SK Innovation Optimizes ESG Activities to Align with Stakeholders' Expectations

SK Innovation has published its 2023 Sustainability Management Report reflecting stakeholder demands and the latest ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) trends, and plans to advance its ESG activities.

SK Innovation announced on the 21st that it has made the 2023 Sustainability Management Report available on its official website.

This year’s report includes a ‘Special Page’ that incorporates the latest ESG trends and the results of a double materiality assessment* to strengthen communication with key stakeholders such as major investors, ESG rating agencies, and civic groups. The double materiality assessment, conducted for the second time this year following last year, moved beyond survey-based methods by considering results from stakeholder meetings to identify SK Innovation’s key ESG issues. The double materiality assessment refers to a method of selecting major issues by considering both the impact a company has on the environment and society and how environmental and social factors affect the company’s financials.

Accordingly, the Special Page features the latest ESG trend of mandatory disclosure, presenting the status of compliance with global sustainability information disclosure regulations. It also newly includes the establishment of a biodiversity promotion system, diversity & inclusion (D&I), and strengthened management of supply chain ESG risks.

In fact, to respond to global disclosure regulations such as the European Union (EU)’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), SK Innovation operates a dedicated task force (TF) to support six European subsidiaries under SK Innovation. Additionally, considering the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) reporting guidelines, SK Innovation has established a biodiversity promotion system.

Alongside this, this year’s report was prepared with a focus on providing integrated information on ESG management activities to enhance the utilization of ESG information. The report was reorganized and optimized around key agendas in the Environmental, Social, and Governance areas, including strategies, achievements, and roadmaps.

SK Innovation’s existing ESG promotion strategy, the GROWTH strategy, is introduced in the form of key highlights. Major achievements from last year include SK Innovation’s environmental product/service social value (SV) performance reaching KRW 514 billion, an increase of KRW 14.9 billion compared to the previous year, and low-carbon research and development (R&D) investment performance rising to KRW 308.4 billion, up KRW 184.8 billion from the previous year. The GROWTH framework stands for Green Innovation (expansion of low-carbon portfolio and business models), Road to Net Zero (achieving net zero), Outstanding SHE Mgmt. (world-class safety, health, and environmental management), Winning the Trust (strengthening compliance management), Together with Society (growth with stakeholders), and Happiness for All (enhancing employee happiness).

Kim Yong-su, Head of ESG Promotion at SK Innovation, stated, "We will proactively respond to domestic and global ESG disclosure mandates while continuously engaging with various external stakeholders on core ESG issues such as biodiversity and supply chain risk management as we move forward."

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