Hanwha Energy Corp., a South Korean renewable energy company, said Friday it has launched a committee to beef up sustainable management in light of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles.

The ESG committee, established within its board, will serve as the company's key division tasked with devising and reviewing mid- to long-term objectives and strategies in line with the ESG factors, which refer to business behaviors and practices that determine a company's future sustainability.

The ESG committee, comprising independent directors, held its first meeting earlier in the day to discuss the future course of the ESG management, including environmentally friendly policy, such as cutting carbon emissions, as well as gender issues at workplaces, fair competition and trade, the company said in a release.

Major South Korean companies have increasingly been engaging in efforts to ramp up the ESG management as a long-term business strategy to attract investors with non-financial corporate values.

Big conglomerates, like SK Group, LG Group and Hyundai Motor Group, have established committees within their key affiliates for the oversight of the ESG management. Samsung Electronics has changed the name of its governance committee to "sustainability committee" in a bid to bolster the ESG role.

Hanwha Group, which has Hanwha Energy under its wing, has also launched ESG committees in all of its seven listed affiliates and asset management arm. (Yonhap)