POSCO

Stakeholder engagement

POSCO discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups, including engagement that covers nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. Topics range from human rights due diligence to collaboration with different stakeholders for the sustainability of a low-carbon supply chain.

Solid and air pollution

POSCO has a time-bound target to reduce air pollution emissions of sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and dust from 66,000 tons in 2020 to 49,000 tons by 2024.

GHG emissions

POSCO reduced its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 6% between 2019 and 2020. The company aims to cut 20% of carbon emissions by 2030 and 50% by 2040 and reports progress against this target.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment

POSCO is committed to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and it demonstrates that its human rights risks and impacts identification process includes a focus on the health of local communities.

Sustainability strategy and accountability

POSCO 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. However, it does not disclose group-wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain. The company also has an opportunity to link performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. Furthermore, the company does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Stakeholder engagement

POSCO does not disclose an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities.

Lobbying

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

Impact and dependencies assessment

POSCO does not disclose any assessment of its impacts on nature, including biodiversity, within its own operations or in its supply chain. Nor does it disclose any assessment of its dependencies on nature within its own operations or its upstream business relationships.

Key areas and species

POSCO does not disclose key species or areas important for biodiversity affected by its operations or suppliers. It has an opportunity to increase its transparency on this topic.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration

POSCO does not disclose a commitment to ensure zero conversion. Nor does it disclose activities to achieve conversion-free supply chains or associated time-bound targets. However, it has a commitment to minimise ecosystem conversion in the most material parts of its value chain. It discloses some activities to minimise ecosystem conversion and is committed to restoring ecosystems. Nevertheless, 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

POSCO discloses some of its raw materials as well as the fuel consumed in its operations, but it 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, however it does not have a target to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices.

Water

POSCO demonstrates it is reducing water withdrawal in its own operations, but it has an opportunity to disclose a related time-bound target. The company reports how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas, yet it does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. The company reports a decrease in water pollution but does not disclose its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company regularly reports on water pollution. It also has a target to reduce water pollution but the target is not time bound . Finally, the company does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water or 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

POSCO is reducing the production of hazardous waste, but no evidence was found that it is reducing plastic use and waste in its own operations. The company does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. It does, however, report regularly on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants.

GHG emissions

POSCO has an opportunity to set a scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction target aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory. The company is reducing its scope 3 emissions, but it does not disclose a time-bound target to support this. The company has a strong opportunity to set a scope 3 emissions reduction target aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

Invasive species

POSCO has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive species in its own operations.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment

No evidence that POSCO tracks its actual or potential negative impacts on the health of local communities was found. The company is also 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

POSCO has an opportunity to disclose a commitment to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights or land rights of local communities

POSCO describes the process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations as well as the process for identifying human rights risks and impacts in its business relationships. It publicly discloses the results of its human rights risk assessments, which are aggregated across its operations and locations. It also describes its global system to take action to prevent, mitigate or remediate salient human rights issues, and this includes a description of how its global system applies to its supply chain. However, the company has an opportunity to disclose the stakeholders it engages with on human rights risks.

POSCO has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect the health and safety of its own workers and expecting its suppliers to do the same. However, the company has an opportunity to disclose a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage. Also, the company has an opportunity to describe how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates. Finally, the company has an opportunity to disclose the coverage of collective bargaining agreements and to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

POSCO has an opportunity to publish a global tax strategy and should assign responsibility for this strategy to an executive-level individual or body. There is 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. However, it does include anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. There is no evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement or policy setting out its lobbying and political engagement approach, although it specifies that it does not make political contributions.