SK Chemicals has received an AAA rating, the highest grade in Morgan Stanley Capital International’s ESG assessment, the company said Wednesday.
AAA is the top of MSCI’s seven-tier scale, which ranges from AAA to CCC. SK Chemicals is the only Korean company in MSCI’s Commodity & Diversified Chemicals category to hold the top grade.
MSCI evaluates how companies manage environmental, social and governance-related risks and opportunities compared with global industry peers. Institutional investors and asset managers use the assessment as one indicator when examining sustainability practices and investment risks.
The chemical maker has improved its rating over the past five years, rising from BBB in 2021 to A in 2022 and AA in 2023 before reaching AAA this year.
SK Chemicals attributed the latest upgrade to measures including its decarbonization programs, environmental management system, water stress management and board-centered governance structure.
Its carbon reduction roadmap includes expanding renewable energy use and shifting toward lower-carbon fuels. The firm also runs an ISO 14001-based environmental risk management process across its business sites and assesses water-related risks while setting targets to reduce consumption.
“ESG has become an essential competitive factor that goes beyond declarative efforts to contribute to the environment and society,” SK Chemicals CEO Ahn Jae-Hyun said.
“We will continue strengthening our management system in line with increasingly sophisticated assessment standards and expectations, while enhancing our capabilities across environmental, social and governance areas.”
yejinlim@heraldcorp.com
