The 2024 Global Volunteer Week, POSCO’s special volunteer service event, was held from May 23 to 31. More than 20,000 POSCO employees in Korea and other countries participated in large-scale volunteer work to practice sharing. POSCO Newsroom has taken vivid photos of the volunteer activities carried out by overseas subsidiary employees worldwide. Let’s meet them!

▲ POSCO-ZPSS employees carried out various volunteer activities to celebrate Global Volunteer Week. They held a bazaar in the cafeteria and in front of the parking lot and donated a total of 16,000 yuan to special schools and families in need. They also visited Jin Xiu School in Zhangjiagang City to provide a voluntary service of taking graduation photos for about 300 students from low-income families and donated sportswear and sneakers to the women’s volleyball team players.

▲ POSCO-QPSS employees participated in the “Love Sharing Blood Donation” event hosted by the Qingdao City Blood Donation Center and held a charity bazaar with donated goods from 48 employees in the office building’s first-floor lobby. They donated a total of 1,779 yuan to the underprivileged.

▲ POSCO-Asia (Hong Kong) employees visited a local support group for underprivileged children and donated the future generation support funds raised through the 1% Sharing activities and participated in Food Angel volunteer work to make about 2,500 lunch boxes to distribute to neighbors.

▲Twelve employees of BX Steel POSCO Cold Rolled Sheet Co. visited the Korean-Chinese Middle School in Benxi and held an art contest with the theme “Waste sorting for environmental protection starts with me” as part of an eco-friendly knowledge learning class and awarded excellent works.

▲ POSCO-CSPC employees visited the Children’s Love Center, which was newly established by the Hua Qiao Government to help special children live a safe and convenient life, and provided various learning aids for children to use. They also placed air-purifying plants throughout the children’s center to create a pleasant indoor environment.

▲ POSCO-CCPC employees carried out an environmental cleanup at the Yulin river’s Long Xing Estuary near the company’s head office and collected waste by going around approximately 2 kilometers near the river road for two hours.

▲ POSCO-CDPC employees held a handmade craft event with clay drawings with children at a Hong Yan daycare center near the company’s head office.

▲ POSCO-CFPC employees held a Healing Summer event by inviting families of the disabled. They invited the families of the disabled to the Guangdong Industrial Design Complex and ran a program where the visitors could experience Guangdong Province’s industrial development and POSCO’s corporate culture.

▲ POSCO-CHPC employees visited a Wuhan Yi De senior welfare center, where they have been carrying out volunteer services for 9 years, and spent time with the seniors making zongzi, a traditional food for the Dragon Boat Festival.

▲ POSCO-CJPC employees visited a Jilin Chao Yang special school near the head office, laid out safety mats so that the children could rest comfortably and provided snacks.

▲ POSCO-CLPC employees donated five electric nursing beds to vulnerable groups living near the factory with donations collected through 1% Sharing activities.

▲ POSCO-CQPC employees visited the Qing Yu Village, a sister village that was having difficulties with timely harvesting due to a shortage of workers, helped the village people to harvest and package cherries, and donated the cherries to a local senior center.

▲ POSCO-CTPC employees collected 309 sets of old clothes that they no longer used and donated them to a public interest collection platform.

▲ POSCO-CWPC employees carried out activities to remove weeds from the factory’s idle site.

▲ POSCO-CYPC employees visited the beach in downtown Yantai, where many tourists go in the summer, and carried out environmental cleanup activities to pick up trash and put its ESG management philosophy into practice.

▲ POSCO-Japan PC employees carried out environmental cleanup activities for five days in the Toyohashi Sports Complex near the factory, the fishing park in the Yokkaichi Kasumigaura Industrial Complex, the area around the Kawasaki factory, and the vicinity of Higashi Ogishima West Park.

▲ POSCO-PMPC employees cleaned the roads and sewers to prevent flooding that may occur during typhoons and the rainy season in the First Philippine Industrial Park where the company is located.

▲ POSCO-Malaysia employees performed environmental cleanup at community halls and kindergartens near the company by trimming grass, painting old goalposts, cleaning the inside and outside of buildings, and collecting waste.

▲ All POSCO-MKPC’s Klang Factory employees walked a 2-kilometer path between the Klang Factory entrance and surrounding villages to collect waste to participate in the “Zero Disposable Plastic” waste reduction campaign.

