CJ CheilJedang "Sustainability Is Not an Option but a Necessity"... Publishes 'Sustainability Management Report'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] CJ CheilJedang announced on the 3rd that it has published the ‘2020 Sustainability Management Report,’ which contains last year’s ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management achievements and this year’s strategies.

Published for the seventh time this year, the report focused on emphasizing CJ CheilJedang’s sincere commitment to reaching the sustainability management goal of ‘Nature to Nature.’

In his greeting, CEO Eunseok Choi stated, “At a time when the whole world is passing through a long dark tunnel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘sustainability’ is not a choice but a necessity and an important topic for overcoming the crisis,” adding, “We will do our best to become a company trusted by consumers, shareholders, and all stakeholders, centered on the Sustainability Management Committee and consultative bodies.”

Unlike last year’s report, which only included the CEO’s message, this year’s report added messages from 11 executives related to sustainability management. Executives responsible for research and development, raw material procurement, production, packaging, communication, human resources, and legal affairs pledged to practice the core values of ‘health and safety’ and ‘sustainable environment’ across the entire value chain.

Under the theme of ‘Health and Safety,’ a major achievement introduced was the establishment of the ‘CJ Nutrition Design Guidelines,’ which consider customers’ health. According to the guidelines, the nutritional quality of existing products is continuously evaluated, and upper limit standards for calories and five nutrients (fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sugars, and sodium) are set and applied to new products such as the healthy convenience food ‘The Bibigo.’

Next-generation food materials were also introduced. Based on CJ CheilJedang’s fermentation technology, the plant-based fermented seasoning material ‘Taste Enrich’ was recognized as a clean-label material without additives or chemical processing and is supplied to over 100 companies in 31 countries worldwide.

Under the theme of ‘Sustainable Environment,’ significantly improved eco-friendly achievements compared to the previous year were introduced. CJ CheilJedang reduced potential waste and cut a total of 5,577 tons of waste last year through circular resource certification, which is 7.7 times better than the previous year. By reducing the use of plastic raw materials in packaging and increasing recycling rates, 1,019 tons of plastic were reduced last year, resulting in a 1.6-fold improvement from the previous year with a reduction of 1,527 tons of carbon dioxide.

Additionally, to protect the environment, the Brazil plant declared that it will no longer purchase soybeans produced in the Amazon starting this year, and facilities were installed to switch the fuel used for producing lysine, an amino acid for feed, from conventional natural gas (LNG) to biomass.

The CJ CheilJedang Sustainability Management Report was prepared according to the international reporting standard GRI Standards and was recognized for accuracy and reliability by the verification agency Lloyd’s. The report is also available on the company’s website, and an English version is provided for communication with overseas stakeholders.

Meanwhile, CJ CheilJedang has been included in the ‘Asia-Pacific’ index of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for six consecutive years, the first in the domestic food industry, and was selected as the best honorable company for win-win growth for five consecutive years, the only one in the domestic food industry, by the Fair Trade Commission and the Win-Win Growth Committee. In addition, it received the industry’s only A grade in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) ESG evaluation in areas such as product packaging, food safety risk management, and providing healthy food.

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