IN RECENT years, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) has emerged as a major trend in both the private and public sectors. With many cases demonstrating a link between adherence to ESG and greater organizational performance, universities worldwide have been scrambling to embrace such principles. Yonsei University is no exception, its cheer squad having recently announced an eco-friendly campus project with HiteJinro, a Korean liquor company, in addition to a plethora of existing initiatives. Through this article, The Yonsei Annals takes a deep dive into the foundations of ESG, Yonsei, and other universities’ related policies, in addition to ESG’s future outlook. 

Introduction to ESG

   ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance, and is a set of standards for institutional conduct. ESG’s environmental component defines how an institution protects the environment. Key principles include climate policies, energy saving, waste reduction, pollution minimization, conservation of natural resources, and ethical treatment of animals. ESG not only evaluates whether an organization adheres to such environmental principles, but also how such issues could influence its future operations. The social component examines the organization’s relationship with its various stakeholders. It considers various factors, such as whether the organization holds partners and suppliers to ESG standards, conducts community work, considers employee well-being, and treats its customers ethically. Notable values are diversity, inclusion, social justice, and anti-discrimination. Lastly, governance emphasizes transparency and fairness in an institution’s leadership. Evaluative criteria encompass the likes of transparent use of funds, integrity in leadership selection, and, in businesses’ case, accountability to shareholders[1].

   ESG is increasingly becoming of paramount importance in various sectors for a multitude of reasons. For one, analyzing an organization’s environmental footprint, social factors, and governance practices are viable means for regulators and governments to check its credibility. Moreover, holding organizations to such standards aids in fostering positive change regarding various social issues, such as climate change, lack of diversity, and corruption. ESG is an attractive prospect for universities in particular, mainly because it ensures the effective use of endowment funds while attracting students, partner organizations, and donors. From an ethical standpoint, ESG aids universities in making investment decisions that support both the environment and society. This in turn renders them better prepared for future educational trends and government policies. 

The Yonsei-HiteJinro Clean Campus Project

   Announced on October 26, the clean campus project is a partnership between HiteJinro and the Yonsei University Cheer Squad. As the name implies, it focuses on the environmental aspect of ESG. The project involves collecting waste from the university campus and turning it into upcycling goods to redistribute to students. The cheer squad will assist HiteJinro in gathering discarded banners, after which the upcycling brand Nukak will repurpose them into bags. The bags will be of the sporty “drawstring backpack” variation, each with a unique design and a tag detailing the eco-friendly production process. The cheer squad will sell the bags to Yonsei students through social media promotions. The clean campus project builds upon past experience, with HiteJinro having conducted a similar project with an arts university in July of this year. It partnered with another upcycling fashion brand named ULKIN to create goods out of discarded canvas and used the proceeds to finance new canvas for the university[2]. 

Yonsei’s ESG initiatives

   In addition to the collaborative project with HiteJinro, a variety of ESG-friendly initiatives are in place at Yonsei. The Yonsei Center for Global ESG and Business Ethics provides ESG research for private companies and nonprofit organizations. Areas of focus include environmental performance, ethics for artificial intelligence, socially responsible investment, and corporate social responsibility. The Center has recently published research regarding the impact of COVID-19 on earnings management, implications of country corruption, and effects of taxation on corporate social responsibility[3]. Additionally, it provides educational seminars on the aforementioned areas of focus for universities, graduate schools, and businesses. The Center also hosts an ESG/Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Case Competition for undergraduates, whose winners go on to participate in the University of Washington, Tacoma’s Case Competition on Social Responsibility. In an interview with the Annals, Center Director Lee Ho-young (Prof., School of Business) further stressed that the organization works intimately with the private sector as well. Most notably, its members serve as advisors for KT’s ESG policy and have also aided in developing the company’s ESG Value Measurement Model. Finally, there are frequent educational and research collaborations with foreign institutions, such as Boston University, the Technical University of Munich, and Tsinghua University. This past July, the Center for Global ESG and Business Ethics held a joint research seminar on artificial intelligence (AI) governance with the Technical University of Munich’s Institute of Ethics in Artificial Intelligence (IEAI). 

