President Moon Sung-yu of Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO) attends along with his executives and staffers a ceremony to declare a new vision to cope with the new normal era at the Busan International Finance Center in Busan on March 30. (Photo: KAMCO)

ESG management, focusing on sustainable growth in the wake of the global spread of COVID-19 and climate change, has emerged as the keyword of social governance.

In this context, Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO) set up a subcommittee on shifting major projects into an ESG paradigm under the umbrella of a committee designed to overcome the crisis caused by the pandemic.

The body will spearhead the “new normal” in the post-COVID-19 era. The committee is headed by KAMCO Chairman Moon Sung-yu.

The move is designed to reflect ESG standards in areas such as investments, major projects and business management.

While attending the inaugural meeting of the committee in January, Chairman Moon said KAMCO will concentrate companywide capabilities on spearheading the post-COVID-19 era by diverting major projects into an ESG paradigm. He showed his determination to achieve ESG management.

Subsequently, KAMCO established KAMCO-style ESG guidelines to implement ESG management. In order to translate details into action, KAMCO introduced eco-friendliness evaluation in the course of screening beneficiary companies of its support programs, such as a sale & lease back, debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing as well as companies who take over shops through ship funds.

Environment-related evaluation categories, such as clean energy technology and energy efficiency, have been added in screening beneficiary companies of KAMCO’s corporate support programs.

Managers’ funds from embezzlement and tax arrears have been factors in restricting access to the corporate support programs, so companies with social and governance problems will be shut off from the support programs.

KAMCO added the compliance of IMO’s environmental regulations and the dangers of ship’s maritime pollutions in screening Korean shipping companies’ acquisition of vessels.

KAMCO is prioritizing extending financial support to shipping companies who comply with environmental regulations. The step is designed to cope with IMO’s strengthened maritime environment regulations.

KAMCO will spearhead the government’s “Green New Deal” by introducing zero energy buildings in the course of developing state- and publicly-owned land sites and spurring the private sector’s participation in the Green New Deal initiative.

A leading project on zero energy buildings will involve a second R&D government complex in the Sejong state R&D zone.

The complex will be dedicated by 2026, and it will be the nation’s first large-sized public building in which 60 percent to 80 percent of its energy consumption will be supplied with renewable energy such as photovoltaic power.

The depilated former state-owned Dongnam District Statistical Office building will be remodeled into Busan’s youth job creation hub space, refurbished with high-performance insulation materials and renewal energies.

The remodeling will result in saving energy consumption by some 48 percent and reducing carbon emissions by some 53 tons.

KAMCO strives to adopt eco-friendly technologies in the development of state- and publicly-owned land sites, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ramp up the energy efficiency of public structures.