Woori Financial Group announced today that it had signed a business agreement for "response to climate crisis and mutual cooperation in ESG management through sustainable forest management" at the Woori Financial Group headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul on June 21.
The signing ceremony was attended by Sohn Tae-seung, Chairman of Woori Financial Group and Ricardo L. Calderon, Secretary General of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO).
AFoCO is the first international organization in the forestry sector established under the leadership of Korea, and was established in 2018 to respond to climate change in Asia, promote sustainable forest management, and strengthen forestry cooperation.
13 Parties, including Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and the Philippines, and three observer countries, including Singapore, are member states.
Through this agreement, Woori Financial Group will cooperate with AFoCO to develop and implement a joint program that contributes to forest restoration and biodiversity conservation, such as the deforestation and degradation prevention project (REDD+).
In addition, it plans to promote public-private partnership activities to strengthen ESG management, such as fulfilling corporate environmental and social responsibilities, and to operate global education and training programs related to forestry and ecosystems.
As the first step in the agreement, Woori Financial Group and AFoCO plan to dispatch forestry experts to Cambodia around the end of July to conduct a project feasibility study.
“The earth, our home, is experiencing serious environmental degradation, so international cooperation for natural recovery is more urgent than ever," said Chairman Sohn. "Together with AFoCO, we will act now to help our children live in a better world through cross-border forestry cooperation.”
