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ESG POLICY & STRATEGY
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ESG Policy & Strategy
EU Food Waste Reduction Targets: Food Companies Must Change the Structures That Cause Waste, Not Just Measure What Is Thrown Away
The European Union's food waste reduction targets handle total manufacturing volumes and per capita consumption volumes differently. To connect these targets to corporate operations, companies must change both the root causes of waste and their production, delivery, and sales decisions together.
KBR경영연구소 · 09/26/2026
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ESG Policy & Strategy
Apple's 30% Recycled Materials: What Supply Chains Must Prove Beyond 'Eco-Friendly' Raw Materials
김민경 Editor · 09/24/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
Why UNEP's Redrawn 'Exceeding 1.5°C' Pathway Demands Corporate Climate Strategies Combine Mitigation and Adaptation
KBR 편집부 · 09/18/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
Why Safety Inspections End but Improvement Measures Remain
박소유 Editor · 09/16/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
Reducing Wasted Ingredient Costs in Purchase Orders Rather than ESG Reports
강지혜 Editor · 09/15/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
The EU Reduced ESG Regulations… Costs Companies Must Cut Now and Data They Must Keep to the End
The EU has streamlined ESG regulations by narrowing the scope of the CSRD and CSDDD to ease corporate reporting and due diligence burdens. However, being excluded from regulatory scope does not mean that actual business risks, such as energy, safety, and supply chains, disappear. South Korean companies should not apply EU regional standards as-is, but rather evaluate applicability by dividing their operations into headquarters, EU subsidiaries, sales regions, and group structures. While unnecessary reports and duplicate data submissions should be curtailed, it is necessary to maintain calculation grounds and raw data for core indicators such as emissions, energy, and safety. The core of ESG budget restructuring is not uniform cuts, but reducing reporting costs while retaining the information required for management decision-making and risk management.
이우리 선임기자 · 09/14/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
Global Warming Threshold Crossed Again: National Targets Set for 2035, Carbon Budget at 4 Years
In August 2026, the global average temperature was 1.65℃ higher than pre-industrial levels, exceeding the monthly average 1.5℃ threshold for the first time since November 2025. Fossil fuel CO₂ emissions in 2025 reached a record high of approximately 38.1 billion tons, leaving a remaining 1.5℃ carbon budget with a 50% probability of about 170 billion tons, equivalent to roughly four years at current emission rates. Latest UNFCCC analyses indicate that implementing new NDCs will reduce 2035 emissions by approximately 12% compared to 2019, falling short of the roughly 60% reduction required for the 1.5℃ pathway. South Korea is pursuing a 2035 reduction target of 53 to 61%, a 2030 target of 100 GW in renewable energy expansion, and a 50% increase in paid allocation for power sector emission allowances. While SBTi participation and clean energy investments are growing, global financial alliances are winding down or restructuring, placing companies in an environment where they must simultaneously manage regulations, power supply, and carbon costs.
이우리 선임기자 · 09/13/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
5 Things Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Enterprises Must Check Before Adopting AI Industrial Safety Technologies
At the 2026 Korea Safety Technology Awards, AI human-detection and fire/industrial safety response technologies were selected as major award winners. In the first half of 2026, the number of industrial accident fatalities in manufacturing increased to 92, with more than half of all fatalities occurring in workplaces with fewer than 50 employees. Even when AI safety equipment is introduced, it is difficult to expect practical safety management effects without responsible personnel and follow-up response procedures. Management of false positives and false negatives, integration with risk assessments, and data logging linked to the management's reporting system must be designed together. For small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, the adoption of AI industrial safety is less about purchasing equipment and more about how to integrate the technology with existing safety and health management systems.
이우리 선임기자 · 09/05/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
Environmental Permitting Pressure on Automotive and Secondary Battery Plants: Integrating Environmental Permits into a Single System
On August 23, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced plans to legislate amendments to the Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rule of the Environmental Pollution Facilities Act, adding seven industries—including automotive and secondary batteries—to the integrated environmental permitting system. The integrated environmental permit combines up to 10 types of environmental permits and 73 documents scattered across seven laws into a single integrated environmental management plan, while setting customized emission standards for each business site. Implementation is scheduled for January 2028 for three food-related industries and January 2029 for automotive, secondary batteries, flat glass, and rubber products, with a four-year grace period granted to existing business sites. The amendments also include easing measures, such as extending the regular inspection cycle for exemplary business sites to up to five years and easing requirements for integrated environmental managers at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while strengthening the responsibilities of agency service providers as a trade-off. Currently in the legislative notice stage and not yet finalized, the schedule for establishing and supplementing industry-specific Best Available Techniques (BAT) reference documents is considered the biggest variable for the system's establishment.
이태민 책임기자 · 08/29/2026
ESG Policy & Strategy
What Is Ongoing Emissions Responsibility? The New Net-Zero Standard of SBTi 2.0
The SBTi introduced the 'Ongoing Emissions Responsibility' (OER) framework in its Corporate Net-Zero Standard Version 2.0 released on June 11, 2026. OER consists of three stages: an optional recognition program, post-2035 removal requirements, and the neutralization of residual emissions at net-zero. The recognition program is divided into three tiers—Engaged, Advanced, and Leadership—with contribution budgets ranging from $20 to $80 per ton. Valued mitigation outcomes (VMOs) used for OER must be accounted for separately from inventories and target progress, and cannot be claimed as emission deductions. The standard takes effect on February 1, 2027, and requirements beyond 2035 are scheduled to be re-evaluated in version 3.0.
박소유 책임기자 · 08/21/2026
