KB Securities publishes ESG Report 2025, strengthening disclosure framework and reliability

By Jung Yoon-hee, The Herald Business

KB Securities announced Sunday it has published its "KB Securities Sustainability Management Report (ESG Report) 2025," covering the company's environmental, social and governance performance and sustainability management initiatives.

The report features an upgraded disclosure framework aimed at proactively responding to changes in domestic and international sustainability reporting standards while providing stakeholders with more reliable ESG information.

The report restructured its disclosure framework around four core elements — governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets — reflecting standards set by the Korea Sustainability Standards Board (KSSB). It also identifies key sustainability issues through a financial materiality assessment from an investment perspective and systematically presents the management framework and major outcomes for each issue.

The report also introduces a value creation model based on the International Integrated Reporting Council's Integrated Reporting framework, explaining how financial and non-financial capital contribute to long-term corporate value creation. Alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals has been strengthened to highlight the social value generated through the company's sustainability activities.

The ESG Data Book breaks down quantitative ESG data in greater detail and expands the scope of non-financial data disclosure to improve stakeholders' use of the information. The ESG risk management framework has also been reinforced, with newly added results from human rights impact assessments and natural capital risk analyses.

KB Securities co-CEOs Kang Jin-du and Lee Hong-gu said the report "focused on enhancing the comparability and reliability of ESG information by reflecting global disclosure standards," adding that the company would "continue to pursue ESG management with greater substance to achieve sustainable growth and long-term corporate value enhancement."

The ESG report KB Securities published last year won the platinum award in the financial industry category at the 2024/25 Vision Awards, organized by the League of American Communications Professionals (LACP). The award-winning report scored 99 out of 100 points across eight evaluation criteria, including messages to stakeholders, content composition, financial information and information accessibility.