Kakao Publishes ESG Report '2022 Kakao's Promise and Responsibility'

Kakao announced on the 30th that it has published its ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) report titled ‘Kakao’s Promise and Responsibility 2022.’ This is the third edition of the report.

Kakao defined ESG in 2020 as ‘Kakao’s Promise and Responsibility for a Better World’ and has been publishing reports containing various ESG activities every first half of the year since 2021. The full report is available on Kakao’s corporate website, and voluntary disclosures are also made through the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system.

This report consists of ▲a greeting and introduction to Kakao ▲2022-23 Highlights ▲implementation status and promotion system according to Kakao’s four ESG focus areas (solving social issues, growing together, digital society, sustainable environment) ▲a special page titled ‘Kakao’s Commitment’ covering the response to the October 15 data center fire ▲activity details in each of the environmental, social, and governance areas ▲and an appendix with performance data.

In the environmental area, Kakao established climate crisis response principles in April last year and announced the ‘Active Green initiative,’ expressing its commitment to actively addressing environmental issues. Kakao is pursuing net zero with the goal of achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. To this end, Kakao has released the ‘Kakao Carbon Index,’ which converts its environmental contribution activities into carbon reduction amounts, and plans to build and advance a greenhouse gas emission management system.

In 2022, Kakao converted 100% of the electricity used in its Jeju office to eco-friendly solar energy and completed joining the global initiative ‘RE100’ this month.

In the social area, Kakao appointed the first Digital Accessibility Officer (DAO) among domestic IT companies to systematically promote a service environment without barriers for everyone. It also established the country’s first ‘Technology Ethics Committee’ to oversee compliance with AI ethics regulations and enhance algorithm transparency. Additionally, Kakao announced sustainable growth plans in collaboration with society and plans to create a 300 billion KRW mutual growth fund over five years starting in 2022 to support Kakao’s partners.

Efforts to advance governance are also ongoing. In March, Kakao appointed an outside director as the chairperson of the board to strengthen the board’s independence and transparency. It established the ‘ERM Committee’ for integrated risk management across the community and continues systematic risk responses through regular meetings. Furthermore, 15% of the CEO’s performance evaluation criteria are set based on ESG management implementation indicators, laying the foundation for ESG responsibilities to be reflected in major management decisions.

Kakao has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) for two consecutive years and was selected as ‘Top 1%’ in the ‘2023 Corporate Sustainability Assessment’ announced by S&P Global. Additionally, it received an AA rating in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) evaluation and achieved an A grade in the integrated category and A grades across all ESG categories in the ESG evaluation announced by the Korea ESG Standards Institute.

Hong Eun-taek, CEO of Kakao, said in his CEO message, “The core of ESG management is to clearly define and realize the value we provide to society,” adding, “We will continuously challenge ourselves to become a company that provides communication between people and between people and technology more closely and more safely.”