Korea Zinc upgraded to 'A' in Sustinvest ESG rating

Korea Zinc said Wednesday it received an 'A' rating in Sustinvest's first-half ESG (environmental, social and governance) comprehensive assessment this year, moving up one notch from last year.

Sustinvest, a leading domestic ESG rating agency, analyzes the ESG capabilities of individual companies twice a year and publishes results across seven rating tiers — AA, A, BB, B, C, D and E. Korea Zinc earned an 'A' in the first half of this year, climbing one grade from the 'BB' it received in both the first and second halves of last year.

Korea Zinc's ESG standing within its industry also improved markedly. Among companies in the materials sector with assets of 2 trillion won ($1.29 billion) or more, Korea Zinc's ESG score jumped from 68th out of 174 companies in the second half of last year to 28th out of 172 companies in the first half of this year. Its overall ranking across all rated companies also rose, from 523rd out of 1,299 companies in the second half of last year to 293rd out of 1,305 companies in the first half of this year.

Korea Zinc was particularly recognized for strong performance across all ESG categories, scoring above the materials sector average in environment, social and governance alike. In specific subcategories, the company achieved perfect scores of 100 in eco-friendly supply chain management, biodiversity, and social contribution and community engagement. It also scored above 90 in innovation activities, supply chain management and ESG management infrastructure.

Korea Zinc has been steadily advancing its company-wide ESG management framework. It established a Sustainability Management Committee as an advisory body to the chief executive in 2022, then elevated it to a board-level ESG Committee at the end of 2024. In 2025, the company set up a separate Sustainability Management Promotion Committee to support the ESG Committee and ensure swift execution of its decisions at the operational level.

The company also invested a record 308.2 billion won in safety, health and facilities last year. Its key products — zinc, silver and copper — received carbon footprint verification from Carbon Trust, a global certification body, and earned carbon footprint reduction labels. Korea Zinc also invested about 14.6 billion won in energy-saving initiatives and improved energy efficiency by recovering waste heat from its processes to produce and recycle 3.93 million tons of steam annually.

At its Onsan Smelter, Korea Zinc built the first hydrogen forklift charging station in a national industrial complex, establishing an eco-friendly logistics system. If it meets its target of converting 30 diesel forklifts to hydrogen-powered ones, the company expects to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 880 tons per year. Korea Zinc also received the top rating for three consecutive years in the Community Contribution Recognition Program assessment, and achieved a 100 percent compliance rate on corporate governance key indicators this year.

These efforts and achievements have drawn positive assessments from overseas institutions as well as domestic ones. In the ESG Quality Score evaluated by ISS, the world's largest proxy advisory firm, Korea Zinc received the top rating — Grade 1 — across all ESG categories, reflecting recognition of its strong ESG capabilities from a global investor perspective.

In early May, Korea Zinc became the first company in the domestic non-ferrous metals industry to be included in the Dow Jones Best-in-Class Indexes (DJBIC) Asia-Pacific index. The DJBIC is an ESG assessment framework that S&P Global, the global credit rating agency, developed by restructuring the existing Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI).

"Korea Zinc's wide-ranging efforts to expand and strengthen ESG management are being recognized both at home and abroad," a company official said. "As the world's leading comprehensive non-ferrous metals smelting company, Korea Zinc will not rest on its current achievements but will continue to invest and work toward creating a balanced mix of economic and social value."

Meanwhile, Korea Zinc published its 2025 Sustainability Management Report on June 30. The report — the company's sixth to date — is released annually to transparently disclose key ESG management activities and achievements to stakeholders and to strengthen communication with them.

Earlier, on June 10, Korea Zinc held its first Sustainability Management Promotion Committee meeting of the year, reviewing major ESG issues including climate disclosure, biodiversity and supply chain management.