On the fifth anniversary of the declaration of POSCO Group’s “Corporate Citizenship” management philosophy, “2023 POSCO Corporate Citizenship Day” event was held at the Art Hall of POSCO Center in Seoul on July 24 to share its achievements of the past five years. The event was attended by more than 100 people, including Jeong-woo Choi, POSCO Group Chairman, Hag-dong Kim, POSCO Group Vice Chairman, Stanford University Professor William P. Barnett, group employees, and academic experts, while POSCO Group employees also watched the event on in-house IPTV and YouTube.

Five Years of Corporate Citizenship, the Journey of POSCO Group

The keynote lecture, “Sustainability Revolution,” was given by Stanford University Professor William Barnett, a master of corporate evolution theory who is in charge of researching “A Deep Analysis of POSCO Group’s Corporate Citizenship Promotion Process” at Stanford. The lecture received a strong response from the attendees.

“Under the leadership of Chairman Jeong-woo Choi, POSCO Group has successfully transitioned into Sustainable future business,” Barnett said. He added, “POSCO’s corporate citizenship management philosophy will be able to create significant social value ahead of the grand transformation to sustainability.”

In the following special forum, “Change Our Mind With Corporate Citizenship,” which was divided into three sections, Business, Society, and People, participants shared their thoughts on the achievements of the past five years and made suggestions for future development.

Taejae University President Jae-ho Yeom, who chaired the forum, said, “Over the past five years of corporate citizenship management, POSCO Group has presented a sustainable corporate model by increasing group value with the successful business transformation from steel-centric to Sustainable future materials such as secondary battery materials.”

Professor Su-geun Gwak reflected on the last five years, saying, “POSCO Group’s corporate citizenship is a fundamental and philosophical management ideology that goes beyond ESG.” He continued, “The fact that the local community and stakeholders all came together to provide significant assistance in restoration efforts following last year’s flood caused by a typhoon indicates that POSCO Group has successfully fulfilled its role as a corporate citizen.”

Corporate Citizenship Activities Promotion Booth Features

During a short break after the first part of the event, employees visited promotion booths that displayed POSCO Group’s corporate citizenship activities. POSCO, POSCO INTERNATIONAL, POSCO E&C, POSCO FUTURE M, and POSCO DX set up promotional booths where employees shared their accomplishments and encouraged each other.

The second part of the event kicked off with a special performance. Vocalist Nam-hyeon Lee, an artist with disability who participated in When Meeting Becomes Art Season 3 held by POSCO’s 1% Sharing Foundation, took the stage and sang “The Song of Friendship.” Following this, he collaborated with the Maytree of Acapella to passionately sing “Amazing Grace.”

Corporate Citizenship Best Practice Presentation: A GEM Connecting Story

The second part of the event, which began with humorous remarks by broadcaster Gyeong-seok, Seo featured the presentation contest “A GEM Connecting Story,” where group employees shared their best practices of corporate citizenship in their daily work over the past five years, and awards were presented for the best cases. Out of 54 cases, six that made it to the final round were presented in sequence.
^{*A GEM Connecting Story: This means connecting the corporate citizenship management philosophy (GEM for stakeholders) and employees’ real-world practice stories. GEM is an acronym for “Go the Extra Mile.”}

A GEM Connecting Story ① POSCO DX’s “Smart Integrated Safety Solution”

To reduce the occurrence of safety accidents at industrial sites, POSCO DX and small and medium-sized technology companies have collaborated to develop a safety solution that integrates 22 of the latest technologies and has already been implemented at 130 industrial sites, significantly contributing to on-site safety communication and accident prevention.

A GEM Connecting Story ② POSCO CHINA’s “Smart Low Carbon Lifestyle App”

POSCO CHINA has been recognized for developing the application “Smart Low Carbon Lifestyle” that can be used by 1.4 billion Chinese people to achieve low carbon in their daily lives, such as walking 10,000 steps and not using disposable products, which not only reduces carbon emissions but also improves employee health and the corporate image.

A GEM Connecting Story ③ eNtoB’s “Building a Value Chain for Recycling Waste Fishing Nets”

To improve the marine environment, eNtoB has built a waste fishing net recycling process that involves purchasing these waste nets to produce and commercialize recyclable resources. With the collection of waste fishing nets, eNtoB is addressing local community problems, discovering and fostering social ventures, and realizing carbon reduction and a circular economy.

A GEM Connecting Story ④ POSCO’s Hot Rolled Wire Marketing Office, “Developing a Multipurpose Firefighting Support Tool”

As the risk of wildfires increases due to climate change, POSCO’s Hot Rolled Wire Marketing Office took the lead in developing and distributing a multipurpose firefighting support tool made from POSCO’s WTP steel that enables firefighters to more effectively control residual fires.

A GEM Connecting Story ⑤ POSCO E&C, “Developing a Ready-mixed Concrete Transportation Information System”

POSCO E&C has taken the lead in preventing building collapses caused by defective ready-mixed concrete by being the first in Korea to build a real-time quality control platform. It has been recognized for addressing construction safety anxiety and spearheading the establishment of a social safety net through technology sharing.

A GEM Connecting Story ⑥ POSCO MEXICO, “Developing an Industrial Wastewater Recycling Technology”

POSCO MEXICO developed a technology to recycle wastewater and shared its know-how with the government and corporations to build a shared growth ecosystem to solve water shortages, and reduced costs by recycling 350,000 liters of wastewater a year.

