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ESG POLICY & STRATEGY
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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 Policy & Strategy
The US Pushes Aside ESG, Markets Demand Data — Sustainable Management After the ESG Backlash
김민경 책임기자 · 06/27/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
Carbon Footprint Is No Longer 'Feel-Good Marketing' — It Becomes a 'Second Cost' in 2026
이우리 선임기자 · 06/24/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
Why Climate Risk Must Be Brought to the Boardroom
Climate risk is shifting from an operational duty for environmental teams to a top-tier agenda that must be directly overseen by the board of directors, now evaluated as a financial risk and opportunity rather than non-financial information. Succeeding the TCFD, the ISSB and South Korea's KSSB Disclosure Standard No. 2 place 'Governance' first among their four core elements, requiring disclosures on board and management oversight responsibilities, reporting frequency, and the linkage of climate targets to compensation—effectively making climate risk a mandatory boardroom agenda item. As South Korea's Financial Services Commission pushes for mandatory disclosures starting after 2026, building the internal capacity to handle repeated annual quantitative disclosures like scenario analyses is critical, a matter requiring board approval given its control over budgets and organization. In global governance discussions, the view that climate oversight failures could lead to breaches of directors' duty of care and legal risks is spreading (such as Delaware jurisprudence and ISS standards), though interpretations vary by jurisdiction and it should be noted that South Korea's legal system does not automatically adopt them. Recognizing that 'climate risk is investment risk' and that investors read board oversight systems as valuation metrics, companies need to calmly prepare through three measures: regularizing board agenda items, clarifying oversight responsibilities, and linking targets to compensation.
강지혜 선임기자 · 06/16/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
Are Korean Companies' ESG Management Strategies Properly Aligned with Global Standards?
An analysis suggests that what Korean companies must pay attention to is the shift in the due diligence method required by the CSDDD, as formal due diligence such as 'sending the same questionnaire to all tier-1 suppliers' is no longer justified, and the principle of risk-based due diligence has become much clearer. Korean companies generating a certain level of revenue or more within the EU are subject to both the CSRD and the CSDDD, and subsidiaries of Korean companies within the EU are also subject to the CSRD if they meet the size requirements. Under the CBAM, carbon emissions translate into financial costs, and the combined effect of production and carbon costs determines competitiveness. In particular, the EU may apply conservative default values to companies lacking an MRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification) system, imposing additional costs that could severely undermine their competitiveness.
KBR 편집부 · 06/11/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
The Era of the "Second Financial Statement" Begins — Significance of Korea's Finalized ESG Disclosure Roadmap and Corporate Tasks
ESG is an international standard framework for corporate sustainability composed of three pillars: Environmental, Social, and Governance. In 2026, Korea officially transitioned this framework into a mandatory disclosure system through the finalization of KSSB standards and the announcement of the Financial Services Commission roadmap. [Image = Korea Business Review DB] 5 Years of Drifting, Finally Dropping Anchor
KBR 편집부 · 05/07/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
ESG Management Set to Become a Condition for Survival by 2030
Korean exporters shipping six carbon-intensive items, including steel and aluminum, to Europe must prove the carbon emissions generated during production and bear the corresponding costs. The time has come for a fundamental shift in how Korean companies view ESG.
이우리 기자 · 04/28/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
ESG Organizations: 'Functioning', Not Just 'Existing', Is Now the Standard
ESG management is not just the responsibility of a dedicated team. The moment business departments discuss and execute together, the organization finally begins to function. [Photo = Korea Business Review DB] The Crisis of the ESG Organization: Why Redesign Is Needed Again Now. The question of 'Will we do ESG?' is already over.
강지혜 기자 · 04/20/2026
