Singapore, 12 July 2022 — A new partnership aims to bring environmental, social and governance (ESG) developments to a higher level. The Centre for Governance and Sustainability (CGS) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School and the International ESG Association (IESGA) are collaborating to bring the Global ESG Forum to a wider audience, promoting knowledge on how businesses can better incorporate ESG considerations in their operations. 

Professor Yong Sik Ok from Korea University comment on this important issue. They describe past and current trends in plastic consumption and waste management and explain the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had in these regards, as well as how we should respond to these changes to shift into a plastic circular economy in the foreseeable future. 

Against this backdrop, an international team of researchers led by Prof. Yong Sik Ok and Dr. Xiangzhou Yuan of Korea University sought to determine if PET-derived porous carbon can truly be feasible in sustainable large-scale CCS systems from practical, environmental, and economic standpoints. “The primary steps in establishing an emerging technology involve the synthesis and simulation of its processes outside the laboratory in order to justify its improved sustainability and cost-effectiveness over more established techniques,” explains Dr. Yuan. 

This year, South Korea is set to introduce deposits for disposable cups at coffee shops and fast food outlets. The new rule will apply to large and branded cafe chains, which will need to charge their customers a refundable fee for the plastic and paper cups they give out when they sell their beverages. The Ministry of Environment estimates that through boosting recycling and cutting the costs related to waste incineration, the policy will help to reduce carbon emissions by 66 per cent. The revised law will also ban the use of single-use utensils, including plastic straws and stirrers, for customers consuming food and beverages in-store. Over the years, major South Korean companies have been moving towards initiating their own plastic waste reduction projects, to achiev...

“Global companies now consider not only the ratio of women but also racial diversity in the board of directors [when scoring for governance],” Rhee Jay-hyuk, a business professor at Korea University, said. “When a domestic company grows to become a global company, they unavoidably feel pressure to improve their governance system.”