▲ About 30 employees of PY NIVA (POSCO YAMATO VINA) purchased paint supplies using funds raised through the 1% Sharing program, repainted tables and chairs they previously donated to an elementary school near the company, and delivered scholarships of 10 million dong to students in need.

▲ POSCO-VST’s 130 employees went around the company to collect roadside trash and provided a fun time by holding a charity bazaar and traditional game competition at a nearby elementary school.

▲ POSCO-Vietnam’s 90 employees visited two orphanages near the company’s head office and had a good time with the children by distributing snacks and school supplies.

▲ POSCO E&C Vietnam employees visited Phuc Lam Orphanage Center and donated daily necessities, school supplies, and a support fund of about 1.6 million won to instill hope in children for the future.

▲ POSCO-Thailand PC’s 67 employees carried out the protection of the maritime ecosystem jointly with the Chonburi Province Coral Preservation Foundation by planting coral seedlings in the sea. Their activities were introduced in detail on the Foundation’s SNS.

▲ POSCO-TCS employees visited nearby Banpusai Elementary School, donated shoe racks and created a vegetable garden. Moreover, they replaced toilets and lighting in old bathrooms and provided education on safety and hygiene to the students.

▲ POSCO-Thainox employees cleaned pedestrian paths near the local municipality office, cleaned drains in preparation for the rainy season, and visited welfare centers for children and people with disabilities to donate daily necessities and carry out activities such as ceiling repair and restroom maintenance. Moreover, they donated relief supplies to nearby emergency rescue teams and self-made bulletproof panels in bulletproof vests to police stations.

▲ POSCO-ISDC’s employees visited a nearby school in Mangao, donated educational TVs and water dispensers, provided English lessons for students, and planted eco-friendly mango trees with the children.

▲ POSCO-Maharashtra employees visited a welfare center for visually impaired students and donated various items, including food and school supplies, to help students grow up in a good environment.

▲ POSCO-IDPC’s employess donated 30 barricades for traffic control to the Casola Police Station in the region. Moreover, they participated in the Indian government’s “Clean India Vision Campaign” by picking up trash and cleaning roads near the office.

▲ POSCO-IAPC employees walked around the roadside in front of the center, picked up discarded trash, and planted seedlings, contributing to creating a pleasant community environment.

▲ POSCO-ICPC collected trash around drainage ditches and removed steel items such as bolts from roads to prepare for heavy monsoon rains and safety accidents around the Chennai Center. In addition, to increase the convenience of nearby residents, the area was cleaned up with pedestrian roads and maintenance.

▲ Fifty employees of POSCO-India Pune Processing Center (IPPC) planted 500 fruit tree seedlings, such as guava, custard apple, and sapota, at Lake Talegaon Dabhade near the company.

▲ POSCO-IJPC’s 28 employees visited a nearby nursing home to celebrate Family Day in Indonesia, prepared chicken porridge and drinks for senior adults, and made and installed handrails in the front yard and walking path.

▲ PT. Krakatau POSCO employees visited a local school for the disabled, built a garden, repainted oil painting, and cooperated with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to build an artificial fish reef at Ketapang Beach and clean up the shore. Furthermore, they participated in a blood donation event, delivering 221 blood bags to the Red Cross. They also conducted environmental cleanup activities at five local landmarks with military units and municipal officials from the Cilegon area.

In Part 2 of ‘2024 Global Volunteer Week’ overseas employee volunteer activities,
Overseas corporations in Turkey, Poland, the United States, etc.
Lively volunteer activities participated by POSCO International executives and employees
We will report on the scene. Thank you for your interest!

To adapt to the rapidly changing Chinese automotive market, POSCO is actively managing 12 processing centers in China, the world’s leading car production hub, with a strong emphasis on eco-friendly vehicles. POSCO’s integrated processing centers in China practices ESG management through organic collaboration among processing centers, by addressing regional customers collectively, by engaging in active corporate citizenship activities and through the use of renewable energy.

In 1994, POSCO founded its first international processing center, the CTPC, in Tianjin, China. Since then, the company has further expanded its operations in China, establishing four production corporations, including POSCO China, and adding 11 additional processing centers to its network. In China, POSCO currently manages processing centers in various locations, such as Suzhou (CSPC, CZPC), Xianyang (CLPC), Gilim (CJPC), Poshan (CFPC), Yantai (CYPC), Chongqing (CCPC), Chengdu (CDPC), Qingdao (CQPC), Tianjin (CTPC), and Wuhan (CHPC).

