SK Inc. Materials Receives Consecutive 'Excellent' Ratings in ESG Management

SK Specialty Earns Highest AA Rating in SustainBest Evaluation
One Level Up from Previous Year

SK Specialty, SK Materials Airplus, SK Trichem, and other subsidiaries of SK㈜ Materials have been recognized as ‘Outstanding ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Companies’ by ESG evaluation agencies.

Materials technology specialist SK㈜ Materials announced on the 5th that its subsidiary SK Specialty received the highest grade (AA) in the 2023 ESG evaluation conducted by the ESG rating agency Sustainvest.

According to Sustainvest, SK Specialty received high marks across environmental, social, and governance areas, advancing from an A grade last year to an AA grade in 2023. Within the environmental category, the production process sector was particularly highly rated.

This is attributed to the establishment of an energy management system (ISO50001) that integrates and systematically manages the energy used in production processes, as well as carbon reduction management practices such as flexibly utilizing LNG in the synthesis and refining of specialty gases to reduce LNG consumption.

In the social sector, the company received high evaluations in regional coexistence and supply chain management. Since July 2021, SK Specialty has been promoting the STAXX project to revitalize the economy of Yeongju City, Gyeongbuk Province, where its main business sites are located. This project aims to invigorate the city by creating a startup ecosystem based on social ventures in the Yeongju area, which faces challenges such as population decline, aging, and urban hollowing.

SK㈜ Materials received positive evaluations in areas such as carbon reduction, water management, resource recycling, and safety management. SK Specialty, SK Materials Airplus, SK Trichem, and SK Materials Performance were certified with the Environmental Product Declaration (Carbon Footprint) by the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute under the Ministry of Environment last November.

The Environmental Product Declaration certification assesses the total carbon emissions and environmental impact generated throughout the entire lifecycle of a product, including production, consumption, and disposal. SK㈜ Materials received certification in the ‘measurement’ category for carbon emissions generated from substances such as nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), liquefied argon (LAr), Cp hafnium (CpHf), and photoresist (ASPIN-1195).

A representative from SK㈜ Materials stated, "With the Environmental Product Declaration ‘measurement’ certification, we can provide verified information related to carbon reduction to stakeholders and implement systematic carbon reduction management based on this verified information."

Additionally, SK Specialty earned a ‘Leadership A’ rating in climate change response and water security evaluations conducted by the UK’s Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). In the water security category, it received the Management Excellence Award, given to the top five companies with a ‘Leadership A’ rating. Furthermore, SK Specialty was awarded the Gold grade in the ZWTL (Zero Waste to Landfill) verification, a global indicator evaluating corporate resource circulation efforts, which is granted only to companies achieving over 95% waste recycling.

Notably, SK Specialty was recognized for its ESG achievements and diligent safety management efforts by receiving the highest honors in government awards for safety and environment last November: the Prime Minister’s Award for Safety and the Presidential Citation for Green Management.

SK㈜ Materials has been leading ESG management in the materials industry, becoming the first domestic materials company to join RE100 in 2020. It also declared its commitment to achieving Net-Zero by 2030, 20 years ahead of the global target year, and has been implementing detailed strategies and tasks disclosed in its sustainability management reports.

Kim Yang-taek, President of SK㈜ Materials, said, "We will continuously pursue ESG management with our company’s unique identity to secure trust from various stakeholders including the market, customers, and partners, thereby enhancing corporate value."