‘East Asia 30’ is an event where CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities of companies in East Asia are analyzed based on social, environmental, and governance structures, and 30 leading companies are selected and announced.  This year, 8 companies including POSCO were selected from Korea. POSCO received high marks for stakeholder communication and governance structure.

POSCO announced the management philosophy of becoming a ‘company loved by stakeholders’ in 2011, and established the stakeholder model ‘SPICEE’ consisting of ‘Society, Partners, Investors, Customers, Employees, and Environment.’  Based on this model, proactive stakeholder communication and transparent information sharing through the sustainability report were evaluated highly.  POSCO was also acknowledged as a leading company in governance structure as the position of the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors are separated, while the ‘Outside Director Ethics Code’ was established to promote responsibility and transparency of activities of outside directors.

Prior to the award ceremony on the 30^th at the 4^th Annual Asia Future Forum, POSCO CSR Division Director Yang Wonjun in his case study presentation introduced POSCO’s activities, stating “POSCO established social enterprises to enhance the self-support of those neglected in the region, and is also making efforts to support local resident self-support in regions overseas were POSCO has a presence by building agriculture training centers and dispatching Saemaul new community volunteer corps.”

Seoul City Mayor Park Won-soon, who headed the panel discussion that followed, introduced POSCO’s win-win activities with the local community and mentioned that, based on the ‘volunteer and sharing, thanks’ execution DNA of all POSCO Family employees, POSCO has been carrying out its social responsibility as a company, receiving great applause from attendees.

What is ‘World’s Most Competitive Steelmaker’ Award?

From 2002, WSD has been analyzing global steel markets and rating the world’s leading steel manufacturers on 23 categories: production volume, profitability, technology renovation, pricing power, cost reduction, financial solidity and securing raw materials.

POSCO Receives High Points with Labor Mastery and Technology Renovation

The Steel Success Strategies XXVIII, one of the biggest steel industry conferences in the world, was held by WSD at Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel between June 18th and 19th. As a part of the conference, WSD announces which company is leading the industry by excelling all of its competitors in terms of various business aspects.

For this time, POSCO received evenly high marks in all areas, recording 7.73 out of 10 points. POSCO was highly evaluated for its labor mastery, ‘FINEX’ and energy plate manufacturing technologies. Expansion of high value added products and exploration of newly emerging markets also received positive assessment.

CEO Chung Joon-yang Delivers Special Speech

Chung Joon-yang, POSCO’s chief executive officer and chairman, was also invited as ‘Highlight Speaker’ on the second day of the conference. CEO Chung introduced POSCO’s growth dynamics and its history of continuous developments and innovations.

The Chairman talked about how POSCO has been driving a consistent growth over the past four years via leading innovative business activities and concreting the global management system. He also talked about POSCO’s efforts to amplify the company’s global competitiveness by creating high value added products. Chairman Chung stressed that it is vital for POSCO’s ‘World Best’ spirit to overcome the sluggish global economy.

Growing Together with ‘SPICEE’

Chairman Chung also explained the importance of building a sound corporate eco-system by adopting a better sense of partnership with their employees, stakeholders and the surrounding environment. He emphasized POSCO’s unique concept of ‘SPICEE,’ an acronym for ‘Society,’ ‘Partner,’ ‘Investor,’ ‘Customer,’ ‘Employee’ and ‘Environment,’ to highlight the significance of mutual cooperation and development. POSCO believes a positive synergy between these factors will enhance POSCO to become a firm of endearment. He said, “We must strive to transform the organization from a great company to the Firm of Endearment by working closely with every SPICEE element.”

‘Hello, POSCO’ would like to thank all of you for the award we received from WSD. POSCO will continue sailing towards our goal to become a more loved and respected steelmaker by everyone. So, stay tuned with us at ‘Hello, POSCO’ and we will keep posting great stories of the journey.