SK hynix announced today that it generated 7.5845 trillion won in social value last year.
The company's social value generation decreased by 20% in 2022 compared to the 9.4173 trillion won recorded in 2021. Breaking it down by category, the indirect contribution to the economy totaled 7.7853 trillion won, while the environmental performance of business activity recorded a negative impact of 1.0423 trillion won, and the social performance of business activity reached 841.5 billion won.
The decrease in the indirect contribution to the economy was primarily attributed to the semiconductor industry downturn, resulting in reduced tax payments compared to the previous year. However, SK hynix still accounted for 37% of the SK group's total indirect contribution to the economy, which is approximately 20.8000 trillion won.
The social performance of business activity showed a positive trend, increasing by 29% compared to the previous year. This improvement can be attributed to initiatives such as enhancing the "life quality of employees" and expanding support for partner companies.
SK hynix implemented various employee benefits last year, including Happy Friday, increased parental leave, and a family-friendly vacation system, aiming to create a better work-life balance for its employees.
Furthermore, SK hynix's efforts to promote the domestic semiconductor ecosystem by supporting technological innovation and strengthening technological cooperation to localize materials and equipment played a significant role in enhancing the social performance of their business activities.
However, the company faced challenges in the environmental aspect, with a 9% increase in negative impact. The company acknowledged that as semiconductor production reached an all-time high, resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions naturally increased.
Nonetheless, SK hynix mitigated some of these negative effects through the development of low-power products, the adoption of greenhouse gas reduction facilities, and the migration to renewable energy, including the Green Premium System.
Meanwhile, SK hynix expanded the measurement scope of social value to supply chain for the first among SK group affiliates. This is due to company’s judgement that creating SV and enhancing ESG management capabilities in the entire ecosystem beyond the company was essential to fulfill various ESG reinforcement demands from domestic and global stakeholders.
“As a result of consulting with 13 partners in various industries, including material, equipment, logistics and environmental service, a total of 1.4698 trillion won social value was created in 2022. With this year’s evaluation, it is meaningful that partners have set up self-sustaining management system for SV and ESG data,” the company said.
The partners above agreed that they would continue to put efforts onward to create more social values by upgrading the management system.
Kim Youn-wook, Vice President for Corporate Sustainability Management at SK hynix, said, “the company will continue to work together with various stakeholders, including its partners, to have positive impact in the semiconductor ecosystem and the society.”
