Over the years, SK hynix has cultivated a system of working that prioritizes both economic and social values. We believe that our impact extends beyond the products we make and the innovations we develop – and reaches the people who use them and the progress they enable.
As a forward-looking company, we are always growing and looking to the potential of tomorrow, and the day after that. This applies to our vision for social value as well. To guide our trajectory over the next decade, SK hynix has announced SV 2030, a roadmap for maximizing social values across the company. Organized across four core areas of Environment, Shared Growth, Social Safety Net, and Corporate Culture, the ambitious project will aim to meet specific goals in each sector by 2030.
A newly established Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) Management Committee will convene on a quarterly basis to oversee the progression of our SV 2030 goals. This progress will be reported yearly in our annual sustainability management reports.
In his 2021 New Year’s speech, SK Chairman Chey Tae-Won emphasized the importance of this moment for the company: “It is a time when we need a new entrepreneurial spirit to empathize with society and work together to solve problems.”
Environment – Green 2030
Environmental issues are a global concern – they affect us all, the planet we live on, and the air that we breathe. That’s why we care about the way in which our products are made, manufactured and treated. No matter the importance of a certain product, we believe its economic value must equal its social value.
Through Green 2030, SK hynix will join companies like Apple in achieving the RE100 benchmark by 2050, and thrive to achieving net zero (by 2050), zero additional emissions of air pollutants, a gold rating at ZWTL at its domestic production sites. Also, by advancing an eco-friendly semiconductor manufacturing system and increasing water reuse up to 3 times, we aim to contribute to a healthy planet that will continue to support future generations for years to come.
Shared growth – Advance Together
When our company succeeds, we all succeed. SK hynix aims to increase the competitiveness of the Korean semiconductor industry by enhancing the capabilities of our partner companies including suppliers of semiconductor materials, components, and equipment. As semiconductors have a profound impact on the national economy, we believe that revitalizing the semiconductor ecosystem through partnerships can reinvigorate our economy.
To this end, we will achieve KRW 3 trillion in cumulative investment in technological cooperation for business partners. We will sequentially invest KRW 1.2 trillion in the establishment and operation of a ‘We Do Tech Center,’ operated as SK hynix’s flagship semiconductor ecosystem platform. In addition, it will expand and implement a win-win growth program, including support for technologically innovative companies, industry-academia, and national projects.
Social Safety Net
A social safety net is an infrastructure to establish the role of companies in preparation for crisis situations such as pandemics or natural disasters, and to enhance their capabilities to solve social problems. We plan to create a system of roles that companies should perform in emergency situations and create a separate fund to implement them. We will also invest in the specific needs of the local communities where our production bases are located.
Building a healthy social safety net is no mean feat, but SK hynix has managed to do just that thanks to its tireless work for local communities made possible by its kindhearted employees. Our main goal is supporting those who need it the most, like low-income families and the elderly. This is why SK hynix America founded the VOICE (Valuable Opportunities for Interaction, Collaboration, and Engagement) initiative which allows its employees to do their bit for the local society through food bank volunteering, toy and backpack drives, fundraisers, and events supporting important social movements and celebrations like International Women’s Day. To assist elderly locals, the company set up a social contribution program that already benefits 100,000 people who are not familiar with modern technologies like using unmanned convenience stores.
SK hynix is helping communities in numerous ways. Take its job creation track record as a perfect example, is aiming to create 1,000 jobs for people with disabilities and encouraged more than 100,000 to participate in a its global ICT human resource development program. And SK hynix did not shy away when the pandemic struck the globe in early 2020, its US division donating an incredible 50,000 masks to medical workers around San Jose, California, where its HQ is based.
In the future, SK hynix plans to create a system of roles that companies should perform in emergencies and create a separate fund for this.
As we have seen through the COVID-19 pandemic, crises such as these tend to impact the weakest places in society. That’s why SK hynix plans to actively support the vulnerable against the threat of public safety, health and livelihood.
Corporate Culture – Diversity and Inclusion
SK hynix’s working culture continuously evolves, the company focusing on improving the happiness of its employees by providing a level playing field for all and the opportunity to grow as people and professionals. To foster an effective learning environment, we encourage employees with 200 hours of self-development education on top of insightful diversity training that promotes equal opportunities. The company is also making efforts to establish gender-balanced workforce, with a commitment to guarantee leadership-nutruring training programs for female employees twice the number of current female managers.
At SK hynix, the purpose of corporate management is to ensure the happiness of its members. We are committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive corporate culture where self-development is encouraged and supported.
Our goal is to create a truly inclusive, vibrant community where all voices are lifted up and celebrated. To achieve this, we will implement education trainings on diversity and inclusion topics, expand our female recruitment rates, and reinforce our female leader training programs.
Your Questions Answered
Curious to hear even more? We’ve answered some of the top questions about our SV 2030 commitment below.
Q: What are we doing to become Net Zero by 2050?
A: A total of 13 million tons CO2 will be saved by 2030. Specifically, 6.5 million tons of CO2 emissions will be reduced through domestic RE certification using green tariff plans and PPA, RE100 for Chinese business sites, and participation in carbon reduction projects in developing countries. Another 6.5 million tons will be saved by promoting CO2 reduction by supplying low-power semiconductors (detailed measurement methodology being developed).
Q: What are the air pollutants we’re concerned with? How much are we emitting?
A: Sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, dust, fluorine, ammonia, hydrogen chloride, formaldehyde (VOCs), etc. According to our Sustainability Reports, we emitted about 690 tons in 2020 and about 650 tons in 2019.
Q: What are we doing to expand waste recycling?
A: Enhancement of the actual recycling rate of designated wastes, promotion of heat recovery and reuse of incineration waste, reinforcement of waste resource recycling efforts, etc.
Q: What are some of the representative water resource saving activities?
A: There is a case of a water-free scrubber that breaks the common sense of conventional scrubbers that purify harmful gases with water and treats high-temperature gas with an indirect cooling method to save water and costs with a waterless scrubber.
Q: Is the ESG Management Committee a regular meeting body led by the CEO?
A: As the recent emphasis on ESG management continues, it is a new meeting body led directly by the CEO, and mid- to long-term ESG-related policies and strategic decisions are made.
Q: What is the status of RE100 declaration in the semiconductor industry?
A: In July 2020, Taiwan’s TSMC declared that it would achieve RE100 by 2050. SK hynix is the first among semiconductor memory companies to do so.
Q: Are there any plans for cooperation with partner companies as well as customers in the future related to RE100?
A: Many global clients have already declared and implemented RE100 and are requesting cooperation from our company in the supply chain to achieve their environmental goals. In the future, we will continue to maintain cooperation from the viewpoint of social value, and we will support environmental management of business partners through the ECO Alliance, etc.
