Tech companies to introduce sustainable corporate management strategy at CES

SEOUL -- Major global tech companies including SK Telecom and Apple will introduce their sustainable management strategies at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, an annual electronics exhibition that takes place online from January 11 to 14 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For many years, environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) has become the main keyword that impacts corporate value and growth. Through sustainability management, companies can prevent and manage non-financial risk. They are also able to balance financial and non-financial growth and enhance access to capital markets including the investment market.

Investors pay close attention to companies' ESG management strategy as it can affect the investee companies' sustainability and performance. Asset managers and financial institutions rely on ESG rating agencies to analyze and compare companies' ESG performances.

Industry experts predict that many tech companies will introduce their ESG management tactics at the CES this year. It has become vital for companies to set up management strategies to follow many countries' strengthened environmental guidelines that have been revised to counteract global climate change.

Apple, the maker of iPhones and iPads, is one of the companies with a strong ESG management strategy. The American tech company plans to achieve net-zero carbon emission in its production and distribution processes by 2030.

South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group joined the Renewable Energy 100 (RE100) campaign in December last year and promised to reduce the carbon emission of its subsidiaries including SK hynix and SK Telecom by 2050.

Samsung adopted ESG to its TV production and distribution processes to reduce about 25,000 tons of greenhouse gas in 2021. The company will showcase eco-friendly packaging for TV and other devices at the CES. The South Korean tech giant has also applied solar cells to its TV remote controllers to reduce the usage of about 99 million disposable batteries during the next seven years.

[The original article was written in Korean by Aju Business Daily reporter Kang Il-yong]