ESG & Sustainable Management Support

ESG & Sustainable Management

ESG : [Environmental, Social, Governance]

Environment, social, and governance, previously considered non-financial elements, have now emerged as core values of companies, major financial institutions, and shareholders around the world.

ESG finance is an investment method that shareholders and institutional investors consider with the company’s financial factors in terms of “sustainable investment” when making investment decisions in a company, reflecting social and ethical values and eco-friendly sustainability. Unlike the traditional method of judging only the financial performance of companies in the EU and major countries such as the U.S. from 2021, it will be evaluated by reflecting ESG that affects corporate value and sustainability from a long-term perspective. The way companies invest in ESG performance can drive long-term returns from investors, while corporate behavior can have a significant impact on society.

Along with the UN SDGs, the social responsibility of companies and investors has become important, and many financial institutions around the world are using ESG evaluation information. Starting with the UK (2000), many countries including Sweden, Germany, Canada, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands have introduced ESG information disclosure obligations with pension funds at the center, and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is also pushing for disclosure duties. The UN has recommended investment considering ESG issues since 2006. ESG is now emerging as a keyword that will determine the success or failure of the capital market beyond individual companies.

ASD is the first organization in Korea that has been designated as the Observer to the ICMA’ Green and Social Bond Principles organization. ICMA’s ESG Bond Principles must be followed in order for an entity to issue ESG bonds, and the association evaluates the sustainability and SDGs mapping of bonds issued under these principles. Along with this, ASD has formed an Asian plastics project working group with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board(SASB) – an international ESG sustainability accounting standards development organization – performing R&D for ESG environmental standards in the Asia Pacific region.

Based on such international authority and roles, ASD has formed partnerships with various ESG organizations both locally and internationally, providing support for:

▷Second Party Opinion · Guide line ▷Scoring · Rating ▷Verification ▷Globally Linked ▷Externally Linked ▷ESG education etc.

Our association encourages you to participate in the ASD’s innovative ESG total solutions.

ASD aims not only to promote the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but also to support sustainable management such as ESG analysis, certification, and guidelines for global companies.

ASD supports the promotion of ‘SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) activities and global ESG management activities.

The Association for supporting the SDGs for the UN, is a special consultative status organization of the Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC) that conducts global certification and verification, global joint projects, and ESG financial recommendations to support SDGs activities and ESG proliferation of global companies and the National Assembly.

ASD specializes in the SDGs and ESG, and as a global institution it conducts indices, certification, advisory, and consulting.

It has established extensive partnerships with the UN, EU, global financial institutions, and investment banks, and is expanding the sustainability of domestic and foreign companies to the global market. Companies that have joined as members of the association can receive advice on various UN activities, SDGs activities, and sustainable management / eco-friendly / ESG management.

[ 14 domestic and international ESG/SDGs activities]

①Member organizations are provided with SDGs & ESG Management advice ②Provide information on SDGs & Global ESG and relevant policies ③Global SDGs & ESG index publication and UN written statements ④global eco-friendly certification ⑤Cooperative Climate campaigns on EU (European Union) carbon policies ⑥Consultation on global eco-friendly certification climate response and carbon reduction ⑦Recommendation on Global ESG finance ⑧UN initiative participation and presents ESG Global Special Award ⑨Promote ESG Global Guideline Grand Prize ⑩Media Contribution and PR ⑪Public confidence in eco-friendly and sustainable fields for consumers and citizens ⑫Bridge SDGs activities with the Government and National Assembly ⑬ESG bond issuer inquiry and recommendation, certification and verification ⑭ESG Introduction of corporate ESG activities to the global financial market network

(You can also benefit from ESG global financial market promotion and recommendation activities. )

① SDGs & ESG Consulting for Corporations and Public institutions

ASD provides advice on ESG through participation in the ESG committee of 50 domestic, global companies and public institutions. We provide comprehensive advice on ESG management of member companies.

