East Asia 30 2011 Evaluation Results Integrating Corporate Management and Social Responsibilities Korean Corporations Excel in Environment Domain Following last year, the top 30 CSR performers in Korea, China and Japan, `East Asia 30`, have been selected and the list was announced. Integrative CSR management characterizes this year`s East Asia 30. Chul-ki Chu who developed the evaluation model and participated in the final selection process said, `In comparison to last year, the measures have been more specific and the standards for negative screening have been strengthened. The corporations on the list are found to be practicing `integrative` CSR management, reflecting the various needs of all stakeholders.` This year, 306 corporations from Korea, China and Japan (59 Korean, 190 Japanese and 57 Chinese) were subjected to evaluation. These corporations were the ones that have published Sustainability Reports after January 2010, following the GRI G3 standard, among the ones that have been listed on FTSE World Index and Fortune`s Global 500. The Target: 306 Corporations from Korea, China and Japan The CSR management evaluation for the 306 subject corporations produced good results in major CSR measures. In most of the measures on which the Asia Expert Committee has put weighted values, their scores were higher than the average for each measure. In Governance domain, measures for Ethics and Board`s Independence had the highest weighted value. The subject corporations received the score of 61.37, which was significantly higher than the average of 48.79. In Environment Domain, measures for the Environmental Core, Climate Change and Eco-friendly Products and Services had high weighted values. The average score in these measures - 54.08, 44.04, 46.12, respectively - was higher than the average score of the domain, 42.48. In Society domain, measures with high weighted values were Health and Safety, Labor and Stakeholder Communication. In these measures, their scores were higher than the domain average of 44.83. Scores in the measures of Anti-Corruption and Job Creation Below the Average Meanwhile, in the measures with high weighted values - Anti- Corruption in the Governance domain and Job Creation in the Social domain - the average scores were lower than the domain averages. Therefore, corporations are encouraged to put more efforts into eliminating corporate corruption and creating jobs. To compare by country, like last year, the CSR achievement of Japanese corporations was superior to those of Korea and China. 20 Japanese corporations including Fujifilm Holdings, Hitachi and Yamaha have been listed on East Asia 30. By domain, too, Japan had the most number of corporations listed - 17 in East Asia Environment 30, 20 in East Asia Society, 20 in East Asia Governance 30. In particular, in the Leadership measure on Governance domain and in the Labor measure on Society domain, the Japanese scored higher than others. In Leadership measure on Governance domain, out of 100, Japan scored 71.32, Korea scored 34.25 and China scored 8.10 in the Leadership measure. In Labor measure on Society domain, out of 100, Japan scored 56.05, China scored 32.46 and Korea scored 29.66. Listed: 20 Japanese Corporations, 5 Chinese and 5 Korean corporations Korean corporations - Amore Pacific, Samsung SDI and Kia Motors - were listed on East Asia 30 for second year in succession. The re-listing confirmed their reputation of being the leading corporations in CSR management. Filtered by the strengthened negative screening standards, some corporations failed to be re-listed. (See related Hankyoreh articles, issued on October 24th) 59 Korean subject corporations received good evaluations in specific measures - in Governance domain, Independence of the Board of Directors and Ethics measures; in Society domain, Health and Safety for Employees, Job Creation and Social Contribution Index measures. Korean corporations throve in `East Asia Environment 30`. 8 corporations were listed, showing an increase from last year`s 6. In particular, Hynix Semiconductor Inc. received the highest score among the listed corporations. This indicates that the investment that manufacturing industry has made in Environment domain has come to fruition. Evidently, all listed Korean corporations were in the manufacturing industry. Especially, Kia Motors has been investing more than 17 billion won (15 million dollars) in Environment domain every year since 2007. Chinese Corporations receive good evaluation in `Women`s Board Participation` The CSR level for Chinese corporations was on the lower end in general. However, they have made great improvements from last year. In particular, in `Women`s Board Participation` measure that was a new addition to the evaluation model, Chinese scored higher than Korean or Japanese corporations. This reflects China`s social atmosphere in which women actively participate in the society and politics. Chinese corporations throve in East Asia Society 30. In Job Creation measure, the Chinese received scores similar to those of Korean and Japanese corporations. Among individual corporations, China Petroleum & Chemical scored 56.1 out of 100. Its score is not too far behind the average score of 67.6. Though limited in Society domain, CSR level of advanced Chinese corporations has reached a significant level. The best CSR performers of this year, East Asia 30 2011, comprehensively manage the issues with various stakeholders and implement CSR management in the same context with their corporate management. However, subjects still needed improvements. Although they have put much effort into practicing CSR in all domains, the scores for Anti-corruption measure were generally low. This indicates that anti-corruption issues are only mentioned while no actions have been taken to solve them. The Expert Committee anticipated that, `This year`s evaluation will become an important axis for practicing CSR in a more integrative perspective for Korean, Chinese and Japanese corporations`. Seo Jae Kyo, Research Associate, Hankyoreh Economic Research Institute jkseo@hani.co.kr