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| Kumho Petrochemical's headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Kumho Petrochemical |
By Kim Jae-heun
Kumho Petrochemical is advancing its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) program to create a sustainable future.
The company revealed its full-fledged start of ESG management in September 2021 by establishing a promotional strategy and sharing its vision "Let's Act, Advance and Accelerate for ESG!"
The petrochemical firm selected key themes of its ESG vision in three areas; response to climate change, emphasis on social value management, and spreading sustainable management ― while it specified a total of nine major tasks.
In addition, Kumho Petrochemical has joined the United Nations Global Compact, a global initiative under the United Nations, and is stepping up efforts to upgrade its ESG management. The UNGC is an international agreement that identifies the social responsibility of global companies based on the 10 principles centering on human rights, anti-corruption and the environment. Kumho plans to actively share its sustainable management performances externally through the Communication on Progress (CoP) that evaluates activities to comply with the 10 principles and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) every year under its membership in the UNGC.
The petrochemical company is actively responding to climate change by establishing a blueprint for "carbon-neutral growth plan" in line with its ESG vision. Under the growth plan led by the company's ESG Committee, Kumho will achieve carbon-neutral growth by 2050.
It is also promoting the conversion of its strategic products to become eco-friendly. The company is conducting research on NB latex made of natural materials and developing a biodegradable version to strengthen the eco-friendliness of synthetic rubber NB latex, which is a raw material used in medical nitrile gloves.
Furthermore, Kumho is promoting the recycling of waste plastic to achieve a virtuous cycle of resources. It is making efforts to commercialize a recycled styrene monomer (RSM) manufacturing business that pyrolyzes waste polystyrene, and Eco-SSBR that applies RSM to solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber by 2025.
