This file photo shows the buildings of South Korea’s major companies in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Corporate ESG (environmental, social and governance) activities have an actual impact on consumers’ purchasing decisions, the country’s leading business lobby group said Tuesday.
According to a survey conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry of 300 Korean consumers, 63 percent of the respondents replied that their purchasing decisions are influenced by corporate ESG activities.
In response to a question asking if they had intentionally chosen not to buy products from firms that are lagging in ESG activities, 70.3 percent said yes.
At 88.3 percent, the vast majority of the respondents said that they were willing to pay more for products from exemplary ESG companies compared to those of their rivals.
Among ESG factors, 41.3 percent of the respondents picked ‘governance’ as the area that leaves the most to be desired, followed by environmental factors (35 percent) and social factors (23.7 percent).
In the area of environment, the largest share of the respondents or 36.7 percent pointed out that companies should have more interest in the pollution that results from the excessive use of plastics.
In the social area, 31.7 percent said companies should pay more attention to the job shortage, followed by 31 percent who stressed workers’ rights and safety.
When it came to governance, 36.3 percent said companies should be alert against inadequate ownership succession, followed by 32.7 percent who stressed the need to be careful about the management’s moral hazard.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
