59% of SME CEOs Say "ESG Will Have a Significant Impact on Their Companies"

Six out of ten CEOs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) believe that ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) will have a significant impact on their companies.

According to an 'ESG Awareness' survey conducted on June 24 by education company Hunet, targeting 188 CEOs of small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies, the majority of CEOs showed strong interest in ESG. 'Very interested' (59%) and 'somewhat interested' (34.4%) accounted for over 90%. Only a small portion responded with 'neutral' (4.4%) or 'not very interested' (2.2%).

58.9% of respondents answered that ESG would have a significant impact on their companies. Specifically, 'significant' (35.6%), 'moderate' (33.3%), and 'very significant' (23.3%) were the major responses. This was followed by 'small' (5.6%) and 'very small' (2.2%).

The average score for how prepared CEOs think their companies are for ESG management was 2.7 out of 5. The distribution was '3 points' (32.2%), '4 points' (21.1%), '2 points' (20%), '1 point' (16.7%), '5 points' (5.6%), and '0 points' (4.4%).

The ESG area of greatest interest was 'E' (47.8%), followed by 'S' (42.2%) and 'G' (10%). The most difficult ESG area to apply was 'E' (42.2%), followed by 'G' (35.6%) and 'S' (22.2%).

The reasons SMEs find it difficult to introduce ESG management (multiple responses allowed) included 'lack of professional personnel' (46.7%), 'lack of information' (43.3%), 'insufficient investment budget' (42.2%), 'lack of interest from management' (41.1%), and 'lack of interest from employees' (38.9%).

The reasons for attempting to introduce ESG (multiple responses allowed) showed 'social responsibility' (85.6%) as the top response. This was followed by 'corporate and brand image' (45.6%) and 'reflected in corporate evaluations' (34.4%). Other reasons included 'customer requests' (17.8%), 'tax and policy benefits' (14.4%), 'requests from partner companies' (10%), and 'requests from investors' (5.6%).

Among Korean companies, SK, Yuhan-Kimberly, LG, POSCO, and Samsung were frequently cited as companies perceived to be performing well in ESG management.

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