Korea Forest Service and ESG Companies Promote 'Overseas Greenhouse Gas Reduction'

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korea Forest Service is promoting the activation of domestic environment, social, and governance (ESG) companies and overseas greenhouse gas reduction projects.

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 18th that it will hold a workshop on activating overseas greenhouse gas reduction projects with about 20 domestic companies, including those in the forest sector ESG agreement, on the 28th.

So far, seven companies have participated in the forest sector ESG agreement: POSCO (July 2021), Hyundai Department Store Group (August 2021), Yuhan-Kimberly (September 2021), SK Group (October 2021), Dunamu (February 2022), LG Group (April 2022), and Woori Financial Group (May 2022).

At the workshop, the Korea Forest Service will explore ways for forest sector ESG companies to cooperate in the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Plus (REDD+) project to respond to climate change and achieve the 2030 national greenhouse gas reduction target (NDC).

REDD+ is an activity that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by preventing deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries. Previously, the government reflected REDD+ in the Korean Corporate Governance Service’s ESG Best Practices Guidelines last year, which has increased domestic companies’ interest in REDD+.

In this regard, the workshop will include presentations on each company’s ‘ESG Management Strategy and REDD+ Outlook’ by SK Group, Lotte Group, Yuhan-Kimberly, and Woori Financial Group.

These companies have been selected for the Korea Forest Service’s newly launched ‘2022 Private Sector Overseas Greenhouse Gas Reduction Project (REDD+) Feasibility Study Support Project’ and are currently conducting feasibility studies. They plan to specifically share the forest sector ESG project details they have pursued so far with other companies considering ESG strategies.

The Korea REDD+ Association, which will serve as a hub for companies entering the REDD+ business, will also attend the workshop. At this event, the REDD+ Association will announce how it plans to contribute to companies’ participation in REDD+ going forward.

Park Eun-sik, Director of International Cooperation at the Korea Forest Service, said, “Corporate ESG management has now become a ‘must-have’ rather than a choice,” adding, “We plan to continuously develop and implement activation policies so that companies can contribute to ESG through the forest sector.”

He added, “By having the government and companies jointly participate in forest protection activities such as tropical rainforests in developing countries, we aim to simultaneously address the climate crisis, fulfill companies’ voluntary carbon neutrality commitments, and promote economic development.”

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