Professors Ok Yong-sik and Lee Jae-hyuk of Korea University, co-presidents of the International ESG Association, successfully held the world's first ESG forum on the theme of environment and sustainable business in collaboration with Nature on August 30. They announced that a special issue summarizing the results of the 2022 Global ESG Forum, which reviewed the ESG status of the Korean government and companies, was published in the September 29 issue of Nature.
Dr. Kim Soon, Strategic Partnership Manager at Nature Korea Office, said, “We are very pleased to publish a special issue (Advertorial) reviewing the ESG status of the Republic of Korea on September 29, 2022. This special issue, which provides a comprehensive overview of major government agencies and companies related to ESG, will be a great opportunity to widely promote Korea’s ESG status worldwide.” She added, “In particular, we expect that domestic companies included in this special issue will greatly help enhance their international recognition.”
Professors Ok Yong-sik and Lee Jae-hyuk, co-presidents of the International ESG Association, emphasized, “Korean companies should move beyond a passive stance of simply complying with existing ESG rules and take a more proactive role in establishing new ESG-related regulations.” They also stated, “Through this forum, we will build a global knowledge network composed of global scholars and practitioners related to ESG, providing a foundation of collective intelligence on the present and future of ESG management needed by Korean companies in the ESG era.”
They highlighted that it is the first time Nature has hosted an ESG forum and emphasized that holding the ‘2022 Global ESG Forum’ will be a unique opportunity to promote Korean companies’ ESG management worldwide by leveraging the Nature brand and reputation. They also revealed that discussions are underway with the International ESG Association on ways to share Korean researchers’ achievements globally through the publication of the Korean edition of Nature.
Meanwhile, this special issue detailed the ESG best practices (BP) of leading Korean companies including K-ESG, LG Electronics, Hyundai Motor Company, and LG Energy Solution. Notably, the International ESG Association introduced the concept of plastic washing related to the environmental (E) pillar for the first time worldwide. They reported the development of a scientific tool to evaluate greenwashing, where some companies mislead consumers by portraying biodegradable plastics that decompose only under limited conditions as fully biodegradable in natural environments such as soil, in response to the UN Plastic Phase-out Agreement and ESG assessments. Additionally, to commemorate the publication of this special issue, Korea University Business School hosted an international conference on “Plastics and ESG Management” with international organizations such as IUCN, overseas experts, and CEOs of major companies.
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