KT&G, led by CEO Baek Bok-in, earned an A rating in the ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) evaluation conducted by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), a global investment information provider, the company announced on Oct. 7.
Each year, MSCI divides 8,500 listed companies around the world by industry to evaluate the current status of management related to environment, social responsibility, and corporate governance, and assign grades from AAA to CCC.
KT&G received an A rating this year from BBB last year, up one notch, in an assessment it received with 11 global tobacco companies worldwide. This is higher than the global top 3 tobacco companies.
In particular, it ranked first among 11 companies with responsible marketing and excellent quality management in the field of 'product safety and quality'.
In addition, in the field of 'supply chain labor standards', its efforts to strengthen the code of conduct with its partner companies to improve labor practices were recognized and scored high.
At the same time, MSCI assessed that KT&G is also at the highest level in the governance sector in the industry due to the management of the board of directors with diversity and expertise.
"This evaluation is significant in that it has been recognized not only in Korea but also globally," a KT&G official said. "We will make efforts to maximize corporate value and shareholder value and fulfill social responsibility based on advanced governance structures."
Meanwhile, KT&G won the best grade A+ for two consecutive years in the ESG evaluation conducted by the Korea Corporate Governance Service last year in recognition of the establishment of an excellent sustainable management system, and won the 'Grand Prize' in the governance evaluation.
Since 2007, the company has been publishing "KT&G REPORT" to communicate transparent and accurate ESG information with domestic and foreign stakeholders and share various social responsibility activities.
