Seoul, 27 March 2015: As part of its drive to promote business leadership for sustainable development, Korea Business Council for Sustainable Development (KBCSD) and its 47 member companies established “Sustainable Korea 2030 Action Plan”, which is the first comprehensive sustainability roadmap envisioned by the Korean business sector with a view to addressing critical sustainability issues facing Korea up to 2030 and beyond. At the KBCSD Declaration Ceremony on Sustainable Korea, KBCSD member CEOs officially announced the “Sustainable Korea 2030 Action Plan” and pledged their quantitative goals and business solutions articulated in the Action Plan.
KBCSD and its 47 member companies believe that businesses are in a unique position to address economic challenges through efficient, market-based business solutions and technology innovation. Viewed in this light, “Sustainable Korea 2030 Action Plan” is an encouraging, meaningful step forward in addressing sustainability challenges and creating new engines for growth in this process.
The Action Plan aims at transforming present economic system into more sustainable and equitable one by developing world-leading low-carbon technology, advancing safety culture at workplace and achieving a resource efficient society, just to name a few.
With this in mind, KBCSD and its member companies pledged at the Declaration Ceremony to attain the following voluntary goals, which are an integral part of the Action Plan:
- Energy and Climate: (Goal1) Improve energy intensity in the industrial sector by 15% by 2030 with a view to reaching 0.11 (koe/$05p) and thus taking 6th place on the list of top 10 OECD countries with highest GDP. (Goal 2) Enhance the product and market competitiveness by developing world-class green technology;
- Safety at Workplace: (Goal1) Improve occupational fatality rate to 0.2 (fatalities per 10,000 workers) by 2030, which is the average rate among top 5 OECD countries with highest GDP. (Goal 2) Accordingly, contribute to reducing economic loss from industrial accident by 60%, which is equivalent to saving roughly 11 trillion Korean won per annum;
- Sustainable Value Chain: (Goal1) Improve recycling rate in the industrial waste by 10% by 2030 with a view to reaching the rate above 60% and thus ranking 2nd place on the list of top 5 OECD countries with highest GDP. (Goal 2) Accordingly, contribute to creating social added value of roughly 35 trillion Korean won per annum.
During his opening address, Dr. Dong-Soo HUR, Chairman of KBCSD and Chairman of GS Caltex, stressed that “these quantitative goals under the Sustainable Korea 2030 Action Plan demonstrate Korean Business Sector’s shared commitment to turn present economic difficulties into new opportunities by improving cost competitiveness through production efficiency while pioneering new growth engines for future prosperity in the field of energy & climate, safety at workplace and sustainable value chain” and emphasized that “KBCSD member companies are the front-runners in spearheading these efforts”.
The Declaration Ceremony also provided opportunity for like-minded organizations representing government, municipal authorities, relevant regional and international organizations to express their support for Korean business sector’s endeavor to achieve Sustainable Korea 2030. Among them were H.E. Sang-Jik YOON, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, H.E. In-Yong PARK, Minister of Public Safety and Security (read by Director-General Mr. Ki-Sung BANG), as well as Ms. Yeonhee PARK, Director of the ICLEI Korea. Recognizing that a path towards Sustainable Korea by 2030 can be realized only through the involvement of all stakeholders, KBCSD and its member companies pledged to embark on new journey to achieve voluntary goals and implement business solutions elaborated in the Action Plan.
Contact point:
Chai-Un Hahn
Team Leader, Sustainability Strategy Team
Korea Business Council for Sustainable Development
Tel: +82 2 6000 7662