HMM Co. said Thursday it has clinched the top spot in a recent environmental, social and corporate governance rating of major shipping firms around the world.

South Korea's No. 1 container shipper said it has obtained a "low" grade of 15.4 points in the rating conducted by Sustainalytics, a Dutch ESG and corporate governance research, ratings and analytics company, with the lower the mark, the better the ESG rating.

HMM's score is 9.4 points better than the "medium" rating of 24.8 points it received last year.

Comparable points are 17.4 for Maersk, the world's top container shipper, 19.3 for France-based CMA-CGM and 21.5 for Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine Corp.

Based on disclosed corporate information, Sustainalytics rates the sustainability of listed firms' ESG performances by evaluating their exposure to risks and management factors.

Together with grades from the global index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International, Sustainalytics' ratings serve as a reference for global institutional investors.

In June, HMM obtained the highest "AA" rating in an ESG survey of 23 domestic and overseas shipping companies by South Korea's state-run Korea Asset Management Corp.

HMM has also won a "gold" rating from global ESG rater EcoVadis for the second consecutive year and an "A" rating from the Korea Institute of Corporate Governance and Sustainability.

An HMM official said the company will ramp up efforts for its ESG management in an effort to achieve sustainable growth down the road. (Yonhap)