[Sponsored Report] Posco uses its strengths to build communities

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[Sponsored Report] Posco uses its strengths to build communities

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Posco volunteers participate in preservation efforts at Unhyeon Palace in central Seoul. The palace was the residence of King Gojong (1852-1919) before he ascended to the throne. [POSCO]

Posco Group has consistently been engaged in charitable activities since its establishment in 1968.

Posco’s corporate social responsibility activities, which first began in 1998 when the company established relations with local villages to seek mutual growth, experienced further development when the company officially founded the Posco Volunteering Group in 2003. Volunteer activities led by the chief executive officer and other executives have been set up as part of Posco Group’s corporate culture, which encourages workers to participate as well.

Posco assigns one Saturday each month as a “Saturday of Giving” where staff members volunteer at welfare centers. Executives pay monthly visits to the company’s small and midsize suppliers in Pohang, Gwangyang and Gyeongin to listen to their difficulties in company management, and offer professional advice in the fields of law, tax accounting and human resources to seek solutions together. Last year, Posco workers engaged in an average of 28 hours of volunteer work per person.

Posco has a very important relationship with local communities, as the company has been cooperating with them to achieve growth in the manufacturing sector. In order to vitalize regional economies and promote social welfare, the company has been managing and supporting social enterprises to create new jobs for the marginalized as well as establish relationships with villages.

The company emphasizes the importance of developing a specialized volunteering program that shows the unique traits of Posco by using the word “Posconality.” In order to realize the idea of “Posconality,” the company encourages its workers to volunteer by donating their own professional skills. Posco now manages 24 talent donating groups in Pohang, Gwangyang, Seoul and Incheon, where engineering experts engage in activities such as electrical repairs and farm machine repairs and workers certified in first aid have formed a group to help out in emergencies.

Another corporate social responsibility program of Posco’s is called “Dream Bridge,” where the company visits small schools located on isolated islands to deliver lectures and help students explore different career paths. By offering career aptitude tests, customized lectures and field trips to steelmaking factories, the program helps students establish and achieve their desired career paths.

The company is also focused on its “Posco Steel Village” venture, which contributes to local communities by constructing steel-made public facilities such as playgrounds and bridges. The project aims to provide safe and durable facilities as quickly as possible, satisfying the needs of locals as well as making the most of Posco’s business strengths.

Since 2009, Posco has been helping families that have suffered fire damage in their homes by constructing steel houses for them. Starting this year, low-income households have also been included as recipients of steel-house support. Compared with concrete buildings, steel houses are designed to be more durable and earthquake-resistant.

In particular, since last year, Posco has been using its magnesium aluminum alloy coating, or PosMAC, product to build the exterior of steel houses. PosMAC is a ternary alloy-coated steel plate developed from the company’s own technology that is highly resistant to corrosion, even in rain. Its resistance to corrosion is five times higher than that of normal hot-dip galvanized steel sheets, saving on house maintenance costs as well as prolonging the building’s lifespan.

From 2009 up until this year, Posco has built a total of 22 steel houses nationwide. Among them, eight were built with PosMAC.


BY YANG SE-YOUNG [yang.seyoung@joongang.co.kr]
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