GS Retail Launches ESG Promotion Committee "ESG is the Key to Sustainable Management"

Launch of ESG Promotion Committee on the 2nd... Expanding Roles in Sustainable Management and Community Contribution
CEO to Serve as Chair of ESG Control Tower... Company-wide ESG Activities and Synergy Creation
"This Year, We Will Strive to Obtain Environmental Management Certification, Expand Eco-friendly Products and Packaging, and Maintain the Highest Grade in the Win-Win Growth Index"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] GS Retail is launching an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Promotion Committee.

On the 2nd, GS Retail announced at a management meeting held at its headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, that it has organized the ESG Promotion Committee and established goals to practice sustainable management while expanding its role as a contributor to the local community.

The ESG Promotion Committee will oversee GS Retail's existing organizational units related to eco-friendliness, social contribution, and governance improvement, serving as a CEO-direct control tower to facilitate organic collaboration and synergy.

Vice Chairman and CEO Hyunsoo Heo was appointed as the chairman, with President Yoonseong Cho, Vice President and Head of Strategy Division Jinseok Oh, Executive Director and Head of MD Division Jongsu Kim, Managing Director and Head of Management Support Division Kyungsu Han, Managing Director and Head of HR & General Affairs Division Yongha Lee, and Managing Director and Head of External Cooperation Division Youngwoo Lee appointed as committee members.

GS Retail set key focus areas for this year, including obtaining environmental management certification (ISO14001), expanding the development of eco-friendly products and packaging materials, maintaining the highest grade in the Win-Win Growth Index, and reporting ESG activity reports to the board of directors once every six months through consultative body activities, aiming to receive a comprehensive A grade in ESG evaluations.

GS Retail has continuously engaged in activities such as launching the industry's first label-free private brand (PB) bottled water, pursuing resource circulation partnerships with Black Yak, and introducing eco-friendly biodegradable straws. Starting this month, it plans to lead the establishment of an eco-friendly consumption ecosystem by changing containers of high annual consumption products such as ice cups and lunch boxes to materials that are easier to recycle.

To reduce energy consumption, the company will expand the application of its self-developed remote store management system (SEMS) to all stores by 2022. It plans to implement future-oriented activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at stores by increasing the use of eco-friendly renewable energy such as solar power.

While maintaining its status as the top company in the Win-Win Growth Index, a first in the distribution industry last year, GS Retail plans to continue win-win management with partner companies by commercializing its private brand "Yours," which has strong brand power, with a wider range of small and medium manufacturers. It also intends to further develop governance improvement activities, such as enhancing management transparency by separating the roles of CEO and chairman of the board since November last year.

Additionally, GS Retail encourages company-wide participation and mindset enhancement by requiring employees to complete ESG-related training at the level of legally mandated education, including sexual harassment prevention and personal information protection.

Hyunsoo Heo, Chairman of the GS Retail ESG Promotion Committee, said, "ESG management activities are the key to a safe environment for our children and sustainable management, and they must be prioritized across all work areas. We will strengthen eco-friendly activities so that changes and practices through our platform of over 15,000 stores lead to consumers' participation in ethical consumption, and we will make various efforts to fulfill our role as a contributor to the social essential network."