LG Holds First ESG Committee Meeting... Appoints Lee Soo-young as Chairperson

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] LG ESG Committee held its first meeting on the 1st and appointed outside director Soo-young Lee, an expert in the environmental field, as the chairperson.

The LG ESG Committee is composed of all outside directors including Chairperson Lee, Jong-soo Han, Sung-wook Cho, Sang-heon Kim, and LG Vice Chairman Young-soo Kwon. Chairperson Lee previously served as the CEO of Eco Management Korea Holdings and the CEO of Kolon Eco One.

To enhance the committee's expertise, the LG ESG Committee decided to establish two 'external advisory groups.' The expert advisory group is chaired by Professor Jae-hyuk Lee of Korea University’s Business Administration Department and consists of ESG experts active in academia, institutions, and research institutes.

Additionally, an 'MZ Generation Advisory Group' will be formed, chaired by Hak-jong Lee, investment partner at Sopung Ventures, and composed of young activists in the environmental and social sectors as well as social venture leaders. These advisory groups provide recommendations on LG’s ESG management strategy and support the committee’s activities by conveying global trends and stakeholders’ opinions and ideas.

LG plans to promote ESG management with the goal of contributing to the shared future of human society, including the next generation, through the process of preparing for the future via business promotion and technology development.

Lee Soo-young, Chairperson of LG ESG Committee / Photo by LG

Based on this, the LG ESG Committee will set mid- to long-term strategic tasks and goals for each ESG field to achieve sustainable growth, review major agendas such as business and technology investments from an ESG perspective, and report to the board of directors, thereby serving as a practical decision-making body. In this regard, Kwang-mo Koo, Chairman of LG Group, stated at the regular shareholders’ meeting in March this year, "We will strive to become a sustainable LG that earns trust and love from diverse stakeholders through the establishment of an ESG management system."

Previously, within LG Group, LG Uplus and LG Energy Solution also appointed outside directors Hyun-joo Je and Mi-nam Shin, both experts in the ESG field, as ESG committee chairs, respectively.

Meanwhile, recently LG affiliates have been making mid- to long-term investments from an ESG perspective. LG Chem issued approximately KRW 2 trillion worth of ESG bonds in the first half of this year, including a USD 1 billion (about KRW 1.1 trillion) global green bond (bonds for eco-friendly business purposes) to invest in eco-friendly projects in the petrochemical and advanced materials sectors. In addition, in May, LG Chem contributed KRW 150 billion as a core investor in KBE (Korea Battery & ESG), a fund for nurturing battery and eco-friendly promising companies.

LG Energy Solution became the first in the global battery industry to simultaneously join RE100 (committing to 100% renewable energy for electricity consumption) and EV100 (transitioning corporate vehicles to eco-friendly vehicles) in April. LG Electronics also issued KRW 190 billion worth of green bonds in May to build four research facility buildings within LG Science Park in Magok, Seoul, as eco-friendly buildings.