The Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) announced on Dec. 14 that it has obtained the highest grade of Leadership A in the 2022 evaluation of the climate change response part of the CDP, a global ESG evaluation agency.
The CDP refers to Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a non-profit organization headquartered in the United Kingdom and is a representative global ESG evaluation agency that evaluates climate change responses and carbon management for listed companies around the world.
This year, 283 companies, or 1.6 percent of about 18,000 companies, have obtained the Leadership A grade. The IBK is the only one among Korean financial institutions.
The IBK established its own 2040 carbon neutral goal in 2021 and acquired the international standard on energy management systems (ISO50001) to implement systematic activities.
This year, the IBK measured and disclosed the emissions of financial assets through the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) methodology and set up the 2050 financial asset carbon neutral roadmap reflecting the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) methodology.
It also joined the global carbon neutral initiative Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) and the Net Zero Banking Association (NZBA).
The PCAF is the first global initiative ever created by the financial sector that enables financial institutions to measure and discloses the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions financed by loans and investments.
Science-based targets provide companies with a clearly-defined path to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement goals.
The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) is a global coalition of leading financial institutions committed to accelerating the decarbonization of the economy. The industry-led, UN-convened NZBA brings together a global group of banks.
In particular, the IBK, co-chair of the OECD Sustainable Medium-Term Finance Platform is also expanding and drumming up support for carbon neutrality for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through international cooperation.
“We will continue to make efforts to achieve carbon neutrality with our customers by supporting SMEs’ green transition,” an IBK official said.
Digital Advisory Group
The IBK announced on Nov. 13 that it organized and will run a “digital advisory group” to listen to and collect the opinions of external field experts on the speed, scope, and direction of its digital transformation (DT) by sector.
The advisory group is composed of about 10 field experts who have practical digital business promotion experience in each digital sector such as DT strategy, AI, data, blockchains, the metaverse and user interface/user experience (UI/UX).
For one year from December 2022, the IBK will receive feedback on IBK DT and new businesses by digital sector, such as introduction time, scale and internalization. The bank plans to actively reflect the feedback on its plans and strategies.
“We will listen to the opinions of advisors with rich field experience in various digital fields and actively reflect them in the promotion of the IBK’s DT,” an IBK official said.
The IBK plans to promote its DT together with those in the field such as customers, employees and external experts in the future based on not only a digital advisory group but also existing digital infrastructure and digital key performance indicators (KPIs) among others.
YJC Chairman Bae Inducted into IBK Entrepreneur Hall of Fame
The IBK announced on Nov. 9 that YJC Chairman Bae Ji-soo was selected as an inductee into the IBK Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in 2022.
The IBK Entrepreneur Hall of Fame is based on an event that selects entrepreneurs who have contributed to the growth of the national economy by showing indomitable and indefatigable entrepreneurial spirit.
Since 2004, a total of 38 inductees have been selected after comprehensive reviews of their entrepreneurial spirit, evaluations of their leadership, the growth potential of their companies and their companies’ technological prowess, power and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management practices.
According to the IBK, Chairman Bae established Youngjin Ceramics, the predecessor of YJC, in 1987 and succeeded in localizing refractory materials for electronic components which Korea had depended entirely on foreign companies for based on ceramic materials and processing technology accumulated for 35 years.
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