SangSang Fund
KT&G’s unique donation culture made of employee’s voluntary participation and reward of good deeds Donation Petition
SangSang Fund is a social contribution fund raised by the voluntary participation of KT&G employees. When employees donate part of their monthly salary, the company matches the same amount. Since its adoption in 2011, the SangSang Fund has formed a cumulative total of KRW 39.9 billion, including KRW 3.9 billion raised in 2022, as a result of active participation of employee in overall process ranging from fund operations to search for recipients and sponsorship. The raised SangSang Fund is used to support vulnerable social groups and solve social problems through donation petition and donation market programs. The SangSang Fund Management Committee, composed of 11 employee representatives, deliberates, and makes decisions on the donation agenda to ensure transparent operation. Support for large-scale social problems such as natural disasters is determined by a committee resolution, and funds for social contribution to increase intimacy with the community is executed voluntarily by KT&G local organizations across the country, contributing to diffusing a culture of sharing.
Overview of SangSang Fund
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Donation Petition
The donation petition initiative serves as a method to identify recipients of donations. In this program, when an employee identifies a story within an underserved welfare area and extends a helping hand, the story becomes eligible for donation consideration if it garners over 200 supportive comments from fellow employees. Since its introduction in 2013, many members have participated in the program to provide various benefits to the underprivileged in the welfare blind spot, such as medical support, residential environment improvement, and education, since they cannot receive support from the welfare institutions. -
Donation Market
Donation Market is a participation-based donation program that enables employees to select a donation receiver among the candidates collected from various channels such as NAVER Happybean, KT&G Welfare Foundation, and recommendations from local organizations. Started in 2015, the Donation Market program has conducted activities to solve a wide range of social issues in various fields, such as overseas relief and improvement of environmental problems, in addition to the welfare improvement of the underprivileged. -
Engagement
by Local
OrganizationsAcross the country, KT&G is conducting communitybased sponsorship projects led by approximately 20 sales headquarters and plants. As employees who are familiar with the community find the donation receiver, practical support and customized social contribution can be made. In 2022, KT&G executed a total of 295 nationwide support initiatives, encompassing areas such as medical expenses, essential daily provisions, enhancement of living conditions, and year-end charitable endeavors. These efforts were directed towards the elderly, disabled individuals, and multicultural families, and were facilitated through local welfare institutions. A sum of approximately KRW 1.5 billion from the SangSang Fund was allocated for these activities.
Global CSR Activities
We fulfill responsibilities as a global corporate citizen
to become a truly global top-tier player.
As KT&G’s global expansion gains speed, its roles and responsibilities toward local communities around the world are also growing. KT&G is fulfilling social responsibilities as a global corporate citizen by carrying out social contribution activities in diverse countries, including countries where its businesses have a presence. We provide emergency disaster relief overseas and conduct country-tailored social contribution activities, in addition to Korean language education, Korean culture dissemination activities, and job support activities. We are providing help that is needed around the world in accordance with our unique social contribution value system.
Job Creation Support Program in Indonesia
In 2019, KT&G established the Coffee Lab in Indonesia to contribute to the creation of jobs for youths. Afterwards in March 2021, we opened a vocational training center for sewing at Universitas Kristen Cipta Wacana (UKCW), a university located in Malang, to strengthen the foundation for the underprivileged to become independent. A total 243 people completed the curriculum at the vocational training center by 2022. Based on the skills they acquired at the center, the participants have found a job or are running their own clothing business. By helping people in Indonesia learn skills that become the foundation of economic activities, such as sewing, we are providing practical help to improve the quality of life of the underprivileged.
In Mongolia, which is experiencing serious environmental issues caused by desertification, we are conducting the KT&G SangSang Forest project together with the Agroforestry Training Center in Mongolia that was established by the KT&G Welfare Foundation to prevent desertification and reduce carbon emissions. We are building the forest in the form of an urban forest in collaboration with Mongolian residents. We built the first forest, consisting of a total 3,000 trees, in 2022, and commenced the establishment of the second forest that will be completed in 2023 with a total of 5,200 trees.
