From Baedal Minjok to Yogiyo... Hiring ESG Experts
Dedicated Departments Established One After Another... Coupang to Launch ESG Team Around September
Criticism of 'Showmanship'... "Focus on Improving ESG Ratings"
[Asia Economy Reporter Junhyung Lee] The delivery industry is putting great effort into recruiting ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) experts. This is based on the judgment that ESG, which has emerged as a ‘hot potato’ in the industrial sector, could become an essential management strategy in the future. The intense battle for dominance among delivery platforms has shifted its heat to ESG competition. However, there are also concerns that ESG management might end up being merely for show.
According to the industry on the 7th, the three major delivery apps?Baedal Minjok, Coupang Eats, and Yogiyo?have recently started recruiting ESG experts. Coupang, the operator of Coupang Eats, and Yogiyo have been hiring professionals to collect and manage ESG data and analyze related performance since October. Baedal Minjok is reported to have recently recruited an expert specialized in the ‘E (Environment)’ sector of ESG.
Establishment of ESG Departments Continues
Some delivery apps have also set up dedicated ESG departments. The frontrunner is Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baedal Minjok. Woowa Brothers established the Value Management Office (formerly the Partnership Cooperation Office), which is responsible for ESG management, in August last year. Currently, the Value Cooperation Office is led by Kwon Yong-gyu, former Senior Deputy Director of Naver’s Partnership Cooperation Office. Coupang, the operator of Coupang Eats, established an ESG team about three months after the fire at the Deokpyeong Logistics Center in June. This team is responsible for planning and managing ESG projects within Coupang and standardizing ESG indicators. An industry insider explained, "ESG management is an unstoppable trend across industries," adding, "Delivery platforms, where corporate image is crucial, have a relatively greater need for ESG management."
The reason delivery apps are focusing on ESG management lies in various industry risks. Labor issues such as delivery riders’ traffic accidents, as well as environmental issues like disposable containers and carbon emissions, act as business risks. In particular, rider fatalities can be fatal not only to the company’s image but also to ESG evaluations. The Serious Accident Punishment Act, which will be enforced next year, applies to riders, and the issue of coexistence with small business owners is also being highlighted daily, increasing the industry’s burden.
Another background is ESG disclosure. Earlier this year, the Financial Services Commission announced through the ‘Comprehensive Improvement Plan for Corporate Disclosure System’ that ESG disclosure will be gradually mandated according to company size.
"Delivery Apps Must Address the Issue of Single-Use Waste"(Seoul=Yonhap News) Park Dong-ju reporter = On the morning of the 2nd, at a press conference held by organizations including Green Union in front of Woowa Brothers in Songpa-gu, Seoul, participants urged the immediate introduction of reusable container services by delivery apps. 2021.9.2
pdj6635@yna.co.kr
(End)
＜Copyright(c) Yonhap News Agency, Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited＞
Labor Shortage is a ‘Hurdle’
However, some companies are reportedly struggling to find suitable candidates in the related fields. The domestic pool of ESG experts is small, and recently their market value has risen, with many expert-level talents being absorbed by capital markets such as securities firms and asset management companies. An official from an ESG evaluation agency said, "Securities firms and others started recruiting ESG experts at high salaries from early this year to reflect ESG indicators in investments," adding, "There are very few domestic experts with experience working at ESG evaluation agencies, and most have chosen to move to the capital market." He added, "Companies that cannot offer salaries comparable to the capital market say it is fortunate if they can hire even one ESG expert."
There are also concerns that such movements might amount to ‘ESG washing.’ The work of ESG experts being recruited by delivery apps is said to be skewed toward improving ESG evaluation scores. In fact, Yogiyo’s ESG expert recruitment notice listed as a preferred qualification "understanding of external ESG evaluations such as Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) ESG ratings." Coupang also described the ESG expert’s duties as "measuring ESG performance and related reporting." An industry insider said, "The poorer the disclosure content during ESG evaluation, the lower the score," adding, "It seems the main purpose of delivery apps is to select and disclose internal corporate information required by external ESG evaluation agencies."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