The China Integrated Processing Center processes coil-shaped steel materials into various sizes and shapes as per the requirements of its customers, which include automotive, appliance, and construction companies. It also offers logistics services, including material storage and transportation, to reduce the logistical burden on its clients. POSCO in China has integrated its processing centers into the CTPC, thereby fostering a flexible and agile response system for regional customer needs and creating synergy through organic collaboration. In addition, POSCO actively practices ESG management through various methods such as active corporate citizenship activities and the use of renewable energy.

Distinguished organizational culture management and efficient safety practices

The China Integrated Processing Center is known for its well-established organizational culture, with many long-term employees. It operates an internal channel for gathering employee feedback, continuously monitoring the opinions of employees through the VOC (voice of customer) system and providing feedback within 24 hours. Thanks to this attentive organizational culture management, the turnover rate, which was 26% in 2019, decreased to 3% by 2023, and the length of service has increased, creating a “happy workplace.”

Furthermore, the organization has been innovating its culture through collaborative efforts in creative and innovative activities involving all employees. The number of improvement initiatives, which was 37 in 2020, increased to 531 in 2023, resulting in a cumulative total of 1,073 on-site improvements. Innovative improvements have been made in the sales, purchasing, and logistics areas. In the Sales Department, the introduction of an e-sales platform led to a 100% success rate in scrap sales, promoting transparency and fairness in business operations. In the Purchasing Department, 1,246 items that had previously been managed manually were systematized, and improvements in logistics routes within the factory significantly reduced waiting times during loading.

▲Unmanned knife replacement facility using a robot (left) and the newly established ‘Press Smart’ preliminary maintenance system.

Efficient safety management activities that focus on identifying core aspects are also noteworthy. The Processing Center has significantly improved safety levels through efficient safety management, with all employees equipped with safety expertise actively participating in safety initiatives. As a result of employees voluntarily engaging in potential risk mitigation activities, the number of identified ideas for mitigating potential risks increased from 1,139 in 2020 to 2,411 in 2023. This was made possible through the various policies that support safety improvement activities, including the streamlining of the proposal process and the expansion of incentive systems such as audit cards.

With ongoing efforts in equipment resilience and smartization activities, the equipment failure rate has consistently decreased annually, reaching 0.02% in 2023. In addition, the CTPC has established a maintenance system and achieved automation and unmanned operations, and is now ready for future investments in smart technology and collaborative processes for processing equipment.

Setting an example in ESG management for carbon Reduction

▲China Integrated Processing Center (left), which was introduced as an excellent company in safety management in Suzhou Daily, the largest media in Suzhou City, and the Tianjin City government-certified low-carbon environment excellent company award in 2022.

The China Integrated Processing Center is playing an exemplary role as a processing corporation based on recognition and trust from the local Chinese community. The Chinese government is currently pursuing the “Industrial Green Development Plan,” which aims to transform industrial zones into low-carbon manufacturing environments by 2050. In line with this, since 2017, it has been selecting and commending a “Green Factory” that possesses low-carbon manufacturing environments. The CTPC in Tianjin received government certification as a “Green Factory” in 2023. Processing centers such as the CSPC in Jiangsu Province, the CYPC in Shandong Province, and the CHPC in Hebei Province are currently undergoing evaluation for “Green Factory” certification.

The China Integrated Processing Center has also established a green energy production system by installing solar panels, thereby contributing to carbon Reduction. By installing solar panels covering 67% of the total roof area at the CSPC factory, equivalent to 10,000 square meters, it has saved approximately 639,000 yuan (around KRW 100 million) in annual electricity costs and reduced annual CO₂ emissions by about 11,000 tons. During the verification of renewable energy source generation, the monthly expected power generation from the solar panels was found to be 90 MWH, surpassing the predictions of the simulation conducted before the investment. The company is expanding its renewable facilities by installing streetlights powered by wind and solar energy, thereby achieving self-powering through renewable energy sources.

Let’s take a closer look at the impressive performance of the CTPC among the 12 POSCO China Integrated Processing Centers. The CTPC stands out for its smart safety management and active corporate citizenship activities, standing out as an exemplary processing center.

The CTPC, established on October 26, 1994, in Tianjin, China, is the first overseas processing center for POSCO. The CTPC processes and stores steel plates, and they sell these to car companies such as Beijing Benz, Great Wall Motor, and FAW-Toyota in the northern part of China. With a team of 150 dedicated employees, they are passionately committed to proving the capabilities of a leading materials company in the rapidly changing Chinese automotive market and are determined to make even greater strides.

