Neu-Isenburg, Germany, 17 Oktober 2022 – Premium tyre manufacturer Hankook has committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and presented its targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations.
The SBTi is a partnership between CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). More than 3,600 global companies are working with the SBTi to set, measure, and report science-based reduction targets in line with the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international climate change treaty.
Hankook joined the SBTi initiative in March this year as the first Korean tyre manufacturing company. In August, the company submitted its mid- to long-term science-based emissions reduction targets. The validation is expected in early 2023. The company plans to almost halve Scope 1 and 2 emissions that occur during the production stage, reducing them by 46.2% from its 2019 baseline by 2030. In addition, Hankook pledged to curtail Scope 3 emissions in its value chain by 27.5% from its 2019 baseline by 2030. This includes the reduction of all greenhouse gases generated from raw material acquisition, distribution, investment, production and other major business activities.
Appeal to businesses worldwide: "Business Ambition for 1.5°C”
Furthermore, Hankook has announced its participation in the Business Ambition for 1.5°C Campaign – an urgent call to action for companies to set targets to limit global warming to 1.5°C and to avoid the worst impacts of climate change by striving for a net-zero future. Led by SBTi in cooperation with international partners, over 1,300 global companies are participating in this campaign.
Hankook made climate protection and sustainability one of its core objectives back in 2010, and has been steadily reducing greenhouse gases in the tyre production process ever since. Last July, the ESG (Environmental Social Governance) committee was launched within the board of directors to strengthen the company’s ESG management. The committee brought forward Hankook's long-term goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent from 2050 to 2030 compared to the 2018 reference year. It also created a new carbon neutrality roadmap for 2050 that includes Scope 3 emissions.
Hankook’s sustainability initiatives are regularly recognised by renowned institutions. In 2021, Hankook earned the platinum medal in the EcoVadis assessment of Corporate Social Responsibility, given to only the top 1% in each industry sector. The company has also been listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices World for six consecutive years from 2016 to 2021. In 2022, Hankook was awarded Gold Class, the highest possible rating, in the Sustainability Yearbook 2022 published by S&P Global, receiving the highest score in the Auto Components sector.
Commitment to high sustainability standards: ESG Annual Report 2021/22 is online. Hankook’s ESG report has been published annually since 2010, making the 2021/22 edition its 13th. The report covers all of the company's sustainability activities and measures as well as its medium- and long-term strategy in the areas of environment, social affairs and corporate governance. The focus is equally on the ecological value chain, sustainable products and responsible commitment.
With the increasing commitment to climate protection, the report details Hankook’s roadmap to carbon neutrality in the highlights section. In addition, disclosures of the report are more in line with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations compared to the previous year. Other innovations included Hankook's announcement in May of a corporate governance charter to lay the foundations for transparent ESG management.
Review: In 2009, Hankook Tire created its own CSR organisation for the first time. Since then, the company has been consistently committed to sustainability with numerous activities and deals with the topic of mobility in the broadest sense.
The Hankook ESG Report 2021/22 is available online and can be accessed at any time at www.hankooktire.com/global/en/esg/esg-report.html.