② Provide information on SDGs & Global ESG and relevant policies

The Association for supporting the SDGs for the UN (ASD) is

◆ Special consultative status body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and an official partner of various UN organizations

◆ As an official partner with major global organization in the field of ESG finance, provides the most updated news on ESG and relevant policies

③ Global SDGs & ESG index publication and written statements

◆ SDGBI (UN Sustainable Development Goals Business Index)

As a major global ESG management evaluation indicator, SDGBI annually analyzes 2,000 global companies and 1,000 major domestic companies, evaluates 300 global companies and 170 domestic companies, and announces related contents and scores. It is divided into Excellent group, Superior group, Outstanding group, and Pathfinder group for each industry group.

Submit and Recommends Best Practices to major UN committees through Written Statements

UN-approved written statements are official document which is shared with the UN document database. ASD has submitted a total of 18 Written Statements Official.

④ Global Eco-friendly Certification

◆ UN Voluntary Commitment Eco-Friendly Certification ‘GRP’

(Guidelines for Reducing Plastic Waste’ & ‘Sustainable Ocean and Climate Action Acceleration)

Recommended by the President of the United Nations General Assembly, the global environmental certification started with the UN Ocean Summit as a guideline specializing in plastic reduction, sustainable oceans, climate response and carbon reduction. It is divided into 4 categories and is introduced as a major international eco-friendly best practice.

⑤ Cooperative Climate campaigns on EU (European Union) carbon policies

◆ We Support and collaborate on the Green Deal policies of the EU (European Union), the leading ESG policy organization.

EU Green Deal key policies (Increasing the ambition of EU emissions trading / Aviation and the EU ETS / Social Climate Fund / Increasing the ambition of the EU’s Effort Sharing Regulation / Land Use, Forestry and Agriculture / CO₂ emission performance standards for cars and vans)

⑥ Consulting on global eco-friendly certification climate response and carbon reduction

◆ Conducts consulting on global carbon reduction for green energy transition and resource circulation·circular economy
◆ Conducts specialized research on the social and economic crisis, polarization, and credit recovery in the process of green energy transition

Recommendation on Global ESG finance

◆ ESG-SRC (Statement list of Recommendation ESG Global Corporate Excellence through SDGs)

(Global Recommendation Statement List for Excellent Companies in ESG Implementation)

⑦ ASD recommends and connects excellent domestic SDGs & ESG implementation companies to major global ESG financial institutions and investment institutions.

◆ Provides SRC, a corporate self-evaluation kit that contains ESG global regulations

A self-evaluation kit that contains domestic and international ESG global regulations and guidelines is provided.

⑧ Participation in UN SDGs initiatives and ESG Special Awards

◆ Announcement of Global 100 (Sustainable Leaders, Brands)

(‘Global Sustainable Leaders 100’ & ‘Global Sustainable Brands 100’)
As the official Exhibition Organizer for the ‘UN High-Level Political Forum'(UN HLPF 2019), ASD announced the ‘Global Sustainable Leaders 100’ at the UN headquarters in New York in 2019

◆ 10YFP Global Program Partner UN SDGs Association Special Award

A special award is given to the company that excels UN SDGs No. 12 goal (guaranteeing sustainable production and consumption patterns).

⑨ Promote ESG Global Guideline Grand Prize

◆ The Association for Supporting the SDGs for the United Nations (ASD) awards the ‘ESG Global Guideline Grand Prize’ as a partner of UN, EU, ICMA and other leading ESG policy international organizations.

⑩ the only ESG specialized organization to regularly write and contribute to the media

◆ Introduced member organizations and their activities to Segye Ilbo, Seoul Economic Daily, Chosun Biz, etc. (over 300 times)

‘Better World SDGs’ series are issued every Monday in Segye Ilbo (only domestic and foreign ESG weekly media contribution)

⑪ Public confidence in eco-friendly and sustainable fields for consumers and citizens

◆ Partnership with the association secures high public confidence among consumers and citizens and eco-friendly ESG management activities

The ‘UN SDGs Association Partnership’ label represents both ‘UN SDGs’ and ‘ESG’ activities, securing high public confidence and eco-friendly ESG management activities towards consumers and citizens.

