CEO Hussein Al-Qahtani of S-Oil.

S-Oil has been selected as the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices World Business Firm every year since 2010 in the area of oil and gas, the only company in Asia and in Korea to get such an honor.

Officials of S-Oil said the honor means that S-Oil has been able to harmonize society with its “global level” transparency in management by reflecting the expected matters of the interested parties into its management policies, and in doing so winning the recognition for such efforts.

S-Oil, as the most respected and competitive energy and chemical enterprise in the Asia-Pacific region, will continue to uphold sustainable growth with a mission centered on Vision 2025, they said.

Faced with a choice of over 600 ESG ratings globally, companies need clear yardsticks to select the best tool to inform their sustainability strategy and communicate their sustainability performance and progress to investors and other stakeholders.

Sustainability’s widely recognized “Rate the Raters” report is such a yardstick. The 2019 edition confirms the credibility of RobecoSAM’s Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) as a leading ESG rating that tops the global ranking in terms of value and use for global corporations.

The 2019 DJSI Indices include 318 companies, or 12.6 percent of 2,526 top global business firms in market value, including 19 Korean firms, with S-Oil among them.

S-OIL delivered a total of 210 million won (3 million won each) in scholarships to 70 children of fallen firefighters at Yongsan Fire Station on Aug. 28.

“I hope you will always remember the sacrifices and courage your fathers have given you for society. Be proud of them, and use them as a driving force to overcome the difficulties you will face as you grow up,” CEO Hussein al-Qatani said.

“In the future, S-OIL promises to accompany you as a strong supporter of the children and families of the martyrs to duty,” he added.

S-OIL has been supporting scholarships since 2006 to help children of fallen firefighters who made noble sacrifices for society as part of its "Former Hero Firefighters Guarding" program to help them overcome their sadness and concentrate on their studies. S-OIL has provided some 3.6 billion won to 1,259 students for 14 years so far.

It provides a stepping stone for the recipient students to advance themselves by providing scholarships from elementary to college to finish their studies.

Some key offiicials and staff of S-Oil led by CEO Hussein Al-Qahtani hold a charity event "Sharing Songpyon with S-Oil" at the Seongsan Social Welfare Center at Ewha Women's Univeristy in Seoul on Sept. 4. (Photos: S-Oil)

S-OIL announced on Sept. 4 that it held a charity event “Sharing Songpyeon with S-OIL” on the occasion of Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving Day, at the Seongsan Social Welfare Center, Ewha Womans University in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

CEO Al-Qahtani and around 100 officers and employees of S-OIL made “songpyeon” or half-moon-shaped rice cake, and offered it along with gift packages containing groceries and daily necessities to 800 low-income households in the Mapo area, including recipients of the National Basic Livelihood Security, single-parent families, disabled people and elderly people living alone.

Al Qahtani, who was appointed to the CEO of S-OIL in June, participated in his first charity event for Chuseok in Korea. He introduced himself using his Korean name Ha Se-in. “My Korean name means I am a person who shares good fortune with generosity. I want to share the fortune with the S-OIL family and local community to make everyone happy” he said.

After delivering Chuseok gift packages to low income families, Al Qahtani added, “Our act of kindness will make Korea a better society where everyone is happy to live. S-OIL will continue to deliver warmth to our neighbors who have to spend the holidays alone.”

S-OIL has held a “tteokguk-serving” charity event on the Lunar New Year's Day and a songpyeon-sharing event on Chuseok for the last 13 years since 2007 to help local residents have a warm holiday season.