Establishment of the Safety and Environment Headquarters under the direct control of the shareholders and the board of directors on the 12th
ESG committee under the board of directors launched…New business and carbon neutral goal
Jeong-Woo Choi, “We will solidify the foundation of a 100-year company.”
“The second phase is a great turn of the century represented by eco-friendly electric vehicles”
[서울=뉴스핌] Reporter Ki-Rak Kim = As POSCO Chairman Jeong-woo Choi succeeded in taking office, he promised profitability, future new businesses such as hydrogen, and an accident-free workplace. As a financial expert, it is a strategy to create new profits for’Carbon Neutral’ with high returns.
In addition, safety and environment were the top priority management tasks, such as creating an accident-free workplace in the mid- to long-term for industrial accidents pointed out by some politicians and civic groups. This is why the Safety and Environment Headquarters under the direct control of the CEO and the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Committee under the Board of Directors were established.
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| [서울=뉴스핌] Reporter Kirak Kim = POSCO Chairman Jeongwoo Choi [사진=포스코] 2021.03.12 [email protected] |
◆ Safety·environment is a top priority… some organizational reorganizations are undertaken
POSCO held the 53rd regular shareholders’ meeting at the POSCO Center in Seoul on the 12th and decided on the agenda for reappointment of Chairman Choi. Accordingly, Chairman Choi will lead POSCO again for the next three years.
At the shareholders’ meeting, Chairman Choi said, “ESG has now become an irreversible trend, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the future depends on the success or failure of ESG.” “We will strive to develop carbon dioxide reduction technology and low-carbon products in the short term by achieving carbon neutrality.”
He added, “We will do our best not only to coexist with the local community, but also to realize an accident-free workplace. We will develop a sound governance structure and practice management philosophy to solidify the foundation for a 100-year company.”
It is interpreted as a willingness to further expand the management ideology of’Corporate Citizen’ introduced by Chairman Choi in 2018, starting with ESG and safety. To this end, POSCO has undergone some reorganization. At the same time as the CEO of the Steel Division, Kim Hak-dong and Jeon Joong-seon, the vice president of the Strategic Planning Division, were appointed as the CEO, and the’Safety and Environment Headquarters’ under the direct control of the CEO was newly established. It is read with a strong will to raise President Kim and former vice president as representative directors and take responsibility for joint responsibility with Chairman Choi.
As Chairman Choi has made safety management a top priority, it is a plan to make it an accident-free workplace, centered on President Kim Hak-dong, who is regarded as a steel expert. The head of the Safety and Environment Headquarters was decided to be head of the Production Technology Headquarters Lee Si-woo. Lee is known as a field expert who served as the head of the production technology headquarter after serving as the head of POSCO-Maharashtra (India), head of the Gwangyang rolling department, head of the steel production strategy department, and head of the Gwangyang Steel Works.
In addition, the Safety and Environment Headquarters is planning to establish two specialized organizations under its subsidiary. The Safety and Health Planning Office is in charge of innovation in the safety and health system and system at the group level, centering on Pohang and Gwangyang Steelworks, and the Environmental Planning Office plans to lead the group’s mid- to long-term environmental strategies such as carbon neutrality and lead step-by-step implementation.
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| [서울=뉴스핌] Reporter Yoon Chang-bin = Shareholders are entering the 53rd POSCO General Shareholders’ Meeting held at the POSCO Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 12th. 2021.03.12 [email protected] |
◆ Realization of carbon neutrality and new businesses such as hydrogen through ESG
The ESG Committee, which was launched through the shareholders’ meeting on this day, will review various low-carbon policies, safety and health plans, and manage implementation matters with the goal of ‘2050 carbon neutrality’. Outside director Kim Shin-bae was elected as the first chairman.
In this year’s New Year’s speech, Chairman Choi predicted the expansion of ESG management, saying, “As the social demand for ESG management of companies grows, it is the time when it becomes more important to practice our corporate citizenship management philosophy.”
POSCO launched the ESG Committee because it is in contact with future new businesses such as POSCO’s hydrogen. Carbon dioxide emitted by steel mills is inevitable due to the nature of the industry that makes iron. To this end, it is a strategy to operate a steel mill using hydrogen instead of coal, and to further expand the hydrogen currently being produced.
POSCO proposed a step-by-step implementation plan with a goal of reducing 20% in 2030 and 50% in 2040, aiming to be carbon neutral in 2050. By 2050, it plans to lead carbon neutrality by establishing a production system of 5 million tons of hydrogen. The big picture is to make hydrogen in an eco-friendly way and use that hydrogen as a reducing agent.
In addition, POSCO plans to discover business opportunities in the entire hydrogen value chain, including hydrogen production, storage, transportation, use, and infrastructure, by gathering capabilities with group companies such as POSCO International.
POSCO signed a business agreement with Hyundai Motor Group last month for cooperation in hydrogen business, and recently developed key technologies for hydrogen production and extraction by strengthening partnerships with domestic and overseas companies, such as SK Innovation and developing new lightweight materials for future mobility such as electric vehicles. have.
Through this, we set a goal to increase sales of ▲steel 44 trillion won ▲global infrastructure 44 trillion won ▲new growth 1.6 trillion won, 90 trillion won in 2023 ▲steel 46 trillion won ▲global infrastructure 51 trillion won ▲new growth 5 trillion won,to a total of 102 trillion won. In addition to the steel business, it means that POSCO will create new profits through new businesses such as the secondary battery material business.
A POSCO official said, “If the 1st period was a time to lay the foundation for future growth through group business reorganization such as blocking low-profit and insolvent business and discovering and fostering new growth business, the 2nd period that is approaching is innovation and growth in the phase of great transformation of the century represented by eco-friendly and electric vehicles. “We will accelerate the creation of results through this.”
In the midst of this, Chairman Choi succeeded in reappointing, but, like the previous POSCO chairman, concerns about resigning midway come from some. This is because POSCO chairmen have resigned before and after the regime change. It is interpreted that this is because some politicians have blocked the succession of Chairman Choi due to industrial accidents and other reasons.