SOUTH KOREA. Lotte Duty Free has renewed its partnership with the Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership (KCCP) to advance this year’s edition of the ESG Support Program for Partner Companies.
Launched in 2023, the initiative provides support to small and medium-sized partners through contributions to the Win-Win Cooperation Fund, fostering stronger collaborations.
Lotte Duty Free is the first travel retailer to take part in the Commission’s ESG support project.
This year, Lotte Duty Free will contribute KRW50 million (US$35,000) to the fund and work with the Commission to develop tailored ESG indicators for each partner company in line with its standard SME guidelines. The programme will also provide ESG education, hands-on training and customised consulting to partner companies.
As part of the programme, ten selected SMEs will benefit from in-depth ESG consulting, combining online and offline training with at least two on-site inspections to assess their ESG performance and identify areas for improvement.
Applications will be accepted from today (15 October) via Lotte Duty Free’s official corporate partnership email.
Following the consultation period, SMEs that meet the required ESG standards will be awarded a Certificate of ESG Excellence for SMEs from the Commission.
Certified companies will be eligible for incentives such as preferential loan rates from major banks, including KB Kookmin, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), Shinhan, Hana and BNK Kyongnam.
They will also gain support for overseas expansion through programmes offered by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency and the Korea International Cooperation Agency. In addition, the Korea Institute of Energy Technology will provide environmental and energy consulting and technical assistance.
This ongoing initiative highlights the programme’s previous success, with eight out of ten participating partner companies recognised last year for outstanding ESG implementation and certified as ESG Excellent SMEs by the Commission.
The ESG support programme builds on Lotte Duty Free’s broader win-win growth strategy to strengthen sustainable business practices with its partner companies.
The retailer has established a KRW50 billion (US$35.1 million) win-win fund in partnership with IBK Industrial Bank and Shinhan Bank to support SME loan interest rates. It also runs programmes to support key personnel in SMEs, covering registration fees for online recruitment sites and long-service leave expenses.
In addition, Lotte Duty Free provides free DID advertising at its Myeong-dong flagship store and supports marketing and promotion through its online sales channel and SME-themed campaigns on social media.
Lotte Duty Free CEO Kim Dong-ha said, “The ESG support programme for partner companies, the first of its kind in the duty-free industry, enters its third year, and we are working together to build a sustainable growth foundation for SMEs.
“Lotte Duty Free will continue to prioritise win-win collaborations with our partners and fulfil our social responsibility through the practice of ESG management.” ✈
