ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance. They are non-financial factors impacting businesses. As companies’ awareness of sustainable management expands around the world, ESG’s importance is growing as a new paradigm for management strategies. ESG will be a key indicator of sustainable management and determine the company’s future viability.

APU is working to minimize the negative environmental and social impacts that are generated through our business activities, whether direct or indirect. We are also strengthening control over non-financial risks as well as traditional financial risks to establish a companywide integrated risk management system. APU is practicing various ESG activities in line with global trends.

Ending Coal-related Projects

As global warming aggravates abnormal climate conditions, catastrophic natural disasters are on the sharp rise and anti-coal stakeholders’ demands are increasing. APU made commitment to exit coal-related project to preemptively respond to the climate change crisis and fulfil our environmental and social responsibilities as an global leader in the project publishing sector. We will step up our efforts to provide environmentally responsible project publishing services and lead a transition towards low-carbon economy.

First, we will not provide project publishing to the new coal-related business globally. Second, we will strive to expand project supporting sustainable development including investment in and publishing to renewable energy sectors to support the transition toward a low-carbon economy. Third, we will not take over any other companies for the purpose of the new coal-related business globally.

Human Rights

APU supports universal value of human rights embedded in “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights” and “UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.” We respect diversity of our employees throughout our human resources management process and comply with the labor standards recommended by the International Labor Organization(ILO) and ratified by the Korean Government.

We are prohibiting any discrimination against gender, age, race, disability, religion, political orientation and place of origin. We established the Policy on the Prevention of Workplace Sexual Harassment, Non-Sexual Harassment, and Discrimination to protect our employees as well as create a safe and sound working environment. We also consider human rights aspect in all ecision-making process related to project development and publishing. Our Human Rights Policy are applied to all stakeholders that APU can exert its influence on and all our subsidiaries comply with the policy.

APU ESG Committee

The major responsibility of the APU ESG Committee is to establish the ESG strategy and policies of the APU and make decisions on key ESG tasks of the subsidiaries. The Committee, as the supreme decision-making body, also monitors the implementation of major ESG tasks of the APU as well as performances in ESG-related projects, developments, and investments, and reduction of carbon emissions.

With the aim of ensuring a systematic environmental and social risk management, APU ESG Committee buttress its monitoring and management of ESG issues and establish the direction and process for environmental and social risk management to better manage such risks.