LG Electronics supports ESG certification for overseas suppliers

LG Electronics Inc. is accelerating its support for enhancing the environmental, social and governance (ESG) capabilities of domestic and overseas partner companies. The company announced on Tuesday that it will expand the target of third-party ESG certification support from domestic partners to overseas ones starting this year.

This year, LG Electronics plans to support a total of 50 domestic and overseas partner firms, including 22 local automotive parts suppliers of its Vietnam corporation, with third-party ESG risk certification audits by Société Générale de Surveillance SA, a global ESG certification body.

This is intended to proactively respond to partner firms' supply chain ESG risks as ESG-related legislation, such as supply chain due diligence laws, have been newly introduced or strengthened, mainly in the European Union (EU).

Over the past two years, LG Electronics has supported ESG management capability suitability certification audits through reliable global certification bodies for 100 domestic partner companies.

LG Electronics also plans to strengthen partner firms' ESG self-assessment capabilities by signing a "business agreement for partner company ESG management support and win-win growth" with the Small and Medium Business Cooperation Center of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) on the previous day.

"We will seek various practical support measures to enhance the competitiveness of domestic and overseas partner companies in the ESG field and expand sustainable supply chain construction," said Wang Cheol-min, LG Electronics' Director of Global Operations Center.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com