LG 1st in South Korea’s ESG rankings for 2nd year

LG Corp., the holding company of South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate LG Group, ranked No. 1 in the country’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) brand list in 2023 for a second straight year with its affiliates also among the top five companies, showcasing the group corporations’ continuous efforts toward sustainable growth.

LG Corp. scored 105.7 points in the survey of 4,000 consumers of South Korea’s 150 largest companies by sales conducted by The Hankyung ESG, the country’s sole magazine for the sector, released on Sunday.

The company earned the best grade for the governance section, performing well in areas such as management’s ethical awareness and transparent disclosure of corporate information.

LG H&H Co., formerly LG Household & Health Care Ltd., ranked third, up from No. 5 in 2022, thanks to a higher score in the environmental section given its efforts on energy saving and recycling. LG Electronics Inc., the world’s leading home appliance maker, followed the group’s cosmetics and healthcare unit.

SAMSUNG ELEC RANKS NO. 2

Samsung Electronics Co., the global memory chip leader, was rated No. 2 with a score of 103.1. Samsung earned high points for its active contribution to local communities, efforts on innovation in the organization's culture, as well as human rights and safety for employees. The company, however, was behind LG Corp. in the environmental section.

Samsung SDI Co., the world’s sixth-largest electric vehicle battery maker, raised its ranking on the list to fifth from No. 10 last year. The company logged better grades in the social and governance sections.

Naver Corp., the country’s online giant, and Shinsegae Inc., a retail behemoth, came in at the sixth and seventh places, respectively.

POSCO, the world’s No. 7 steelmaker, and GS Energy Corp. debuted on the top 10 list at eighth and ninth, respectively. POSCO rose from No. 13 in 2022 thanks to higher grades on transparent information disclosure and compliance with regulations.

LG Energy Solution Ltd., the world’s second-largest EV battery maker, ranked 10th, down from fourth in 2022.

Meanwhile, the electric and electronic sector topped the ranking of 15 industries with a score of 61.7 points, while financial holding companies ranked the lowest with 21.4 points.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
 

Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.