CJ Group Establishes ESG Committee to Accelerate ESG Management

Top Decision-Making Body for Sustainability Management Under the Board of Directors
Separate ESG Advisory Committee Led by External Experts

[Asia Economy, Reporter Lim Hyesun] CJ Group has completed the establishment of an ESG governance (environmental, social, and governance decision-making system) framework for its holding company and three major affiliates, accelerating its ESG management initiatives.

On May 18, CJ Corporation announced that its board of directors had resolved to establish an ESG Committee. The newly established ESG Committee, operating under the board, will serve as the highest decision-making body for reviewing and approving ESG strategies and policies. The committee will comprise three members: CEO Kim Hongki of CJ Corporation and two outside directors. Two executives responsible for ESG (from the Finance and HR Operations teams) will participate as secretaries.

CJ has also completed the formation of an ESG Advisory Committee to review and advise on the group’s overall ESG policies. The advisory committee, chaired by former Constitutional Court Justice Mok Youngjoon, will pre-review agenda items to be submitted to the ESG Committee and provide comprehensive advice on ESG strategies and policies for affiliates.

Separately, CJ plans to operate a “CEO Council,” consisting of the holding company and affiliate CEOs, to discuss group-wide ESG cooperation strategies.

Major affiliates, including CJ CheilJedang, have also established their own ESG Committees and begun full-scale activities. CJ CheilJedang launched its Sustainability Management Committee under the board of directors on April 12, marking the start of these efforts. On May 6, CJ Logistics and CJ ENM also held board meetings and resolved to establish ESG Committees. Other affiliates are expected to introduce ESG Committees sequentially.

A CJ Group representative stated, “We will strive to become a company loved by all stakeholders by establishing our own ESG management system and actively practicing it to secure future sustainable capabilities.”

Meanwhile, in line with its founding philosophy of “business patriotism (Saeopboguk),” CJ Group has been making industry-leading efforts toward sustainable management even before the establishment of its ESG Committees. Notable examples include CJ CheilJedang’s development of eco-friendly new materials to reduce carbon emissions, CJ Logistics’ introduction of electric cargo trucks, and CJ ENM’s adoption of eco-friendly packaging materials in its commerce division.

CJ CheilJedang established a sustainable packaging policy in 2016 and has steadily implemented steps for ESG execution. Through its 3R packaging policy-Redesign (eco-friendly packaging design), Recycle (use of renewable materials), and Recover (use of nature-based eco-friendly ingredients)-the company changed the structure of Hetbahn containers and used 100% water-based refrigerants, reducing approximately 551 tons of plastic raw materials in 2019 alone. The company has also actively entered the “biodegradable plastic” business to fundamentally address the waste plastic issue. CJ CheilJedang has begun producing PHA (Polyhydroxyalkanoate), the only bioplastic material that biodegrades in all environments, and in April, for the first time in the world, applied it to the bundled packaging of its “Haengbokhankong Tofu” product. Additionally, the company has taken the lead in “environmental management” by declaring a “no deforestation” policy to minimize Amazon rainforest destruction.

CJ CheilJedang has received an A grade in the integrated rating from KCGS for three consecutive years since 2018 and, for the first time in the domestic food industry, has been included in the Asia-Pacific Index of the globally recognized Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for six consecutive years.