ICT Best Practice... SK Telecom Awarded 'Presidential Citation' for Sustainable Management Excellence

Utilizing ICT and AI Technologies in ESG Management

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] SK Telecom announced on the 1st that it received the Presidential Citation at the ‘2021 Sustainable Management Awards’ hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

SK Telecom’s exemplary practices, such as spreading ‘Network Equipment Strategic Usage Reduction (Single LAN)’, ‘AI Care Service for the Elderly’, and ‘Reusable Cup Usage Campaign’ based on ICT and AI technologies, had a positive impact. They are also strengthening board-centered management and energy-saving efforts.

SK Telecom contributed to reducing power consumption by utilizing Single LAN technology. They integrated and upgraded 3G and LTE network equipment to reduce power usage. This year, they were certified by the Ministry of Environment for greenhouse gas reduction, the first in the domestic telecommunications sector. They are promoting ESG management by introducing renewable energy to the ICT Infrastructure Center and pioneering the declaration of ‘RE100’ implementation in Korea.

SK Telecom’s ‘AI Care Service for the Elderly’, introduced for the first time in Korea, enhanced elderly safety and alleviated loneliness by utilizing the AI voice service ‘NUGU’. Starting from April 2019 in seven regions, the service has expanded to multiple areas. This year, they signed an agreement with the Fire Agency and SK Shieldus to advance an emergency rescue system based on AI speakers. Over the past two years, the care service has rescued 168 elderly people through ‘Emergency SOS’.

SK Telecom is also conducting a ‘Reusable Cup Usage Campaign’ in downtown Seoul and Jeju Island to reduce the use of disposable plastic cups, based on vision AI technology. In July, they launched the ‘Eco Jeju Project’ at Starbucks stores in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, and Starbucks Korea, promoting the use of reusable cups. Since November, they have started a ‘Reusable Cup Usage Pilot Project’ at about 20 coffee shops near Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu and Jongno-gu districts in cooperation with Seoul City.

This year, by strengthening ‘board-centered management’, SK Telecom elevated governance to a global standard. The board was reorganized and reinforced into five major committees responsible for future strategy, personnel and compensation, outside director candidate recommendation, ESG, and audit, ensuring the board functions as the highest decision-making body responsible for company management. Since 2012, SK Telecom has separated the roles of CEO and board chairman, and has maintained a majority of outside directors since 2009, before the amendment of the Commercial Act (Article 542-8, 2012) requiring outside directors to constitute the majority of the board.

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