SK Chemicals Publishes Sustainability Management Report... Aiming for Scope 1 and 2 Net Zero by 2040

Aiming for 90% Sales Ratio of Products Based on Recycled and Bio-based Raw Materials

SK Chemicals announced on July 9 that it has published its "2025 Sustainability Management Report," which outlines environment, social, and governance (ESG) challenges and response strategies by business segment.

The report expands the scope of double materiality assessment from SK Chemicals’ standalone financial statements to consolidated financial statements, analyzing ESG issues by reflecting the unique characteristics of each subsidiary along with major business segments, and identifying core company-wide priorities.

SK Chemicals has published the "2025 Sustainability Report," which expands the scope of ESG analysis and disclosures to include key subsidiaries. Photo by SK Chemicals.

SK Chemicals evaluated the ESG impact, risks, and opportunities for each of its business areas—the green chemicals and pharmaceutical businesses, the vaccine industry operated by SK Bioscience, and the power generation and utility supply sector run by SK Multi-Utility. This approach allows stakeholders, including investors, to gain a more comprehensive and integrated understanding of key ESG issues, current status, major risks, and opportunities spanning both SK Chemicals and its main subsidiaries.

The report was prepared in accordance with international ESG standards and initiatives such as GRI, SASB, TCFD, and UNGC, and underwent third-party verification by an external professional assurance organization. This ensures that stakeholders can assess SK Chemicals’ ESG performance and management status based on objective and comparable criteria.

Focusing on climate change, energy, and resource circulation, which were identified through the double materiality assessment, the report discloses SK Chemicals’ main ESG achievements and future strategies. The double materiality assessment examines both the impact of corporate activities on the environment and society, and the risks and opportunities that ESG issues may pose to the business and finances.

According to the report, SK Chemicals’ greenhouse gas reduction performance last year amounted to a total of 62,615 tons (tCO2eq). The reductions were achieved by improving the DMT process, utilizing hydrogen co-firing in DMT boilers, using off-gas in the CHDM process, and introducing renewable energy, all of which contributed to lower emissions during production. The scope of public disclosure for Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, previously limited to SK Chemicals and its major domestic subsidiaries, has been expanded to include overseas subsidiaries as well.

In addition, SK Chemicals plans to achieve 100% renewable energy usage by 2032, Scope 1 and 2 net zero by 2040, and Scope 3 net zero by 2050 by further expanding the transition to low-carbon processes and the adoption of renewable energy.

In the area of resource circulation, the company aims to strengthen its circular recycling system, covering everything from securing recycled raw materials to producing recycled materials, and has set a target to increase the sales ratio of products based on recycled and bio-based raw materials to 90% by 2040.

SK Chemicals’ strategy is to proactively adopt global ESG evaluation systems and standards to enhance the credibility of its ESG assessments, while concentrating company-wide capabilities on executing key initiatives to achieve its ESG goals.

SK Chemicals CEO Ahn Jae-hyun said, “We will continue to strengthen communication with stakeholders by objectively and systematically analyzing the impact of our business on the environment and society and transparently disclosing the results. We also plan to enhance the feasibility and sustainability of our business by establishing a circular recycling system covering everything from securing raw materials to producing recycled materials, and to reflect issues such as carbon management, human rights, and occupational health and safety—those closely connected to our actual business—in our management decision-making.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.