Evaluation of the case presentation was conducted by live online voting by 150 pre-selected voters and 100 on-site employees.

In a tightly contested contest, the grand prize went to POSCO MEXICO, which developed the technology to recycle industrial wastewater. The first prize was awarded to the POSCO Hot-rolled Wire Marketing Office and eNtoB, while the second prize went to POSCO E&C, POSCO DX, and POSCO CHINA. The grand prize team won 6 million won, the first prize team won 5 million won, and the second prize team won 4 million won.

In his remarks at the commemorative event, Jeong-woo Choi, POSCO Group Chairman said, “If I had to describe corporate citizenship in two words, I would say ‘value plus.’” He added, “POSCO Group is creating real value by adding environmental and social value to economic value, and we will continue to add more value based on the know-how of the past five years.”

Casa de Patricia is a non-governmental group that supports disabled children and provides welfare for the elderly, while ABC PECEM is currently helping 150 local, underprivileged children. Brazil CSP delivered KRW 3.6 million to the organizations for facility renovation and furnishings.    

Brazil CSP is a steel mill with an annual capacity of 3 million tons. It sits in the Pecem industrial complex in the state of Ceara, located in the northeastern region of Brazil. The company is a joint venture between POSCO and Dongkuk Steel and Brazilian mining company Vale.

What is the Food Donation Drive?

As part of the company’s efforts to promote volunteer work among employees, POSCO-INDIA (President Mr. Gee-Woong Sung) started the “Food Donation Drive” program in December 2015, in collaboration with Delhi-NCR Foodbank. The second food drive was successfully held between January 18-23 of this year with overwhelming employee participation. The goal of this program is to provide free food to those in need to help eliminate hunger and food insecurity in Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region). It is a small effort towards ending the fight against hunger and malnutrition in India.

Under this program, food collection boxes are placed at the main entrance lobby of POSCO-INDIA and POSCO-IDPC office premises for one week. Employees donate unlimited quantities of non-perishable food items such as rice, wheat flour, sugar and cooking oil. At the end of the week, representatives of Delhi-NCR Foodbank collect the donations. These food items are then used as part of the hot meals that are provided daily to approximately a quarter million vulnerable and homeless residents in Delhi and nearby regions.

A True Internal “Volunteer” Activity

Delhi-NCR Foodbank was first implemented in 2012 and is operated by the Responsenet Development Services (RDS), India. They collect food donations from individuals and corporate organizations, and redistribute them in the form of cooked meals at 30 feeding centers that provide services to the poor, homeless, charitable hospitals and orphanages.

It should be noted that the food drive contributions at POSCO-INDIA are made voluntarily by employees. The volunteering efforts come from inside the company, out of a desire to make a change and create value in the community, as well as nurture a sense of empathy. The importance of eradicating hunger and providing nutrition in India has been reiterated as one of the provisions for CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) in Schedule VII of Section 135 of the Indian Companies Act 2013. Also, according to Indian law, it is mandatory for companies to set aside 2 percent of their net profits for CSR activities, which is why several Indian companies chose efforts like these as a part of their CSR programs.

Interview with POSCO Employees

We interviewed employees who took part in this program. See what they had to say.

Q. How does it feel to participate in the “Food Donation Drive” program?

 Mr. Pabitra Mohan Swain, Administration Department: “I felt really happy and pleased to be part of a program that helps to fulfill one of the most important basic needs of a human being. The most memorable part for me was the way everyone came forward to help voluntarily.”

Mr. Shreenibasha Mishra, Finance Department: “I was able to share my food with someone who really needs it, which made me feel more motivated about going to work. I love that my company thinks highly enough of its employees and the things we care about to give us time and money to give back to causes we care about.”

Ms. Trupti Ray: “I do feel as if I have something special to offer to a very special cause to help others, to make a small difference in children’s lives. I remembered the gradual filling of the food basket on each day and feel happier thanks to POSCO India’s employees. It’s such a great feeling to be around other people who support the same cause that you feel strongly about.”

Q. As an employee, how do you feel about POSCO-INDIA participating in CSR activities?

Mr. Pabitra Mohan Swain: “As an employee I am proud to be a part of POSCO-India—an organization that always promotes voluntary donations, as per the vision of our Honorable CMD to ‘Donate Voluntarily’ and silently to serve the community. Since joining last year I have seen various CSR activities carried out by POSCO India and POSCO Family companies, which really inspires me as an individual.”

Mr. Shreenibasha Mishra: “Today, being in business for the sake of making profit is not enough. Customers and consumers will continue to expect good quality products and services. To a larger extent than before, people choose to work with or buy from companies that positively impact their community. Therefore, it is important to include CSR in a business’ strategic plans. It is a win-win for all involved—the company, the customers, the community and society.”

Ms. Trupti Ray: “I feel inspired, connected and hopeful working in a company like POSCO India, where employees spend their time and effort doing something good for society, and to make the world a better place.”

Apart from sharing with the underprivileged, POSCO-INDIA employees also nurture an appreciation culture within the organization by adding messages to the “Appreciation Tree” to show appreciation of other employees’ actions and behaviors. This creates a sense of oneness and fun within the workplace.

Since its establishment, POSCO has identified its corporate mission as contributing to the nation’s development, and has carried out various social responsibility activities to do so. Keeping the same spirit, POSCO-INDIA aims “for a better world” together through its small efforts in contributing to India’s society.

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