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ESG
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ESG Policy & Strategy
Environmental Permitting Pressure on Automotive and Secondary Battery Plants: Integrating Environmental Permits into a Single System
On August 23, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced plans to legislate amendments to the Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rule of the Environmental Pollution Facilities Act, adding seven industries—including automotive and secondary batteries—to the integrated environmental permitting system. The integrated environmental permit combines up to 10 types of environmental permits and 73 documents scattered across seven laws into a single integrated environmental management plan, while setting customized emission standards for each business site. Implementation is scheduled for January 2028 for three food-related industries and January 2029 for automotive, secondary batteries, flat glass, and rubber products, with a four-year grace period granted to existing business sites. The amendments also include easing measures, such as extending the regular inspection cycle for exemplary business sites to up to five years and easing requirements for integrated environmental managers at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while strengthening the responsibilities of agency service providers as a trade-off. Currently in the legislative notice stage and not yet finalized, the schedule for establishing and supplementing industry-specific Best Available Techniques (BAT) reference documents is considered the biggest variable for the system's establishment.
이태민 책임기자 · 08/29/2026
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ESG Policy & Strategy
What Is Ongoing Emissions Responsibility? The New Net-Zero Standard of SBTi 2.0
박소유 책임기자 · 08/21/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
Safety is Now Public: August 2026 Marks the Dawn of the Corporate 'Safety Report Card' Era
이태민 책임기자 · 08/13/2026
ESG MARKET & CASES
Beyond Paper Checks: Hyundai Motor's Supply Chain ESG Moves to On-Site Verification at Mines and Smelters
류현진 선임기자 · 08/10/2026
ESG MARKET & CASES
Incheon Int'l Airport Corporation, Equipped with an ESG Committee, Failed to Stop Rampant Issuance of Parking Passes
강지혜 선임기자 · 07/10/2026
ESG MARKET & CASES
The Final Puzzle of Successful ESG Management: How to Design Organizational Culture
In 2026, ESG is in a paradoxical phase. While the US-driven backlash has reduced the usage of the term 'ESG,' regulations and practical demands are actually intensifying through EU CSRD/CBAM, Brazil's ISSB mandates, and South Korea's disclosure roadmap. Recent research and HR data show that corporate cultural orientation correlates significantly with ESG performance, employee satisfaction, and pride, suggesting that the success or failure of ESG depends on organizational culture rather than systems. Patagonia embedded its mission into its institutional and daily operations through benefit corporation conversion, ownership changes, environmental internships, and trust-based autonomy, realizing 'ESG driven by culture.' Unilever connected strategy, employee well-being, and ESG into a single operating system through the USLP, while global companies like Microsoft drive cultural shifts by linking executive compensation to sustainability metrics such as climate, workforce, and ethical AI. Principles of organizational culture design that South Korean companies can adopt include leadership internalization, institutionalization of values, employee participation experiences, speak-up cultures, and prudent compensation/KPI alignment. KBR's perspective is that as the regulatory phase deepens, only 'ESG embedded in culture' can withstand the post-ESG debate.
이지영 기자 · 06/30/2026
ESG MARKET & CASES
A New ESG Issue in the AI Era: How Data Center Power and Water Consumption Are Changing Corporate Sustainability
Driven by the proliferation of AI, global data center electricity demand is projected to surge from 415 TWh in 2024 to approximately 700 to 1,300 TWh by 2030 (945 TWh under the IEA baseline scenario), with demand for AI-specific data centers expected to increase approximately threefold over the same period. Water consumption per prompt varies significantly depending on the measurement methodology, ranging from about 0.26 mL (five drops of water) based on actual Google Gemini measurements to about 45 mL based on Mistral disclosures, while total global data center water consumption could rise from approximately 560 billion liters in 2023 to about 1.2 trillion liters by 2030. Microsoft reported that its total emissions increased by 23.4% compared to 2020 due to AI and cloud expansion, with Scope 3 (indirect emissions) accounting for approximately 97% of the total, bringing resource efficiency across the supply chain to the forefront as a key challenge. Domestic data center electricity demand is expected to grow at an annual average of 11% through 2028, and power applications for data centers in the Seoul metropolitan area alone reach approximately 20 GW (equivalent to 20 nuclear power plants), pointing to grid bottlenecks and supply imbalances as structural risks. The KSSB finalized Sustainability Disclosure Standards Nos. 1 and 2 based on the ISSB in February 2026, and under the Financial Services Commission's roadmap draft, ESG disclosures are scheduled to become mandatory for KOSPI-listed companies with assets of 30 trillion won or more starting in 2028, making data center power and water usage a 'disclosure item right next to the financial statements.'
