Korea Forest Service and Woori Financial Group agreed to work together to promote the importance of carbon-neutrality in business management, as well as a priority on environmental, social and governance issues, the forest agency said Wednesday.

The agreement signed Monday comes as part of their joint efforts to recognize the importance of forests in responding to climate change and ESG activities, and to contribute to their joint goals of sustainability by encouraging activities promoting carbon-neutrality, KFS said.

In their agreement, the two sides will embark on a series of joint forestry projects in and outside the country, including using of nature-based solutions for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Plus (REDD+), and forest carbon offset projects.

They also agreed to cooperate on carbon-neutral events and major international events, to develop forest effect indicators, and to establish networks of the government and other institutions with specialized technologies related to forestry.

The business agreement with Woori Financial Group is the seventh of its kind for the forest service agency, which has been pushing to establish partnerships with corporates. It has signed business agreements with Dunamu, LG Group and SK Group, among others.

“Carbon neutrality and environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-related management are of global interest, and ESG is an irreversible trend of the era for growth for sustainable companies,” Choi Byeong-am, the head of the KFS said.

“We plan to continuously strengthen cooperation with companies that pursue a carbon-neutral model in the forestry sector, and ESG management.”

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)