   The Yonsei Institute for Higher Education Innovation (IHEI) is Yonsei’s hub for training students in social innovation strategies. Here, social innovation is defined as solving social issues through the development of novel ideas. The IHEI offers the “Corporate Social Value and Social Innovation” course, aimed at teaching students the concept, importance, and specific applications of ESG. The course involves lectures about ESG given by SK executives and staff, as well as group debates on the lecture material. The course culminates in a final group presentation on examples of ESG best practices[4]. According to an IHEI representative contacted by the Annals, the course has been offered during the first semesters of the 2022 and 2023 school years and will be available in the first semester of the 2024 year as well.

   Another Yonsei organization contributing to the advancement of ESG principles is the Institute for Global Engagement and Empowerment (IGEE). IGEE’s main purpose is to conduct projects and educational activities related to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), a significant portion of which overlaps with ESG’s environmental and social components. As part of its Social Engagement Fund (SEF) program, IGEE has sponsored research on topics with environmental and social implications such as food upcycling and security. The institute also hosts the Global Engagement and Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development (GEEF), which regularly covers topics pertaining to ESG; a “GEEF for All” event last year included a seminar on the integration of ESG opportunities with the CSR business model. 

ESG in other universities

   ESG is a global educational trend that far transcends Yonsei, with universities from around the world taking steps to integrate its principles into policy. In Korea, Seoul National University and Konkuk University have published a multitude of reports detailing ESG data, direction, and trends in foreign universities. Seoul National University’s Green Report has been providing ESG data for universities since 2014, including emissions, energy efficiency, energy consumption characteristics, and emission reduction targets of various universities. Konkuk University has been publishing its Konkuk University ESG Brief every 2 to 3 weeks since August, 2022. This brief includes information on the status quo of ESG in higher education, Konkuk University’s own ESG initiatives, and domestic as well as international trends. Korea University runs an ESG Research Institute which provides financial support for researchers and develops methods for ESG big data collection. In addition, the school is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. Meanwhile, Kyung Hee University has recently developed the Public ESG (P-ESG) evaluation model to measure the ESG performance of various regions and cities around the globe[5]. In 2022, Sogang University established an ESG major as part of its Graduate School of Economics. This is the first university-level program dedicated to nurturing ESG specialists in Korea[6]. On a more collective level, the Korea ESG management agency (ESGKO), has announced a set of ESG guidelines for universities. Encompassing 4 categories that include the 3 components of ESG, these guidelines will assist universities with disparate visions in unifying their future ESG policies[5].

   ESG is a hot topic in foreign universities as well. The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania possesses an ESG for Business curriculum, which has recently added two new MBA majors titled Environmental, Social and Governance Factors for Business (ESGB) and Social and Governance Factors for Business (SOGO); an undergraduate concentration of the same title as the latter is also offered to undergraduate students. Moreover, Wharton School operates a diverse array of dedicated ESG centers and labs, including a climate center and an impact-investing research lab[7]. Cambridge University offers various ESG-related courses and programs, including Leading Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Business Sustainability, and ESG Leadership Skills[8]. Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has made significant investments toward increasing sustainability, the core principles of which are outlined in the Sustainability Framework; the university aims to halve its energy use and waste generation by 2026 relative to 2011, with the ultimate goal of achieving carbon neutrality in 2035[9]. 

Future of ESG in higher education

   Due to the growing threat of climate change, future ESG initiatives will naturally place a strong emphasis on environmental factors. Measures are being implemented to gradually reduce universities’ dependence on fossil fuels. Producing or utilizing renewable energy and leveraging partnerships with the public and private sectors to develop alternative energy sources are two plausible courses of action. Carbon neutrality plans for campuses are also beginning to gain traction; these efforts range from physically modernizing buildings to charging energy costs to individual departments in order to incentivize saving energy. Universities can likewise take steps to directly reduce their environmental footprint, in addition to conducting research and nurturing future ESG-minded leaders through organizations like Yonsei’s Center for Global ESG and Business Ethics. Such an approach would aid tremendously in both the short and long term proliferation of environmentally, socially, and governmentally conscious management, thus cementing institutions of higher education as trailblazers of the global ESG megatrend.

[1] Investopedia

[2] IT Times

[3] Yonsei Business Research Institute

[4] Institute for Higher Education Innovation

[5] University News Network

[6] Sogang University

[7] University of Pennsylvania

[8] Cambridge University

[9] Nanyang Technological University