On May 25, POSCO’s global subsidiaries in Thailand organized a coral reef rehabilitation project with Royal Thai Marine Corps to help restore Thailand’s ocean life as a part of the ‘POSCO Global Volunteer Week’ initiative. Around 100 employees from POSCO-SouthAsia, POSCO-TBPC, POSCO-Thainox, POSCO-TCS and POSCO Daewoo gathered at a beach near Pattaya and planted baby corals on to the reefs to restore Pattaya’s coral reefs, which have been gradually deteriorating and disappearing due to global warming and pollution. In this project, 315 baby coral plates were molded from cement, sand and water to anchor the baby corals back in their habitat to help them grow safely and organically.
Now in its eighth year, ‘POSCO Global Volunteer Week’ is an annual hands-on volunteer initiative organized by POSCO’s Social Contribution Group, which provides an opportunity for local and international employees of POSCO to take part in various efforts to contribute to environmental preservation and social relief. ‘POSCO Global Volunteer Week’ initiatives include creative philanthropic activities such as teaching English in Indonesia, sending educational materials and nutritional supplements to India’s rural town, and holding fundraising events in Turkey and China.
This year, as many as 62,000 employees from POSCO’s global subsidiaries around 53 countries participated in supporting their local communities.
One day English lesson held in Krakatau, Indonesia on May 27, and nutritional supplements presented to children of Dighi, rural India on 26th.
POSCO-TNPC employees of Turkey making Turkish quesadilla to aid the poor at a charity bazaar on 26th. The same day, POSCO-Japan Tokyo employees supporting the elderly at a nursing home in Japan, and Hiroshima employees picking up trash around Hiroshima Station.
Zhangjiagang Pohang Stainless Steel employees participating in the charity bazaar to raise funds for underprivileged citizens. Domestically, employees in Korea freshly decorate decrepit walls in Pohang and Gwangyang.
Beyond these short-term activity-based initiatives, POSCO also engages in more steady and long-term initiatives, such as developing global partnerships for social causes. One example is ‘POSCO 1% Foundation‘, where employees of POSCO and partner companies donate 1% of their monthly salary to raise funds for ‘POSCO Steel Village’. This UN-recognized long-term initiative is designed to build sustainable residences and public facilities using POSCO’s advanced technologies to reform the dwelling of poor neighborhoods by 2030.
As the various social contribution projects demonstrate, POSCO strives to be not only a leading global steel manufacturer but also an active social participant engaged in various global corporate citizenship initiatives to contribute to environmental preservation and social relief.