NH Nonghyup Bank Joins Equator Principles to Address Climate Change... Accelerating ESG Management

The Chairman of the NH Nonghyup Bank ESG Promotion Committee (Deputy CEO Ji Junseop of the Agriculture and Green Finance Division) is giving the opening remarks.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] NH Nonghyup Bank announced on the 19th that it will promote joining the Equator Principles to actively respond to environmental protection and climate change.

The Equator Principles are a voluntary agreement among financial institutions not to provide funding for projects exceeding 10 million dollars that cause environmental destruction or violate the human rights of local residents. Currently, 116 major global banks from 37 countries worldwide are participating.

On the 17th, Nonghyup Bank held an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Promotion Committee meeting to discuss matters related to joining the Equator Principles. As a follow-up, it plans to announce a consulting tender within this month.

The ESG Promotion Committee was newly established last year in the second half as part of the reorganization of ESG-related organizations and serves as the control tower for Nonghyup Bank’s ESG management. In addition to the Equator Principles membership, the committee also reviewed the current status of ESG initiatives.

This year, Nonghyup Bank, together with NH Nonghyup Financial Group, began with a coal phase-out declaration and participated in K-RE100, aiming to convert to 100% renewable energy use, becoming the first domestic bank to do so. It also submitted an application for K-EV100 to the Ministry of Environment to achieve 100% conversion to electric and hydrogen vehicles, continuing its swift progress in ESG management.

Ji Joon-seop, Vice President of the Agriculture and Green Finance Division, said, “2021 is the inaugural year for the implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement, and the role of banks in achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 is very important.” He added, “Nonghyup Bank will take the lead in creating a sustainable Korea by expanding its pioneering ESG management.”

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