Key Highlights :
SK Group announced on Sunday that its total social value creation for 2022 had reached 20.556 trillion won ($15.7 billion), a 8.6 percent increase from the previous year. The group has been issuing a monetized measure of its social value creation every year since 2018 and has seen a steady rise in the total amount of social value generated as a result of each affiliate's efforts to create more social value through new business models.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has been a driving force behind the increase in social value, encouraging affiliates to measure and manage social value and report the results to stakeholders. He believes that innovation is key to creating more social value, stating, “We need to find various ways to create more social value based on our measurement of social value monetization. Ultimately, we need to find ways to innovate existing business models.”
SK Innovation has been a major contributor to social value creation, producing eco-friendly products such as electric vehicle (EV) batteries and EV battery separators and developing a foaming agent that replaces Freon gas that emits greenhouse gas. In addition, the company has been exploring new business models such as recycling plastic waste, battery metal recycling (BMR) and upcycling waste lubricants.
SK E&S, SK ecoplant and SKC have also been highlighted as eco-friendly businesses that create social value. SK E&S is involved in the hydrogen and renewable energy business, SK ecoplant in solar, hydrogen and waste treatment, and SKC in semiconductor materials such as copper foil.
In the social sectors, SK Telecom created 76.7 billion won of social value through a voice phishing prevention service, blocked more than 105,000 criminal numbers in 2022, and collaborated with the Korea Meteorological Administration to establish earthquake detection sensors and generate 13 billion won in social value. The company also created 9.8 billion won with an AI-based senior care service.
SK Group's social value measurement model, which quantifies social value that was previously considered difficult to measure, and the Social Progress Credit system, which links social value performance to an incentive system, have been adopted by local governments as well.
The group's commitment to creating social value has been a success, and SK Group is an example of how innovative business models can be used to create positive change in the environment and society.