South Korean shipping company HMM Co. has become the first South Korean shipping company to receive a platinum rating in an environmental, social and governance (ESG) evaluation by EcoVadis, a global rating agency based in France, the company said Tuesday.

The ESG assessment covers four categories: environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable sourcing. Depending on the results, companies are given a rating of platinum, gold, silver, or bronze. The Platinum rating is awarded to the top 1 percent of companies.

HMM progressed to the Gold rating between 2022 and 2023 after being awarded the Silver rating in 2021, until it won the highest rating in 2024.

Despite the stronger evaluation criteria in 2024, HMM‘s scores remained the same or increased in all areas compared to the previous year, according to the company. It received high marks in sustainable procurement, in addition to its traditional strengths in the environmental area. The faithful implementation of assessments, inspections and pre-risk analyses of companies working with HMM was also recognized, as were the company’s own efforts to provide environmentally friendly services.

Maersk Line AS and CMA-CGM are the only global container shipping companies to have received the Platinum rating in the EcoVadis assessment, HMM said.

“With a growing number of global shippers demanding ESG ratings, this latest result will help to increase our competitiveness in the global market,” the company said.

By Pulse

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