Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, left, and POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo take the stage for the 'ChangeUp Ground' opening ceremony held in Pohang to mark the third anniversary of the corporate citizen management initiative. Courtesy of POSCO |
Chairman stresses its commitment for social responsibility
By Kim Hyun-bin
POSCO marked the third anniversary of its corporate citizen initiatives. To commemorate the event, the steelmaker hosted a symposium in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, with government officials including Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum and scholars and experts also taking part.
At the event, which was also broadcast online, scholars unveiled their research on the value and performance of the corporate citizen management philosophy in three key sectors: business, society and people.
Among the scholars was Stanford University professor William P. Barnett, who gave a keynote speech focusing on POSCO's environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) management achievements and its leading role in corporate citizen management initiatives.
POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo stressed the steelmaker's commitment to social responsibility.
"With POSCO's corporate citizen management philosophy as its base, there are greater sustainable corporate values that could be achieved when the diverse parties around the corporation could coexist and have a symbiotic relationship," Choi said. "We will work to actively embed the corporate citizen initiatives in our daily lives and business so it could be rooted in POSCO's corporate culture, which we are sure will allow the company to be respected for the next 100 years to come."
In addition, Choi introduced the progress the conglomerate has made after initiating corporate citizen management philosophies. The steelmaker has set its sights on the "leading eco-friendly materials business" aiming to reduce carbon emissions and pursue other eco-friendly means, including producing steel for electric vehicles (EV) components and secondary battery materials, and strengthening its hydrogen business.
POSCO plans to expand the use of byproducts from steelmaking, establishing a system for waste management and initiating other eco-friendly activities. As its long-term goal, the steelmaker vowed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and is developing technologies that do not emit carbon dioxide in the steelmaking process. POSCO is also working to form a national support system as well as global collaboration channel to better aid in the transition.
Another prime focus of the steelmaker has been improving the safety of workers by enhancing manufacturing processes and utilizing smart technologies to reduce the risk of accident.
 |
| POSCO Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul / Courtesy of POSCO |
POSCO's wide-reaching corporate citizen performance has been studied by 12 universities, evaluating the conglomerate's five corporate citizen brands ― Green, Together, Challenge, Life and Community.
Through the "Green with POSCO" initiative, the steelmaker aims to spearhead the hydrogen industry through carbon-neutrality goals by 2050, while "Together With POSCO" seeks to achieve mutual growth between suppliers and clients. "Challenge with POSCO" helps establish a venture ecosystem and vitalize new growth industries, while "Life With POSCO" aims to help resolve societal issues, such as the low birth rate and unemployment. "Community With POSCO" proposes new models to enhance cooperation between businesses and local communities. POSCO has been working to vitalize the venture ecosystem and foster new businesses as part of its "Challenge With POSCO" initiatives to establish support infrastructure for venture businesses.
The results of the studies have been compiled in an e-book which can be downloaded from posco.co.kr.
In the afternoon, the opening ceremony for the "ChangeUp Ground" project was held, aiming to foster venture and startup businesses.
The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Kim, North Gyeongsang Province Governor Lee Cheol-woo, Rep. Kim Byong-wook, Pohang Mayor Lee Kang-deok and POSCO Chairman Choi.
"The Pohang ChangeUp Ground has officially opened with a vision to establish a Pacific Valley similar to Silicon Valley, where it will create jobs and new growth opportunities through the establishment of the venture platform, which is expected to become the fruit of the company's corporate citizen initiatives," Choi said.
