toktok newsletter will keep you up-to-date with the latest news on SK and member companies.
SK Group announced social values it created in 2021 on May 23, unveiling a social value measurement formula for the first time to external audiences. SK has implemented DBL (double bottom line) management initiatives realizing EV (economic value) and SV (social value) at the same time true to its newfound role as a corporation and announced social values in monetary terms since 2018. In particular, the group made it clear that the decision to disclose the social value measurement formula and data would facilitate communication with stakeholders and further advance the measurement system on the basis of social consensus, further accelerating the DBL management advocated by Chairman Chey Tae-won at the same time. Meanwhile, SK Group announced that gross social value created by its affiliates last year was estimated to be 18.4 trillion won, up 7 trillion won (+60%) from the previous year. SK Group vows to further upgrade the SV measurement system in collaboration with a variety of global partners including the international corporate association VBA (Value Balancing Alliance), Harvard Business School (HBS), and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council of China (SASAC). The SV measurement formula and data will be unveiled on SK Group’s website (www.sk.co.kr) from May 23. In addition, SK member companies will publish the SV measurement formula and data on their respective websites and sustainability management reports in sequence from the same date.
SK Inc. and SK innovation are gearing up to implement their action plans for global carbon reduction through business collaboration with a small modular reactor (SMR) company. On May 17, Vice Chairman Jang Dong-hyun of SK Inc. and Vice Chairman Kim Jun of SK innovation met with CEO Chris Levesque and key executives of TerraPower at the SK Seorin Building, located in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for comprehensive business collaboration. Last year, SK announced its plan to “contribute to reducing 1% of the global carbon reduction target by 2030” and has since been paying close attention to the competitiveness of SMRs as the “safe power source with zero carbon emission.” Founded in 2008 by Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, TerraPower is a company that brings innovation to the nuclear power industry with its technology to design sodium-cooled fast reactors, a type of next-generation nuclear reactor. The three companies plan to work together to develop various business opportunities including joint development and commercialization of technologies.
On May 10, SK E&S announced that it will invest in a North American carbon capture and storage (CCS) project with leading U.S. energy companies. The project is the world’s largest CCS project to capture and store up to 12 million tons of CO2 per year produced by 32 corn ethanol plants in 5 Midwestern states in the U.S. SK E&S plans to spend 110 million USD (approx. 130 billion KRW) to acquire a 10% stake of Summit Carbon Solutions, the company leading this project. Prior to the announcement, SK E&S unveiled its plan to use CCS technology in its Barossa gas project in Australia to capture and remove carbon dioxide produced in the process of natural gas production. SK E&S expects its ongoing CCS projects in Australia and the U.S. to contribute significantly to achieving the SK Group-wide carbon reduction goal. SK Group announced a specific target of cutting 200 million tons of CO2 by 2030, which is 1% of the global carbon reduction target (21 billion tons).
