BGF Retail Receives Presidential Award for Corporate Innovation from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry

On the 9th, at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, Park Jin-gyu, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Lee Geon-jun, CEO of BGF Retail, are posing for a commemorative photo.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] BGF Retail, the operator of CU, announced on the 10th that it received the highest award, the Presidential Award, at the 28th Corporate Innovation Awards held on the 9th at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul.

The Corporate Innovation Awards is an event jointly hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It discovers excellent cases of corporate management innovation and widely promotes them throughout the industry. Starting this year, ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) management indicators were added to the evaluation criteria to assess corporate social responsibility.

BGF Retail explained that it received high recognition for practicing the ESG management vision of "BGF, a good friend to the Earth and society" to fulfill its social and economic responsibilities and for achieving results and laying the foundation for sustainable future growth.

BGF Retail has set mid- to long-term ESG management goals such as ▲building an eco-friendly value chain ▲creating a co-prosperity ecosystem ▲promoting a healthy and happy life, and is actively implementing them. They proposed a next-generation eco-friendly convenience store model with Green Stores certified by the Ministry of Environment, introduced no-label private brand (PB) bottled water, developed coffee grounds (coffee residue) decks, adopted eco-friendly packaging for PB snacks, and labeled recycling grades on PB products to create an eco-friendly consumption environment for customers.

As the first in the industry, they installed a solar power plant on the rooftop idle space of their logistics center, achieving an annual reduction of about 600 tons of greenhouse gases, and also worked on improving eco-friendly infrastructure such as introducing electric delivery vehicles, installing eco-friendly lighting facilities, and developing next-generation logistics systems. By next year, they plan to complete the establishment of a greenhouse gas inventory for all affiliates and stores and disclose it transparently.

They also showed achievements in building a community safety net. Since 2017, through the missing prevention reporting system "iCU," started in cooperation with the National Police Agency, more than 100 children, intellectually disabled persons, and dementia patients have returned home, and the national disaster emergency relief system "BGF Bridge" has supported emergency relief supplies in over 40 cases.

To revitalize the domestic economy, they promoted co-growth with local communities by developing convenient meals using famous local specialties, presenting a good media commerce model linked with broadcasting programs such as "Pyeonstorang," and promoting local tourist attractions using PB products. BGF Retail also received a comprehensive A grade for two consecutive years in ESG management evaluations conducted by the Korea Corporate Governance Service (KCGS).

Additionally, BGF Retail introduced an appropriate inventory ordering system and popular product stock notification system using information and communication technology in the retail distribution sector to maximize sales opportunities, and actively worked to improve user convenience by securing potential future customers through virtual space convenience stores. They led the K-convenience store boom through overseas expansion to Mongolia, Malaysia, and other countries, and pioneered industry trends by developing the industry's first PLCS (Private Label Convenience Store) specialized financial convenience store and releasing collaborative products such as bear, sheep, and horse craft beers.

Geonjun Lee, CEO of BGF Retail, said, "BGF Retail will continue to strive to create greater social value with all franchise owners and employees united in accordance with the corporate identity of being a good friend of the company."

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