SK Chemicals has released its 2025 Sustainability Report. / Courtesy of SK Chemicals

SK Chemicals announced on July 9 that it has published its 2025 Sustainability Report, outlining the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives and strategic response directions for its core business lines and subsidiaries.

A notable feature of this year's report is the expansion of the double materiality assessment framework. Previously conducted on a separate financial statement basis, the evaluation has now been shifted to a consolidated financial statement basis to comprehensively incorporate the unique characteristics and ESG issues of major subsidiaries. Under this expanded approach, the company evaluated the ESG impacts, risks, and opportunities across its Green Chemicals and Pharma business divisions, as well as SK bioscience's vaccine business and SK multi utility's power and utility supply operations.

SK Chemicals explained that this shift is intended to provide investors and other stakeholders with a broader, more coherent understanding of the group-wide core ESG tasks and current progress. The report was compiled in compliance with global ESG disclosure standards and initiatives, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and the UN Global Compact (UNGC), and underwent third-party verification by an independent professional institution. This ensures that stakeholders can review the company's ESG performance and management status against objective and comparable benchmarks.

Focusing heavily on climate change, energy, and resource circulation—the core issues identified through its double materiality assessment—the company disclosed its latest milestones and future roadmaps. A double materiality assessment evaluates both the impact of corporate activities on the environment and society, as well as the risks and opportunities that ESG issues present to business and financial operations.

According to the report, SK Chemicals reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by a total of 62,615 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent last year. This reduction was achieved through production-phase carbon footprint cuts, including dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) process optimizations, hydrogen co-firing in DMT boilers, the utilization of off-gas from cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM) processes, and the introduction of renewable energy. Furthermore, the company expanded its Scope 3 greenhouse gas emission disclosure coverage from domestic major subsidiaries to include overseas corporate entities.

By accelerating the transition to low-carbon industrial processes and scaling up renewable energy sourcing, SK Chemicals aims to reach 100% renewable energy utilization by 2032. It also targets achieving Net Zero for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2040, followed by Net Zero for Scope 3 emissions by 2050.

In the resource circulation sector, the company plans to solidify its circular recycling infrastructure, which spans from securing recycled raw materials to manufacturing recycled material products. It put forward a target to raise the sales proportion of products based on recycled and bio-based raw materials to 90% by 2040.

SK Chemicals intends to focus its group-wide capabilities on executing key tasks to achieve its ESG goals while enhancing the credibility of its performance by proactively adopting global ESG evaluation frameworks.

"We will continue to strengthen our communication with stakeholders by objectively and systematically analyzing the impacts our business activities have on the environment and society, and transparently disclosing those findings," said Ahn Jae-hyun, CEO of SK Chemicals. "By securing a circular recycling infrastructure that covers everything from raw material acquisition to recycled material production, we will enhance the feasibility and sustainability of our business. We also plan to integrate practical tasks such as carbon management, human rights, and safety and health management directly into our executive decision-making."

Backed by these ESG management efforts, SK Chemicals continues to earn recognition from domestic and international evaluation agencies. The company has maintained an AA rating in the MSCI ESG ratings for three consecutive years, received an A+ grade from the Korea Institute of Corporate Governance and Sustainability (KCGS) for four consecutive years, and achieved a Leadership A rating from the CDP for both climate change and water security.

                                                                                                           Kim Young-jin