In the wake of the climate crisis, ESG management, which aims to contribute to the environment and local community development while conducting sustainable business activities worldwide, has emerged. Amidst this, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is hosting an ESG implementation briefing session, providing a new opportunity to raise awareness and introduce ESG management among SMEs.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 20th that it will hold a 'SME ESG Practice Briefing Session' in five regions, including Gyeonggi, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, and Cheongju, from September 30th to early November to raise awareness of ESG and support management adoption among SMEs.

ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) management is a word that combines the words environment, society, and governance. There is a growing trend of considering ethical values in addition to financial factors when evaluating companies.

According to a recent survey of 300 domestic manufacturing companies conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry , three out of ten major domestic manufacturing companies were directly or indirectly requested by global demand companies to use renewable energy in their product production processes.

In this briefing session, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will provide consulting services to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) correctly understand ESG management and implement and introduce it in a way that suits their business conditions, as the recent spread of ESG concepts has led to an increase in cases requiring environmental management and social responsibility management within the supply chain.

The briefing session will cover the following: △ ESG management introduction plans for small and medium-sized enterprises by region and industry, △ ESG-related domestic and international trends, △ government ESG support projects, and △ ESG management introduction reference and precautions.

We invite experts in ESG consulting for small and medium-sized enterprises, including law firms Ji-Pyeong and the Korea Standards Association, as lecturers to explain implementation methods tailored to the characteristics of each industry, focusing on real-world cases.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said, “Small and medium-sized enterprises in regions with relatively limited opportunities to attend ESG lectures will be able to obtain information for introducing ESG management.”

Jiyoung Oh, head of the Future Industry Strategy Team at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “In order to introduce ESG management, it is necessary to recognize that ESG management is not a burden but starts with small practices,” and added, “We will actively support ESG management so that it can become a new opportunity and stepping stone for small and medium-sized enterprises.”