⑫ Bridge SDGs activities with the Government and National Assembly

◆ The association actively cooperates with the National Assembly as well as major ESG-related government agencies such as government ministries and the National Assembly. Through such activities, it contributes to solidarity with member companies, policies and various projects.

⑬ Provide consulting on ESG bond issuance and recommendation, certification and verification

◆ ASD provides advice and supports the issuance of special purpose bonds such as green bonds, social bonds, and sustainable bonds, which are being actively issued by major domestic companies, public corporations, and banks to prepare carbon-neutral and green energy conversion funds and social funds for corona recovery (support for partners, loans, etc.) )

ESG bonds must be issued in accordance to the ESG bond principles of the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA), ASD is an official global observer and member body that formulates and promotes the bond principles of the ICMA.

** As of December 21, 172 domestic companies issued 175 trillion KRW ESG bonds

⑭ ESG Introduction of corporate ESG activities to the global financial market network

ASD is working jointly with 72 major financial companies and financial institutions in 22 countries, including major global investment management companies, credit rating agencies, and pension funds. We are actively promoting the association’s members to major global companies and investment institutions to participate and recommend them in the global financial market.

ASD jointly works with (UK) BNP Paribas, Barclays, Daiwa Capital Markets, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, BlackRock, J.P. Morgan (France) EDF, SG Corporate & Investment Banking, AXA Investment Managers, Amundi International, Vigeo-Eiris, (Japan) Mitsubishi UFG Securities, Nomura Holdings

(EU) European Stability Mechanism, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Stability Mechanism

Especially we jointly pursue SDGs mapping and ESG activities with

The world’s largest voting body ISS and the 3 major credit rating agencies; Moody’s, S&P Global(S&P), Fitch Ratings and the world’s largest investment management company BlackRock, the world’s largest investment bank J.P. Morgan, Citi Commercial Bank, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, BNP Paribas and Barclays.

□ [SRC : Statement list of Recommendation ESG Global Corporate Excellence through SDGs]

ASD provides the “Statement list of Recommendation : ESG Global Corporate Excellence through SDGs (SRC),” to its member organization. SRC is an extensive publication that contains global ESG standards, principles, and regulations all at once.

This kit contains ▷UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) ▷EU Action Plan for Financing Sustainable Growth ▷EU Taxonomy’s 6 Environmental Objectives and 3 Technical Screening Criteria▷International Capital Market Association’s ESG Principles and SDGs mapping ▷ First Delegated Act on Sustainable Activities for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation ▷ Guidelines for Reducing Plastic Waste (GRP) and Sustainable Ocean and Climate Action Acceleration ▷OECD Rio Markers ▷ EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting ▷China’s Catalogue of Industries for Guiding Foreign Investment ▷Multilateral Development Bank (MDB)’s Common Principles as well as ▷International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) ▷Explanation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and the 2021 Climate Change Conference (COP26) ▷ESG Guidelines for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and ▷Information on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) Companies that are now attracting attention in the midst of the energy transition.

Moreover, the Kit includes an additional explanation on ▷EU Green Deal ▷EU Green Taxonomy ▷EU Social Taxonomy ▷Information on Carbon Trading Markets▷Carbon Border Tax ▷ Paris Agreement and COP26 ▷ Procedure of ESG bonds issuance as well as ▷K-ESG Guideline and K-taxonomy. The Kit allows companies to easily check ESG-related regulations in major countries, such as the EU, US, and China while assessing domestic regulations and their current status at the same time.

