HMM Joins UNGC... "Strengthening ESG Management"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] HMM announced on the 6th that it has joined the United Nations Global Compact (UN Global Compact, hereinafter UNGC) to strengthen ESG management and fulfill its social responsibilities.

The UNGC is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative launched by the UN, with over 20,000 member companies from 165 countries worldwide participating. It is an international agreement urging companies to practice corporate social responsibility.

Member companies must comply with the 10 principles in four core areas of the UNGC: human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption. They are required to submit an implementation report (COP) once a year to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

With this UNGC membership, HMM plans to promote "responsible human rights management," one of the core ESG initiatives, to enhance company-wide ESG management capabilities.

Yoo Yeon-cheol, Secretary-General of the UNGC Korea Network, said, "HMM's joining of the UNGC, which declared the strengthening of environmentally friendly logistics services amid the mainstreaming of inclusive businesses considering marine ecosystems and biodiversity conservation, is encouraging," adding, "We ask that HMM continue to strive for corporate competitiveness through ESG management and the preservation of marine ecosystems."

An HMM official stated, "As the importance of ESG and human rights management increases, we are strengthening an ESG management system that meets global standards," and added, "Through this, we will fulfill our corporate social responsibilities and strive to become a global shipping company committed to sustainable management."

Meanwhile, HMM's efforts to realize ESG management have been recognized by various organizations. In 2022, it became the first in the domestic shipping industry to receive the "Gold" rating, which corresponds to the top 5%, in the global sustainability assessment by EcoVadis, an ESG management evaluation agency based in France. In the ESG evaluation by the Korea ESG Standards Institute, HMM received an overall A grade and an A+ grade in the environmental sector, corresponding to the top 1%.