"Global ESG Policy Response"... Dongbanwi and KOTRA Join Hands to Support SMEs

Implementation of ESG Education and Support Programs
for Domestic Companies

The Win-Win Growth Committee announced on the 31st that it has signed a business agreement with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) to "promote ESG management among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and support their global growth."

This agreement is a reorganization of the "Business Agreement to Promote ESG Management among Partner SMEs" signed in 2022. It was established to support SMEs that lack sufficient information on complex overseas regulatory requirements and to strengthen practical global expansion support for SMEs demonstrating excellent ESG management performance.

Amid rapidly changing global policies, such as the EU's move to implement the "Omnibus Package" to simplify sustainability-related reporting obligations and the spread of anti-ESG policies centered on the U.S. Trump administration, domestic SMEs are struggling to respond promptly to these external regulatory changes.

Through this agreement, the two organizations plan to expand existing support and specify ESG support programs. These include ▲providing preferential KOTRA overseas expansion services to "ESG Excellent SMEs" selected through the Win-Win Growth Committee’s partner ESG support projects ▲jointly hosting ESG education and forums for domestic companies ▲sharing domestic and international ESG policy trends, including major countries such as the U.S. and EU ▲operating training courses to respond to ESG due diligence in global supply chains.

In particular, the Win-Win Growth Committee and KOTRA plan to jointly promote the "Europe ESG Supply Chain Benchmarking Overseas Training" in June. The program will offer hands-on experience at advanced ESG management sites, including Schott in Germany, which applies renewable energy in its manufacturing sites, and will provide a substantial program supporting the establishment of supply chain due diligence strategies with local ESG specialized institutions such as the German ISSB, centered on KOTRA overseas trade centers.

Lee Dal-gon, Chairman of the Win-Win Growth Committee, said, "This agreement is meaningful in that it practically supports SMEs actively responding to ESG," adding, "The Win-Win Growth Committee will continue to strengthen the cooperative system with KOTRA so that SMEs can effectively respond to and grow with the global ESG trend."

Kang Kyung-sung, President of KOTRA, said, "Recently, ESG management has undergone changes in speed and depth, but it remains an indispensable core value for sustainable management," and added, "Through this agreement, we will cooperate with the Win-Win Growth Committee to support SMEs in leveraging ESG management achievements as a lever to expand overseas expansion opportunities."

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