[ESG Management Era] Safety Headquarters Directly Under CEO, Institutional Innovation Centered on Pohang and Gwangyang Steelworks

At the unveiling ceremony of the 'Corporate Citizenship Charter Media Art' held last July at the POSCO Center in Seoul, Choi Jeong-woo, Chairman of POSCO (right), is explaining the Corporate Citizenship Charter.

POSCO recognized the importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and established a dedicated organization, the ESG Group, within the Corporate Citizenship Office last year to systematically manage it. Corporate Citizenship is a management philosophy POSCO introduced in 2018, its 50th anniversary, and it had been proactively preparing for ESG management since then.

Following the announcement of the Corporate Citizenship Charter in 2019, last year POSCO set a practical guide to help all employees practice the Corporate Citizenship management philosophy in their work and daily lives, enhancing the execution of ESG management. Earlier this year, the ESG Committee was officially launched under the Board of Directors. The ESG Committee is responsible for reviewing and overseeing the implementation of plans related to low-carbon policies addressing climate change, as well as safety and health.

Additionally, to fundamentally prevent major accidents and strengthen safety management, the safety organizational structure was expanded and reorganized. The Safety and Environment Headquarters was newly established directly under the CEO and President (Head of the Steel Division), with the Safety and Health Planning Office under it. This office is in charge of innovating the group-wide safety and health system and policies, focusing on the Pohang and Gwangyang Steelworks. The Environmental Planning Office develops and leads the group’s mid- to long-term environmental strategies, including carbon neutrality, and ensures their phased implementation.

The 2020 Corporate Citizenship Report, published on June 5th to mark Environment Day, contains the ESG achievements pursued at the company level. It includes urgent tasks and response strategies for environmental protection, as well as the management outcomes of Corporate Citizenship. This year, POSCO specifically presented response strategies and mid- to long-term management goals for key ESG issues considered important by stakeholders such as shareholders and partners. For the first time in the domestic industry, a factbook was added that clearly organizes major performance data for each ESG area.

Choi Jeong-woo, Chairman of POSCO, stated, "The upcoming era of great transformation is a time of rapid change where crisis and opportunity coexist, and the importance of ESG will be further highlighted. We will not only internalize the Corporate Citizenship management philosophy but also develop it into a new corporate management model and continuously innovate to establish ourselves as a leading ESG management company in the steel industry."

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