▲Integrated Safety Management Mini-App usage screen.

The CTPC has introduced the Integrated Safety Management Mini-App to effectively record and share information about safety activities that employees participate in. Previously, when employees identified potential hazards in the field, they had to take photos and send them to the safety manager, who would manually record and manage them in the potential hazard log. Sharing the recorded information with all employees immediately was also a challenge. With the implementation of the Integrated Safety Management Mini-App, employees can now quickly and easily report potential hazards they find in the field. This information is then shared with all employees. The app allows for direct checking of the improvement process and results.

Full employee engagement in safety certification and emergency response training

The CTPC has overturned the old idea that only managers or officials are responsible for on-site safety. Instead, all on-site employees are trained to be safety experts. The company encourages all employees to get safety certificates and makes sure they receive at least 32 hours of training through online lessons and other methods. As a result, all 59 production line workers have obtained safety management certifications through final evaluations. Since all employees started becoming safety management experts and taking charge of the workplace, the annual number of voluntarily proposed ideas for identifying latent risks has been on the rise. This trend reflects an enhancement in the safety competence of the employees.

The CTPC regularly participates in emergency response training organized by the Tianjin Development Zone Red Cross and conducts quarterly emergency response drills. 81 team members have successfully completed emergency response training, earning qualifications in CPR and hemostasis. The CTPC has also taken measures to equip the workplace with essential emergency response equipment, including AEDs, oxygen resuscitators, and emergency medical kits. In emergency training, employees learned how to respond to different situations, such as fires, how to use fire extinguishers, and how to handle incidents such as suffocation in confined spaces or electric shock accidents during work. In particular, the CTPC offers practical training through a combination of VR education and hands-on practice to ensure employees can respond swiftly and appropriately during emergencies.

ILS activities that address the root causes of disasters

The CTPC has established an isolation locking system (ILS) to block, isolate, and secure energy sources, thereby eliminating fundamental causes of accidents. The ILS has three locking types: “personal locking” for individual work, “facility locking” for work involving two or more people or two or more locations, and “group locking” for tasks with numerous workers. Each locking type is differentiated by padlock colors: red (personal), yellow (2 or more), and green (group). With the introduction of the ILS system and the rigorous enforcement of safety protocols during maintenance and inspection tasks, the likelihood of unexpected facility operations, which could potentially lead to accidents or incidents, was proactively mitigated, ensuring the safety of employees.

In addition, CTPC employees always check for safety risks on the job and actively work on improvements. One notable activity involved identifying the risk of blind spots during forklift operation, which led to the creation of a speed limiter and an AI video collision prevention system, effectively stopping accidents from happening. The CTPC achieved 1,146 days without accidents! They consistently maintain on-site safety through efficient safety management activities that target key safety points.

Corporate citizenship activities focused on coexisting with the local community

Driven by a sense of social responsibility, the CTPC has strived to develop alongside the local community. In particular, it actively helps the less fortunate members of the local community and also engages in corporate citizenship activities aimed at nurturing local education initiatives and skilled individuals and aiding in their employment.

On June 1, 2023, the CTPC invited elementary school students from the Tianjin area to visit the company and provided them with opportunities to experience corporate culture and safety education. The students learned about the CTPC through POSCO’s in-house recreation program and had an enjoyable time, even receiving prizes. On September 12, 2023, 14 CTPC employees engaged in DIY activities and assisted with rehabilitation therapy at a local autism rehabilitation center in Tianjin, where they spent time with the children. They also provided various support items, including food and gifts. Then, on October 23, 2023, the CTPC signed an agreement with Tianjin Polytechnic University to provide graduating students from relevant departments with opportunities to work and grow in their respective fields. This initiative has become an opportunity to support Tianjin’s youth, who are burdened by high unemployment rates, fostering mutual growth.

In addition, POSCO’s integrated processing centers in China and the CTPC are actively involved in environmental cleanup and tree-planting activities, biodiversity conservation, and wetland park preservation. These initiatives are aimed at promoting POSCO’s corporate citizenship values as it strives to enhance the well-being of the local community and its residents. It will continue to work towards making POSCO a “100-Year Company” through systematic organizational culture management, smart safety activities, and corporate citizenship activities that inspire the local community.