SK Corp. Achieves Highest MSCI ESG Rating 'AAA' for the First Time

ESG Best Leader Company Evaluation

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] SK Inc. has been recognized as an ESG leader company by achieving the highest level ratings from both Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), a globally prestigious ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) rating agency, and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI).

On the 27th, SK Inc. announced that it received the highest rating of ‘AAA’ in ESG management evaluation from MSCI. This is the first time SK Inc. has received an AAA rating from MSCI.

The AAA rating is the highest grade awarded only to companies ranking in the top approximately 7% among a total of 3,077 evaluated companies. This year, only two domestic companies, including SK Inc., received the AAA rating. SK Inc. had previously received the ‘AA’ leader rating in 2020 and 2021.

SK Inc. has incorporated ESG into its management philosophy and invested in innovative technologies to achieve carbon neutrality (Net Zero), such as hydrogen, SMR (Small Modular Reactor), and sustainable food. In the IT business, it has expanded ESG solution services and increased the use of renewable energy, thereby enhancing Net Zero execution capabilities and contributing to the expansion of the ESG base.

Through the ‘Governance Story,’ a governance innovation strategy to strengthen board management beyond global standards, SK Inc. has worked to enhance the expertise and diversity of its board of directors. It has also implemented proactive shareholder-friendly policies, such as introducing a shareholder return policy to repurchase more than 1% of its market capitalization annually until 2025.

Based on these efforts, SK Inc. also achieved inclusion in the World index for the 11th consecutive year in the DJSI evaluation announced by S&P Global earlier this month. DJSI evaluated 2,555 companies worldwide this year, and only 326 companies, about 12%, were included in the World index. Among them, 24 are Korean companies. Notably, SK Inc. ranked first with the highest score in the Industrial Conglomerates Industry group.

Last November, SK Inc. also received an A+ rating for three consecutive years from the domestic rating agency Korea ESG Standards Institute.

Park Dongju, Head of Portfolio Planning at SK Inc., said, “While reflecting ESG strategies in our management activities as an investment company, we are making multifaceted efforts to create stakeholder value, including building an ESG online platform. We will further focus on ESG-centered business model innovation and board-centered management to become a model case not only domestically but also internationally.”

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