[Sponsored Report] Posco gives back while building a better future
From left: Yancoal CEO Reinhold Schmidt, Yancoal Australia Vice Chairman Fucun Wang, Clontarf Foundation Chairman Ross Kelly, Posco CEO Choi Jeong-Woo and Kang Seong-Wook, head of the supply division at Posco. [POSCO]
Matching funds
In November 2019, Posco created its first matching fund with Yancoal. In February, an agreement was signed to organize the 2nd GEM matching fund, short for “Go extra mile.”at Posco Center, southern Seoul. Yoo Byung-ok, head of Posco’s purchasing and investment division; Ernie Thrasher, president of Xcoal; and Kim Hyung-soo, CEO of Tree Planet, participated in the event.
Xcoal, one of the largest coal exporters for steelmaking in the United States, provides approximately one million pieces of coal to Posco. Tree Planet is an environmental company focused on planting trees in order to reduce fine dust.
The GEM matching fund is the first global matching fund made between the steel and mining industries after Posco declared its “Corporate Citizenship” program last July. This fund will be used to improve local communities and create a strong environment for industrial ecosystems.
The matching fund will be a one-on-one matching grant system, and each company will invest $50,000, for a total of $100,000, every year. The money will be used to support local communities in both countries alternatively.
The matching fund between Posco and Yancoal will focus on providing vocational educational programs to indigenous people. Students chosen by the Clontarf Foundation, an aboriginal support foundation, will be provided with training sessions and chance to become a regular staff.
The other matching fund with Xcoal will work on helping communities recover from the forest fires in Okgye, Gangwon, by planting 11,000 trees on about four acres of land.
Helping coronavirus victims
Posco donated 6 million yuan ($856,000) worth of relief supplies to Wuhan, China, in January. Masks and hand sanitizers were mostly delivered for the sake of virus prevention.
“To practice our management philosophy ‘Corporate Citizenship,’ Posco and our local subsidiaries in China decided to participate in this donation event and will do our best to solve social problems as a global citizen,” said an official from Posco.
Recovering from forest fires
Posco donated 400 million won ($329,000) to the Australian Red Cross last January.
“Posco will try its best to help recover from the recent catastrophic forest fires, and I sincerely hope that as one of the close allies and suppliers for our company, Australia will overcome the difficulties soon,” said Choi Jeong-woo, chairman of Posco. The fire started in New South Wales and spread through the whole region, and the Australian government declared a “national emergency.”
Supporting low-income Mexicans
Posco Mexico had a groundbreaking ceremony for the Centro de Esperanza Posco Amigos in Mexico this month.
Posco Mexico organized a volunteer group called the Posco Amigos and has dedicated themselves to local communities. After declaring Posco’s management philosophy “Corporate Citizenship,” its corporate social responsibility focused on handling local issues.
It is a two-story building with a lecture room and a playroom on the first floor and a computer room, a multipurpose rooms and offices on the second floor. The outdoor space will be used as a playground for children.
Posco Mexico’s purpose is to help underprivileged people by providing education that can be helpful for them in the future. It also plans to create a “virtuous cycle” by encouraging them to pass on skills to other people in need. A lack of opportunities for low-income communities in Mexico is a serious problem. This new center hopes to provide a better future.
By Park Ji-hoon [park.jihoon@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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