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2023. Dec VOL.669
2023. Dec VOL.669
Global economic norms are going through a fundamental transition, and environment and sustainability have emerged as two of the most important standards in the international community. ESG is a symbolic rhetoric that clearly represents this change. The prevailing outlook is that corporations and countries will be forced to exit the global order system if they fail to consider environment and sustainability. In this context, ESG management is not merely a trend but has become an essential part of corporate management in the US, EU, and other leading countries. Under the EU’s Supply Chain Act scheduled to take effect in 2024, companies meeting a certain asset threshold are required to perform due diligence on human rights and environmental violations. Once the Act goes into effect, ESG will act as a new green trade barrier.
K-water is moving quickly to build an ESG-optimized management system to stay abreast of the recent global business trend. Being well-aware that water is a key link to climate change and carbon neutrality, K-water is strengthening its ESG competencies in various fields including carbon-neutral water purification plants, transition to hydrogen energy, and creation of water cycle cities. Furthermore, K-water plans to expedite the ESG transition and overcome new and emerging ESG hurdles that will likely be imposed by new global regulations by sharing with the broader public the ESG management outcomes it has achieved so far.
Year 2023 is a turning point for K-water as it prepares for a new takeoff in its ESG management. By declaring the new management initiative in November, K-water conveyed the message that it would share its ESG management experiences and knowhow with the rest of society to help the national economy grow. The slogan “Your True ESG Partner” indicates K-water’s commitment to working with corporations and the rest of society to make a successful ESG transition. Over the years, K-water has been consistently working on ESG transition. Specifically, it has revised and updated its code of conduct and principles for better ESG management and set up the ESG Management Committee as a top decision-making body within the Board of Directors. In addition, K-water has formed a working group in charge of systematic ESG management according to the PDCA(Plan, Do, Check, and Action) cycle as part of efforts to build the framework for ESG management. Building upon the results so far, K-water has greatly enhanced its capacity for implementation in 2023 because ESG is now poised to start serving as global regulations in reality with the EU’s Supply Chain Act going into effect in 2024. In response, K-water has established its mid- to long-term ESG implementation strategy and ESG task management system and completed ESG quantification and monetization; thus raising its ESG execution capability. Private-public joint research was conducted in such a way that ESG performance was quantified and monetized based on the ESG implementation strategy established earlier to work out an ESG performance valuation model, which can be viewed as an ultimate goal of corporate ESG management. Based on the research findings, K-water is expected to be able to serve as an ESG management role model in the public sector that can meet the government’s expectations of public corporations by executing ESG management more sincerely and substantially and communicating the outcomes to the public more transparently and effectively.
K-water’s ESG management is in the spotlight as one of the most successful models. K-water has been given a rating of “AA,” the highest grade in ESG performance evaluation, for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023. In April 2023, K-water won the JoongAng ESG Management Award and 10 other ESG awards including the Minister of Interior and Safety award at the World Knowledge Forum, solidifying its position as an ESG management benchmark. It is trying to share its ESG management model in various ways to help Korean society enhance its ESG competency. As interest in and demand for ESG management expand to places of higher education, Chungnam National University, Daejeon University, and Hansung University have started to introduce the case of K-water’s ESG management in ESG classes, with K-water participating in the creation of ESG documentary content by college students.
Building upon its experiences and knowhow, K-water is planning to encourage private and public sectors to work even more closely on ESG management. This year, K-water focused on allowing people to feel the benefits of its major ESG achievements by putting them in the perspective of ordinary citizens. For example, K-water ran ESG awareness campaigns including the “ESG Campaign for All” wherein people voted for the best ESG cases of K-water and “Slogan for ESG Implementation Contest.” In addition, it participated in ESG-ECO Expo 2023, the only ESG expo in Korea hosted by the Ministry of Environment, and showcased its outstanding ESG achievements.
Going forward, K-water will adopt a parent-subsidiary joint declaration of commitment to ESG management, implement a roadmap to support the enhancement of subsidiaries’ ESG competence, and expand ESG consulting support for partners in the water industry as part of efforts to promote ESG value and ESG practices in line with the global ESG management trend as an ESG leader in the public sector.
