Hyundai Steel

Stakeholder engagement
Hyundai Steel discloses an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities. It discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups.

Solid and air pollution
Hyundai Steel has reported a target to reduce air pollutant emissions to 48% in 2024, compared with the permitted emission of 2020 and reports regularly against this target.

No leading practices were identified in the social inclusion and community impact area.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
The company discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy. While the company discloses some sustainability targets, no evidence that the company has group wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain based on the SBTN Sectoral Materiality Tool could be found in the public domain. Further, the targets do not have a target year and baseline year. While the company consistently reports against all its targets, it does not report the target year and baseline year for all its targets. No evidence was found that the company links performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. The company does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Lobbying
The company discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member wherever it operates. The company does not disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies. The company does not report (potential) misalignment between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and nature-positive policies.

Impact and dependencies assessment
The company has not holistically assessed its impacts on nature, including biodiversity, within its own operations. The company has disclosed that they assess environmental impact through ESG assessment of the supply chain. However, it has the opportunity to disclose whether biodiversity was one of the criteria in the ESG assessment. The company does not disclose any assessment of its dependencies on nature within its own operations. The company does not disclose any assessment of dependencies on nature of its upstream business relationships.

Key areas and species
While the company in its Biodiversity Policy mentions Dangjin Integrated Steelwork and the west coast of Korea as locations which will undertake steps to preserve biodiversity and reduce environmental impact, the company does not explicitly disclose the locations that are in or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity within its own operations. The company does not disclose the locations of its suppliers that are in or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity. The company reports on the population of wildlife near the following sites: Dangjin, Incheon, Pohang, Suncheon and Ulsan. However, it does not disclose species population existing or in adjacent to all its own locations. The company does not disclose species populations existing in or adjacent to the locations of its suppliers. The company does not disclose the status according to national and international conservation lists of species identified in its own locations.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
The company has stated that it intends to implement “Zero Net Deforestation” as “a promise of compensation through reforestation” by 2050 by continuously carrying out its environmental policy.” However, it has an opportunity to make a commitment to ensure zero conversion. The company does not disclose some activities to achieve conversion-free supply chains. The company does not disclose time-bound targets to achieve conversion-free supply chains. The company does not disclose a commitment to minimise ecosystem conversion. The company does not disclose activities to minimise ecosystem conversion. The company does not disclose a commitment to restore ecosystems. The company does not disclose details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

Resource exploitation and circularity
The company does not disclose its inputs, including its material footprint. The company does not report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance. The company discloses activities to improve soil health or agrobiodiversity in its production or sourcing practices. The company does not disclose a target to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices.

Water
The company demonstrates it is reducing water withdrawal in its own operations. While the company has reported a time bound target for reduction in water withdrawal and reports progress against it, it has an opportunity to disclose the baseline year against which this target is set. The company does not report how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas. The company does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. The company reports a decrease in water pollution. The company discloses its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company regularly reports on water pollution. The company does not disclose targets to reduce water pollution. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water. The company does not disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
No evidence that the company is reducing the production of hazardous waste was found. No evidence that the company reduces plastic use and waste in its own operations was found. The company does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. The company reports regularly on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants.

GHG emissions
The company is reducing its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions. While the company has a target to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions, it does not report a baseline year for the target. While the company reports progress against its scope 1 and 2 target, it does not report a baseline year for the target. No evidence that the company’s scope 1 and 2 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory was found. No evidence that the company reduces its scope 3 emissions was found. The company does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce its scope 3 emissions.  The company does not report progress against its scope 3 emissions target. No evidence that the company’s scope 3 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory was found.

Invasive species
No evidence was found that the company identifies the activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive species in its own operations. No evidence was found that the company identifies the activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive species in its value chain.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
The company does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. No evidence that the company tracks its actual or potential negative impacts on the health of local communities was found. The company is not committed to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
The company does not disclose a commitment to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights. The company does not disclose its processes for identifying and recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples when activities in its own operations may impact their rights, nor does it describe how it obtains Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect ownership and use of land and natural resources and related legitimate tenure rights, as set out in the relevant part(s) of the VGGTs or the IFC Performance Standards. No evidence was found that the company requires its business relationships to have a process to identify legitimate tenure rightsholders, paying particular attention to vulnerable or marginalised tenure rightsholders, and to negotiate with them to provide adequate compensation.

The company describes the process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. The company describes the process for identifying human rights risks and impacts in its business relationships.  The company suggests that it assesses human rights risks and impacts as part of its human rights due diligence process and discloses the results of the assessment, however it has the opportunity to describe how it prioritises the issues or how relevant factors such as geographical, economic and social, are taken into account in the process. The company publicly discloses the results of its human rights risk assessments, which are aggregated across its operations and locations.  The company states it is to establish plans for improvement and performance regarding the human rights risk formulated as a result of evaluating the human rights risk, however, it has an opportunity to describe its global system to take action to prevent, mitigate or remediate its salient human rights issues. The company provides a case study describing how it has acted on a salient human rights risk issue. The company discloses categories of stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. The company provides an example of how it engages with suppliers and states that it engages with local communities, however, it does not provide at least two examples of its engagement with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities.

The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers.  The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it expects its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers. No evidence that the company discloses a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage was found. No evidence that the company describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates was found. While the company states that it expects its suppliers to pay wages that are sufficient for workers and their families to fulfil their basic needs, it has an opportunity to disclose how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers. While the company discloses union participation rate, it has an opportunity to disclose the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. While the company states that it encourages its suppliers to respect employees’ right to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, it has an opportunity to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to those.

The company discloses a global tax strategy. No evidence that the company describes the process for identifying its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations was found. The company discloses that it expects its business relationships to commit to respect prohibiting bribery and corruption, however, it has an opportunity to include anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with business relationships. No evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement or policy setting out its lobbying and political engagement approach was found. No evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement that specifies that it does not make political contributions was found.