LS Cable & System forms global ESG council with 20 affiliates to meet tightening regulations

LS Cable & System has formed a working council dedicated to environmental, social and governance (ESG) values with 20 domestic and overseas affiliates, in a bid to pre-empt the tightening ESG mandates taking hold across Europe and North America.

The council aims to standardize carbon data management, supply-chain due diligence, and ESG assessment protocols, with core priorities centered on achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy under the RE100 initiative.

Some 20 ESG officers from roughly 10 countries — including the United States, Poland, China, Vietnam, and India — will serve as council “ambassadors,” organizing regional working groups to advance these efforts.

Particularly in Europe's cable markets, technical capability alone no longer suffices as contract awards hinge on a broader set of ESG criteria such as the raw materials and manufacturing processes behind a product; its carbon footprint and share of renewable energy use; and the rigor of human-rights and environmental oversight across the supply chain. 

LS Cable & System’s plant in Donghae, Gangwon, has already achieved a full transition to renewable energy, and the cable maker aims to extend that playbook to its overseas facilities. 

LS Cable & System charted a mid-to-long-term road map toward net-zero emissions by 2050 after it secured formal validation of its net-zero targets from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in December, becoming the first company to do so in Korea's wire and cable industry.

SBTi is a global body that vets corporate emissions-reduction targets against the scientific benchmarks of the Paris Agreement, which formally certifies that a company's net-zero road map is credible rather than merely self-declared.

LS Materials earned a Silver rating from EcoVadis, the global ESG assessment body, placing it among the top 15 percent of companies evaluated. The firm is expanding its ultracapacitor business, a type of energy storage device, with a particular focus on AI data centers and renewable energy applications.

LS Eco Energy is operating greenhouse gas emissions management and reporting systems centered on its overseas plants.

LS Marine Solution is reinforcing environmental and safety management across its subsea cable installation and offshore wind operations. Drawing on its track record of building sustainable marine infrastructure, the company is sharpening its ESG-driven competitiveness as it expands its push into the global offshore power grid market.

BY SARAH CHEA   [[email protected]]