We are also striving to improve educational conditions in local communities around the world. To support the educational infrastructure in Laos, we used the SangSang Fund, which was raised through employee donations, to build an elementary school in Nonkeo, for which construction commenced in 2021 and was completed in December 2022. Together with the elementary school in Khampanae that was completed in 2019, the new school is expected to contribute to the nurturing of future talent. The KT&G Welfare Foundation is carrying out an educational environment improvement project at the Nguyen Thanh Elementary School in Vietnam and Ananda Elementary and Secondary School in Indonesia. In Kazakhstan, where KT&G recently advanced into, we began building a Korean language school with the goal of completion in 2023. Through the school, we will provide Korean language education to local residents of Kazakhstan and ethnic Korean descendants, and carry out various CSR activities related to the Korean culture.
In Mongolia, which is experiencing serious environmental issues caused by desertification, we are conducting the KT&G SangSang Forest project together with the Agroforestry Training Center in Mongolia that was established by the KT&G Welfare Foundation to prevent desertification and reduce carbon emissions. We are building the forest in the form of an urban forest in collaboration with Mongolian residents. We built the first forest, consisting of a total 3,000 trees, in 2022, and commenced the establishment of the second forest that will be completed in 2023 with a total of 5,200 trees.
We are also striving to improve educational conditions in local communities around the world. To support the educational infrastructure in Laos, we used the SangSang Fund, which was raised through employee donations, to build an elementary school in Nonkeo, for which construction commenced in 2021 and was completed in December 2022. Together with the elementary school in Khampanae that was completed in 2019, the new school is expected to contribute to the nurturing of future talent. The KT&G Welfare Foundation is carrying out an educational environment improvement project at the Nguyen Thanh Elementary School in Vietnam and Ananda Elementary and Secondary School in Indonesia. In Kazakhstan, where KT&G recently advanced into, we began building a Korean language school with the goal of completion in 2023. Through the school, we will provide Korean language education to local residents of Kazakhstan and ethnic Korean descendants, and carry out various CSR activities related to the Korean culture.
Total of 14countries, KRW21.4billion
* As of the end of 2022, and cumulative basisEco-friendly CSR
KT&G is reducing its environmental footprint while raising social value,
thereby developing into an ESG-leading company.
KT&G is actively looking into ways to reduce its carbon footprint in the process of use and disposal of our products. We encourage stakeholders to participate in and identify with our efforts to find measures, thus fulfilling our social responsibilities and making diverse efforts to create social value. In addition, we are carrying out various social contribution activities to protect and restore the natural environment to improve environmental issues, which have become a global task.
Smoking Environment Improvement Program
KT&G has been carrying out the smoking environment improvement program for more than a decade to actively fulfill social responsibilities in an area that is related to its business. As a leading activity, we are building an infrastructure (smoking room, cigarette butt collection box, eco-friendly ashtray) to establish a clean street environment and make environmental improvements by eliminating illegal littering of cigarette butts.
Smoking Environment Improvement Program
- Support for Smoking Room Installation
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511smoking rooms,
KRW 7,220million
(2011~2022)
- Support for Cigarette Butt Collection Box Installation
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2,236boxes,
KRW 460million
(2011~2022)
- Distribution of Eco-friendly Ashtrays
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102,000ashtrays,
KRW 850million
(2022)
Ssudam Ssudam Campaign
KT&G runs the “Ssudam Ssudam Campaign” to build an infrastructure that helps prevent illegal littering of wastes, including cigarette butts, while raising consumer awareness. Meaning “please throw away your cigarette butts in the trash can”, the Ssudam Ssudam Campaign was launched based on a suggestion made by the SangSang Realization Committee (currently Junior Board), a corporate culture improvement organization, in 2020. Since May 2021, we have been applying the Ssudam Ssudam pictogram that encourages the practice of smoking manners to all products sold in Korea (around 70 types). In addition, we set up Ssudam Ssudam Campaign posters at convenience stores (around 46,000) across the nation, and attached campaign slogans to 1,200 work vehicles.
