“Building a Sustainable Food Business Environment” CJ Freshway Publishes Its First ESG Report

First in the Food Ingredient Distribution Industry... Application of International Standards and External Verification Conducted

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] CJ Freshway announced on the 30th that it has published its first ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) report. The report, released the day before, contains the activities and key achievements of the past three years aimed at practicing sustainable management.

Through this report, CJ Freshway aims to transparently disclose its journey so far, share future directions, and strengthen communication regarding sustainable management activities. The report was prepared in accordance with the international sustainability reporting standard GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) and enhanced its credibility by undergoing third-party verification through an independent organization.

Over the past three years, CJ Freshway has consistently taken proactive steps to address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and water usage. Last year, it led carbon emission reduction efforts by introducing electric cargo vehicles for the first time in the food ingredient distribution industry and focused on resource circulation activities such as converting ice packs used in product distribution to reusable ones.

Environmental management was also practiced in the group catering business and manufacturing sectors. Various upcycling activities were carried out, such as transforming paper rice bags discarded at cafeterias into upcycled bags and collecting coffee grounds to produce eco-friendly flowerpots. Additionally, biodegradable packaging was applied to products of the kids’ food ingredient brand ‘Ainuri’.

Various efforts in social and governance aspects were also introduced. CJ Freshway obtained and has continuously maintained the safety and health management system certification (ISO45001) since 2019 to ensure a safe working environment for all employees. Regular risk assessments are conducted to prevent accidents in advance. At the organizational level, fair evaluation and compensation systems, lifecycle support programs designed for employees’ work-life balance, and flexible work systems such as the hub office ‘CJ Work On’ were introduced.

Going forward, CJ Freshway plans to carry out various activities aligned with three strategic directions: ▲Eco-friendly distribution environment ▲Healthy food culture ▲Society growing together. As the largest food ingredient distribution company in Korea, it intends to lead waste reduction and carbon neutrality efforts, expand sustainable products and services to promote the value of a healthy food culture, and actively support the happiness and growth of society and internal members.

CJ Freshway established an ESG committee within its board of directors in December last year and recently strengthened its independence by appointing an outside director as the chairperson. Based on this, it plans to systematically implement its sustainable management strategy.

Jung Sungpil, CEO of CJ Freshway, said, “We have laid the foundation for sustainable management and experienced various achievements, big and small, and have learned how companies and society can maintain a healthy relationship. We aim to become a food business company that creates a better future and will carry out sustainable management that resonates with all by closely communicating with diverse stakeholders.”

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