박소유 책임기자 · 06/27/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
The US Pushes Aside ESG, Markets Demand Data — Sustainable Management After the ESG Backlash
In 2026, ESG is unfolding as a simultaneous progression of regulatory rollbacks at the US federal level and growing demands for sustainability data from global capital markets. While the US sees the repeal of SEC climate disclosure rules, ESG fund outflows, and companies avoiding the term 'ESG,' climate targets and sustainability investments have not completely disappeared. On the other hand, regional disclosure regulations such as ISSB standards, IAASB assurance standards, and rules in the EU and California are institutionalizing sustainability information into comparable and verifiable data. South Korea is also pushing to mandate sustainability disclosures starting with large KOSPI-listed companies from 2028 through KSSB standards and a Financial Services Commission roadmap. Ultimately, core competitiveness after the ESG backlash lies not in how well one talks about ESG, but in how reliably one can prove climate, supply chain, and governance data.
김민경 책임기자 · 06/27/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
Carbon Footprint Is No Longer 'Feel-Good Marketing' — It Becomes a 'Second Cost' in 2026
With the full implementation of the CBAM in January 2026 and the finalization of the KSSB in February, the carbon footprint has shifted from a 'measurement target' to an object of 'payment and reporting.' The EU CBAM imposes carbon costs on the import of six categories including steel and aluminum, with the certificate price for the first quarter announced at 75.36 euros per ton (April 2026). As the CSRD, Green Claims, and Digital Product Passport (DPP) intersect, regulatory focus is narrowing beyond company-wide levels to questioning the carbon of a 'single product' (PCF). South Korea will begin disclosures starting with KOSPI-listed companies with assets of 30 trillion won or more in 2028 (FY2027), while providing a three-year grace period until 2031 for Scope 3, which is the most challenging. Ultimately, companies equipped with verifiable carbon data infrastructure will reduce costs and gain bidding leverage, meaning the grace period is a 'preparation period,' not an 'exemption.'
이우리 선임기자 · 06/24/2026
ESG MARKET & CASES
ESG Dedicated Organizations: Time to Establish or Disband?
The questions are changing—the buzzword for 2026 is no longer whether there is a separate ESG department, but rather the simultaneous realization of two trends: on one hand, CSO and dedicated organizations being absorbed or reorganized into other functions, and on the other, 'internalization' across the entire company. Globally, it is a 'restructuring' rather than a 'retreat.' While some worry that CSO roles are being absorbed by CFO, risk, and legal departments, hiring demand and budgets remain robust, marking a shift from non-financial areas into the mainstream of management. The core issue is integration versus dilution. The moment ESG becomes 'everyone's job,' there is a risk that it degrades into 'no one's job' without authority and budgets, and side effects like greenhushing are reported. In Korea's reality, the establishment of ESG committees among the top 500 companies surpassed the halfway mark, rising from 53.7% in 2023 to around 57% recently (with significant industry deviations). The Financial Services Commission has presented a roadmap draft initiating mandatory disclosure starting in 2028 for assets of 30 trillion won or more beginning in February 2026, shifting the weight toward 'internalization and execution.' The essence lies in the structure of authority, data, and responsibility rather than the mere presence of a department. The real question should not be 'Do we have an ESG department?' but 'Is ESG actually changing our decision-making?'
이지영 기자 · 06/22/2026
