'100% Member Participation' SK Innovation Volunteer Activities Summary... 10,358 Sessions · Total 26,100 Hours

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] SK Innovation announced on the 2nd that a total of 7,382 members of its affiliates participated in volunteer activities over the past year.

The volunteer activities they carried out amounted to 10,358 sessions, totaling 26,100 hours. This is equivalent to a plane flying at 1,000 km/h circling the Earth 515 times.

Sanhaejinmi (山海眞美) Plogging

In June last year, to mark Environment Month, SK Innovation conducted the ‘Sanhaejinmi (山海眞美)’ plogging as a practical ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) activity to address the issue of plastic waste. The Sanhaejinmi plogging is an eco-friendly campaign embodying the will to protect the mountains (山) and seas (海) from plastic waste, a major cause of recent environmental pollution, to create a truly (眞) beautiful (美) Earth.

The Sanhaejinmi campaign contributes to establishing a virtuous cycle of plastic waste by using collected plastic waste to produce upcycled products at social enterprises and donating them to vulnerable groups. It also signifies that anyone can easily practice environmental protection in daily life.

The campaign spread mainly in local communities where SK Innovation’s business sites are located, such as Incheon, Ulsan, Seosan, Jeungpyeong, and Jeju. In September last year, it expanded into a nationwide volunteer activity called ‘Hello, Sanhaejinmi, We Will Join You’ to respond to the climate crisis and realize a carbon-neutral society by 2050.

About 250,000 citizens participated in the campaign, spending 111,327 hours cleaning mountains, seas, and urban streets, collecting 52,930 kg of waste.

Building a Social Safety Net for Marginalized Neighbors

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won stated in his New Year’s letter early last year that “a new entrepreneurial spirit that empathizes with society and works together to solve problems is needed.” Based on this, SK Group affiliates launched the ‘One Meal Sharing On(tact) Project’ to support vulnerable groups who struggle even to secure meals and small food businesses facing survival crises due to sharp sales declines.

From January 26 to February 3 last year, SK Innovation completed the ‘One Meal Sharing On(tact) Delivery Ceremony’ at business sites nationwide, including Seoul, Ulsan, Incheon, Seosan, and Jeungpyeong, providing about 60,000 lunch boxes and food kits from January to June to approximately 1,000 vulnerable people such as elderly living alone and homeless individuals. This was done in cooperation with 12 social welfare organizations, including local governments, the Comprehensive Support Center for the Elderly Living Alone, and the Daejeon Metropolitan City Shelter Counseling Center.

SK Innovation Ulsan Complex held the ‘2021 SK Happy Kimchi Sharing Event,’ gifting a total of 2,620 boxes of kimchi to 2,200 low-income households and 70 social welfare facilities in the region. The ‘SK Happy Kimchi Sharing Event’ began in 2004 and marked its 18th year this year. It holds great significance as citizen volunteers participate with hopes of bringing hope and warmth to neighbors.

Members of SK Incheon Petrochem participated in the walking campaign ‘Hi Walk Together,’ organized by public institutions, companies, and residents in Seo-gu, Incheon, to help fire-vulnerable groups. They delivered fire extinguishers and standalone fire detectors to 300 low-income and elderly living alone households in the area.

The fourth ‘Hi Walk Together’ campaign involved members of participating organizations, including SK Incheon Petrochem, and local residents. When the target number of steps was reached, donations were made to build a social safety net. The campaign, held over two weeks in November last year, saw about 1,500 participants achieve a total of 153 million steps, exceeding the target of 5,000 steps. Notably, about 70% of the steps were contributed by ordinary citizens, expanding SK Incheon Petrochem members’ volunteer activities into broader citizen participation, which was meaningful.

SK Innovation affiliate members filled the battery of hope by participating in ‘Overcome COVID-19! Mind Quarantine Cheer Volunteer’ Season 2 (hereafter Cheer Season 2) to support marginalized neighbors during the COVID-19 situation. Members made plant pot kits for companion plants, which help relieve stress and provide emotional comfort, and delivered them with messages of encouragement to elderly living alone and children with developmental disabilities to help overcome COVID blues.

Additionally, SK Incheon Petrochem personally assembled and delivered Hope Growth Play Kits for children with developmental disabilities in Incheon, who face difficulties in rehabilitation therapy and education due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, for use at home.

Volunteer Activities Including Overseas Members

On June 22 last year, about 20 SK Geocentric members working in Shanghai, China, participated in the ‘Sanhaejinmi’ plogging activity at Dishui Lake, an artificial lake near their business site, sharing their commitment to environmental protection.

Recently, SK IE Technology’s Changzhou branch in China conducted plogging activities at Jintan Yushan Village in Changzhou. Thirty-two local members walked around parks near the business site, picking up discarded plastic and cigarette butts, leading efforts for environmental protection and coexistence with the local community.

In the same June, SK Innovation’s European battery market forward base in Kom?rom, Hungary, saw local electric vehicle battery production corporation SK Battery Hungary members engage in volunteer activities for the community. About 140 members of SK IE Technology’s Poland branch also carried out ‘Sanhaejinmi’ plogging activities near Pogoria Lake in D?browa G?rnicza, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland.

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