POSCO Group Holds 'ESG Level Up Ground' to Address Social Issues

Idea Presentation Contest on Social Problem Solving on the 31st
Siwoo Lee, POSCO President, and Over 250 Attendees

POSCO Group held the 2024 first semester 'POSCO ESG Level-Up Ground' presentation on the 31st of last month at the POSCO Center in Seoul. Photo by POSCO Group

POSCO Group announced on the 2nd that it held the 2024 first semester 'POSCO ESG Level-Up Ground' presentation event at the POSCO Center in Seoul on the 31st of last month.

Since 2021, POSCO Group has been supporting the operation of ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) regular courses at major universities nationwide. ESG Level-Up Ground is an event where university students mutually share ESG-related project ideas they carried out during the semester.

At the event, a total of about 250 people attended, including university students from Duksung Women's University, Mokpo National University, Pusan National University, Seoul Women's University, Sungshin Women's University, Sookmyung Women's University, Suncheon National University, Yonsei University, Chonnam National University, Chungnam National University, POSTECH, Handong Global University, and Hanyang University (in alphabetical order) who are currently taking the POSCO ESG Sustainable Management course this semester, as well as POSCO Group executives and employees who collaborated on projects.

This semester, 382 students from 13 universities learned about the concepts of sustainable management and ESG, as well as corporate practice cases, and carried out projects to solve social issues under the mentoring of POSCO Group executives and employees.

At the presentation contest, 13 teams selected as outstanding projects proposed innovative ideas related to carbon neutrality, social value, and regional development, including ▲Bird strike prevention measures using Vision AI technology ▲Aluminum can recycling solutions to solve the K-League trash emission problem ▲Improvement ideas for electric mobility device charging stations ▲Investment plans for multicultural social ventures for immigrants. Electric mobility devices refer to equipment such as electric scooters and electric wheelchairs that support mobility for those who have difficulty walking.

The 'Bird strike prevention measures using Vision AI technology' was an idea jointly proposed by Hanyang University and POSCO DX, suggesting the use of POSCO DX's IT technology to detect birds on the runway at Incheon Airport and analyze their movement directions to prevent bird strikes in advance.

Additionally, Handong Global University and POSCO M-TECH proposed a resource circulation plan to collect aluminum cans generated at soccer fans' homes and stadiums, which POSCO M-TECH uses to produce aluminum deoxidizers*. A deoxidizer is an additive used to remove oxygen from molten metals or alloys.

At the event, POSCO President Lee Si-woo said, "POSCO will support university students of future generations to grow as leaders of a sustainable society based on a trusted ESG management system in the era of ESG management and carbon neutrality transformation."

Andakyung, a student majoring in Business Administration at Hanyang University, said, "Having POSCO Group field experts participate directly as mentors to teach sustainable management and practical work greatly helped improve my capabilities," adding, "This opportunity became a good chance to develop interest in careers related to sustainable management and ESG."

Meanwhile, since 2021, a total of 1,327 students have taken the POSCO ESG Sustainable Management course cumulatively. POSCO Group plans to continue expanding ESG education programs nationwide for future generations and explore various cooperation methods between industry and academia.