SK has measured social value in monetary terms for eight consecutive years, creating a cumulative 155 trillion won. SK said on June 19 that its social value creation last year was measured at 32.2 trillion won, about double the level in 2018 when it began the measurement. Social value refers to the value a company creates by contributing to resolving and easing social problems. SK is practising “Double Bottom Line (DBL)” management, pursuing economic and social value at the same time, and quantifying results each year that were previously assessed only qualitatively.

SK measures three areas: economic indirect contributions such as employment, dividends and taxes; environmental performance reflecting the environmental impact of eco-friendly products and production processes; and social performance including improvements in quality of life and shared growth. By area last year, economic indirect contributions came to 31.8 trillion won and social performance to 3.4 trillion won, while environmental performance posted a loss of 3.1 trillion won. Social performance offset the loss in environmental performance and rose for a third consecutive year since 2023.

Social value created per 100 million won of sales also improved. It rose to 14.04 million won last year from 10.58 million won in 2023, up 33 percent over three years. Economic indirect contributions increased by 6.2 trillion won from the previous year. That was the result of higher employment and tax performance as major business results at affiliates improved. SK said continuing measurement and management for eight years and reflecting areas needing improvement in management led to results.

Environmental performance showed a slightly larger negative impact, with a loss of 3.1 trillion won from a loss of 2.9 trillion won a year earlier. That followed an expansion in environmental impacts such as greenhouse gases as output of AI and semiconductor products rose. Major affiliates are pursuing environmentally friendly processes by introducing high-efficiency equipment that uses less electricity and increasing the share of renewable energy. In social performance, it additionally created about 100 billion won in value in safety and health and win-win cooperation alone.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (최태원) has lent support to measuring and spreading social value. At the “2026 Value and Growth Forum” hosted by the Social Value Institute in March, Chey presented reducing social costs as a core element of a new growth model. At the time, Chey said, “The future growth model must be redesigned in a direction that achieves economic growth and reductions in social costs at the same time,” and explained that neglecting social problems could increase welfare and conflict costs and create a vicious cycle that constrains growth.

In global markets, calls are growing to transparently disclose non-financial risks in environmental and social areas. The EU’s sustainability reporting directive requires companies to report related information in detail. SK is using its increasingly advanced measurement system for management decision-making and risk management. It is also considering a plan to build and open an open platform that measures and evaluates corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance.

An SK official said, “Over eight years, we have devoted ourselves sincerely to measuring SV and continuously advanced our methodology,” adding, “By adding AI to our accumulated know-how, we want to lower barriers to measurement and contribute to objectively measuring and solving social problems.”