviors and practices that have caused the crisis.

As a specific cooperation plan, Chairman Chey stressed, "Above all, companies must achieve fundamental changes through ESG management that pursues eco-friendly businesses, social value, and trustworthy governance."

Along with this, he suggested ▲ the evolution and development of measurement and reward methods for solving social problems ▲ social inclusion based on empathy.

Chairman Chey particularly noted, "As the ESG value measurement system advances, changes in corporate management strategies and behaviors will accelerate," introducing that SK, together with BASF, Deutsche Bank, and others, has formed the nonprofit organization VBA (Value Balancing Alliance) to create international standards for measuring social value (SV), and is conducting related research cooperation with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of China (SASAC).

He also stated, "SK is implementing the Social Performance Incentive (SPC) system, which financially rewards the social value created by social enterprises," adding, "In the future, we expect an ESG mechanism where ESG values are priced by the market and traded among investors to emerge." He further expressed hope that the Shanghai Forum would present a solid roadmap to lead global cooperation and recovery in the 'post-pandemic' era.

Oliver Hart, Harvard University professor and 2016 Nobel Laureate in Economics, said in his keynote speech, "Individual shareholders who seek to fulfill social responsibility are participating in corporate management and raising their voices to drive policy changes," and added, "An era will come within a few years when companies will have to ask shareholders how much profit they are willing to forgo to create a cleaner environment."

About 20 participants from academia, government, and international organizations attended this Shanghai Forum, including Pauli Lettomaki, Secretary-General of the Nordic Council of Ministers; Susan Thornton, former Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the United States; Xu Ningsheng, President of Fudan University; and Wei Shangjin, Professor at Columbia University.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.