SK Bioscience Publishes ESG Report

SK Bioscience announced on the 28th that it has published the "2023 Sustainability Management Report" with the purpose of systematically implementing ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) management activities and transparently disclosing the results. This is the second publication following last year, and the company explained that it regularly creates Korean and English reports containing ESG management goals and achievements every year to share with domestic and international stakeholders.

Cover of SK Bioscience's '2023 Sustainability Management Report' [Photo by SK Bioscience]

This year's report was prepared in accordance with global standards by reflecting the revisions of the 'GRI 2021,' the international sustainability management reporting standard provided by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). In particular, it introduced the 'Double Materiality Assessment' for the first time, which evaluates both the impact a company has on society and the environment and the financial impact of sustainability management on the company.

To conduct the Double Materiality Assessment, SK Bioscience carried out media research, stakeholder surveys, and benchmarking within the same industry, and utilized evaluation indicators applied to international standards specialized for the bio industry to derive a pool of 24 issues. Then, from both financial and social/environmental perspectives, the importance and influence were assessed, and 11 key issues corresponding to priorities were selected, with detailed status, goals, and plans included in the report.

In the report, SK Bioscience also disclosed performance by area focusing on three major priority tasks: climate change response, human rights impact assessment, and supply chain ESG support. In the environmental area, to respond to climate change, the company established the '2031 Net Zero Roadmap' to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2031 and analyzed the financial impact according to the net zero (carbon neutrality) scenario. In the social area, to strengthen human rights management, a human rights impact assessment was conducted for all employees, and a response roadmap was established and planned for implementation regarding the major issues identified. Regarding supply chain ESG support, an online platform called 'Click ESG' was introduced, enabling affiliates to self-assess their ESG management level, creating diagnostic indicators and conducting risk diagnosis for 46 companies.

The report also explained that transparency and efficiency of governance were enhanced by disclosing the status of board and committee operations along with a newly established Board Skills Matrix (BSM) for board competency evaluation.

SK Bioscience aims to simultaneously achieve economic value (EV) and social value (SV) through active investment and advancement of ESG management and to grow into a company that meets global standards. To establish a solid sustainability management system, the company plans to proactively apply relevant domestic and international regulations and disclosure standards.

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