The ESG-SRC kit is used as the basis for the “SRC List” in which ASD recommends leading ESG companies to global financial markets and major institutional investors every July, and the SRC released by ASD is delivered to global capital markets as the Statement list of Recommendation ESG Global Corporate Excellence through the SDGs. Each company in partnership with ASD can assess their current ESG activities through this self-evaluation kit to see if they meet international standards. Based on this, they can be recommended as a leading ESG company in domestic and foreign capital and investment markets.

Provision of professional advice and global certifications and guidelines for the analysis and evaluation of corporate ESG management

□ [SDGBI(UN Sustainable Development Goals Business Index)]

■ Established UN SDGs Business Index (SDGBI), a business index that assists 2500 major corporations in the analysis and consultation based on the SDGs

■ Submitted as an official written statement(E/2019/NGO/91) at the High-Level Segment(HLS) of the 2019 High-Level Political Forum(HLPF)

■ Announced every October since 2016, becoming a standard for investment and implementation of UNSDGs and a standard for sustainability management among major global companies.

■ Among the 3000 global corporations, 2019 SDGBI announced the world business 300 lists and the Korean business 180 list

■ Analysis of 12 criteria and 48 indicators in 4 sectors (out of 100 points) including Society, Environment, Economy and Policy

□ [GRP : Guidelines for Reducing Plastic Waste & Sustainable Ocean and Climate Action Acceleration]

■ Annually announced to proliferate more than 2,000 global enterprises’ activities regarding the reduction of plastic-and-petroleum-related products and sustainable ocean·climate action acceleration.

■ GRP (Guidelines for Reducing Plastic Waste & Sustainable Ocean and Climate Action Acceleration) signifies global environmental guidelines and international environmental standards.

■ GRP utilizes a ‘4 rating system’ (AAA, AA+, AA, AA-) and associated enterprises in the system obtain an international environment-certification.

□ [‘Global Sustainable Leaders 100’ & ‘Global Sustainable Brands 100’]

■ Once selected as the official Exhibition Organizer for the ‘UN High-Level Political Forum'(UN HLPF 2019), ASD announced at the UN headquarters in New York in 2019, ASD announced ‘Global Sustainable Leaders 100’ to the world under the same theme.

■ Announced in celebration of receiving H.E. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande’s (President of the UN General Assembly representing 193 UN member states) official letter encouraging the public and private sector to implement the SDGs and actively respond to Covid-19.

■ From 2020 announcement, exemplary companies and consumer-recommended brands have also been announced.

■ Based on 10 standards and 43 indicators, selects 100 out of 3000 leading companies and 2000 leading leaders, respectively.

□ [ SRC ]
Statement list of Recommendation ESG Global Corporate Excellence through SDGs

SRC Introduction 1 / SRC Introduction 2 / SRC Recommended and Selected Company 1 / SRC Recommended and Selected Company 2

Introducing exemplary ESG models to major UN committees through the submission of UN official written statements

Introduced and submitted written statements about sustainable management models of global corporations to UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) commissions – Fourteen written statements submitted

◇ 2015 ECOSOC High-Level Segment – 2015.7.

◇ Commission on the Status of Women Sixtieth session – 2016.4.

◇ ECOSOC High-Level Segment Written Statements – 2016.7. 2016

◇ The 55th Session of the Commission for Social Development – 2017.2.

◇ 16th Session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration – 2017.4.

◇ The 56th Session of the Commission for Social Development – 2018.2.

◇ The 51st Session of the Commission on Population and Development – 2018.4.

◇ 2018 ECOSOC High-Level Segment – 2018.7.

◇ The 52st Session of the Commission on Population and Development – 2019.4.

◇ 2019 ECOSOC High-Level Segment – 2019.7.

◇ Commission on the Status of Women Sixty-fourth session – 2020.3.

◇ The 53rd Session of the Commission on Population and Development – 2020.4

◇ The 59th Session of the Commission for Social Development – 2021.2

◇ The 54st Session of the Commission on Population and Development – 2021.4.