Domestic and International Reforestation Initiatives
With KT&G Welfare Foundation taking the lead, KT&G has been steadily carrying out a CSR activity that involves building forests, amounting to a total of KRW 5 billion, for 18 years since 2006, thereby contributing to improvements in the forest environment in Korea and abroad. As the first step, we volunteered and planted 38,000 trees in the Naksan Temple forest fire damage area in Yangyang, Gangwon-do from 2006 to 2012. Since 2013, we planted 14,000 trees and removed harmful plants for ecological restoration on Mt. Bukhan. We expanded the scope of the program to go beyond volunteering to restore damaged forests and include support for local communities that suffered losses from wildfires. In 2019, we donated KRW 500 million to help victims of the Goseong and Sokcho wildfires. In addition, we provided KRW 50 million for the victims of 2021 Turkey wildfires, which was followed by a donation of KRW 500 million for the relief of the victims of the Uljin and Samcheok wildfires in 2022.
As part of its corporate social responsibility, KT&G, after focusing on the restoration of damaged forests (1st generation) and supporting victims of major wildfires (2nd generation), commenced the 'KT&G Sangsang Forest' project in 2022 as part of its strategic ESG management. Utilizing 600 million won from the Sangsang Fund, which KT&G employees contribute, the company plans to cultivate 15,000 trees in critical domestic regions and Mongolia, where it has business operations, by 2023. This initiative aims to contribute to carbon reduction and the mitigation of the climate crisis.
As part of its corporate social responsibility, KT&G, after focusing on the restoration of damaged forests (1st generation) and supporting victims of major wildfires (2nd generation), commenced the 'KT&G Sangsang Forest' project in 2022 as part of its strategic ESG management. Utilizing 600 million won from the Sangsang Fund, which KT&G employees contribute, the company plans to cultivate 15,000 trees in critical domestic regions and Mongolia, where it has business operations, by 2023. This initiative aims to contribute to carbon reduction and the mitigation of the climate crisis.
Preserving Biodiversity
KT&G has signed an MOU on “Ecosystem Conservation and Biodiversity Promotion” with the National Institute of Ecology in 2022 to contribute to the recovery of natural capital and the restoration of species, and will jointly carry out a mid- to longterm cooperation project for three years starting in 2023. Accordingly, we will plan and execute activities that are aimed at protecting the ecosystem and restoring biodiversity together with the National Institute of Ecology every year.
Overview of the 1st Year Projects for the MOU
on Ecosystem Conservation and Biodiversity Promotion
- Target Area
- Janggu catfish wetland
nearby the Yeongju Plant
- Restoration Area
- Approximately
38,000 m2
- Major Species identified
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Endangered Species Level II
1 bird species (Eurasian goshawk)
3 mammal species (yellow-throated marten, leopard cat, Siberian flying squirrel)
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National Red List Near Threatened (NT)
1 inset species (migrant hawker)
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National Red List Least Concern (LC)
3 plant species (trigonotis icumaevine, eleutherococcus divaricatus var. chiisanensis, lysimachia coreana Nakai)
7 insect species (agelastica coerulea Baly, etc.)
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Protecting the Marine Ecosystem
To address the ocean pollution issue that is caused by ocean wastes, KT&G has been conducting a marine ecosystem protection project since 2021 in collaboration with the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation (KOEM) and OSEAN. In 2021, which was the first year of the project, professional divers collected marine wastes to purify the waters, while our employees volunteered to carry out coastal cleanup activities. In 2022, the scope of the project was expanded to include “Adopt-a-Beach” Program organized by KOEM. It is a program in which a company adopts a beach that needs to be protected and cares for the beach as if it were a companion animal by carrying out such activities as beach cleaning.
Performance of Marine Ecosystem Protection Projects in 2022
- Waste collected
- Approximately 17.2 tons
- Participating volunteers
- 1,232 persons
