Lotte Chemical Emphasizes the 'Essence of Business'... Promotes Special Safety and Environmental Enhancements

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Lotte Chemical announced that it will focus on investing approximately 500 billion KRW in the safety and environmental sector over the next three years. The company plans to redefine the safety and environmental standards of all domestic and overseas business sites to a global top level and implement measures to strengthen safety and environment, prioritizing safety and environment as the "essence of the business."

In line with the restart of the NC (Naphtha Cracking Center) process at the Daesan plant, CEO Kim Gyo-hyun announced special measures to strengthen safety and environment, emphasizing thorough awareness reform and behavioral changes regarding safety and environment among employees.

CEO Kim stated, "Safety and environment are the reason chemical companies exist and the very 'essence of the business.' Any business or performance that does not guarantee safety and environment will not be tolerated for any reason, and especially, businesses where serious industrial accidents occur will have their performance unrecognized."

He also said, "There will be no trivial compromises to protect safety and environment," adding, "We will make 2021 the 'first year of the safest company' by promoting safety and environmental strengthening measures, and through this, become the safest company and an eco-friendly chemical materials company that practices eco-friendly values and contributes to human society," showing strong determination.

The 'four major focus measures' announced by Lotte Chemical regarding organization, safety investment, system improvement, and internal capabilities are as follows.

First, over the next three years, more than 500 billion KRW will be invested to expand the response capability to safety and environmental risks by strengthening processes and systems based on DT (Digital Transformation), such as safety work management systems and predictive maintenance systems for equipment. The company plans to significantly raise the level of safety and environmental compliance among employees, including the CEO.

To advance the safety and environmental system, the number of safety and environmental specialists at each business site will be increased by about twice, and the reliability of safety and environment at business sites will be secured through the operation of an advisory group composed of external experts focused on process equipment safety.

Through improvements in safety and environmental systems, performance will not be recognized for business sites where serious accidents occur, and the company will promote co-growth in safety and environment by raising the self-management level of partners, including support for partners to obtain certification from safety specialized institutions.

Lastly, to strengthen the capabilities of internal employees, the company plans to develop and mandate technical courses for process safety to continuously nurture in-house experts. At the same time, it will mandate safety and environmental qualifications for field managers and support safety manager training for partners to enhance safety capability awareness.

Based on the announced plan, Lotte Chemical stated that it will promptly strengthen capabilities such as investment in safety and environmental facilities and operational system reforms at domestic business sites to prevent safety and environmental accidents in advance. The company will also spread enhanced regulations and systems to global business sites and do its best to establish a work environment where safety is prioritized in all activities.

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