There are certain qualities that a Great Global Brand Company must have. Sustainable management is one of them. It's what makes a business last for over 100 years. That's the reason it's important to create value, as well as profit. AMOREPACIFIC long ago realized the importance of sustainable management and acted on this insight to put it into practice through corporate activities. For this article, we met Oh Jeong-hwa, who has worked hard in the pursuit of sustainable management at AMOREPACIFIC.

The DJSI World is a global index developed to help investors measure and understand business sustainability. Only the top 10% of 2,500 companies worldwide can be incorporated into the DJSI World. AMOREPACIFIC has not only been listed on the DJSI World for six years running, but it also ranked 1st in the cosmetics category at the 2015 Sustainability Award hosted by the Korean Standards Association.

A company must keep in mind its social and environmental responsibilities in seeking to generate profits. True, companies must make and sell good quality products, but they also have a responsibility to think about their environmental impact and the relative equity of agreements with raw material suppliers such as processing companies and farmers. Pure quantitative growth is no longer the yardstick used to measure the value of a company; rather, sustainable management is key. AMOREPACIFIC has practiced sustainable management since 2008 with four main strategic stakeholders: customers, the environment, business partners and society.

Environmental problems are more serious today than they have ever been. Population increases have not been matched by increasing resource availability: rather, the amount of available resources is in fact decreasing. We need to find a way to make efficient use of diminishing resources and minimize our environmental impact for the sake of future generations. Customers are now knowledgeable about product quality and the eco-friendly and ethical production processes behind them. Given that the entire operations of a company can now be seen and monitored by people across the world, it is imperative for corporate success to practice sustainable management at all levels of the organization. It is for that reason that we preemptively examine important social and environmental issues and promote sustainable management activities accordingly.

The sustainable management activities of AMOREPACIFIC sprang from the vocation of working for a more beautiful world in which human, nature and business harmoniously coexist. It is our role to lead the culture of sustainable consumption. We are therefore dedicated to developing products which have a good impact on customers, on the environment and on society. These sustainable products can only obtain the coveted AP Promise once they have passed a series of strict internal examinations. Our sustainable products include organic certified products with enhanced safety, eco-labelled products which contribute to preserving the ecosystem, braille-marked products for the blind and products made from botanical ingredients purchased from the local community. Plus, we also work for the restoration of endangered plant species. An example of our sustainable effort can be found in the restoration and application of rare white chrysanthemums in our products.

Our principle is the harmony of 3Ps – Profit, Plant and People. Profit is the reason that businesses exist. At the same time, it is important to keep a sense of responsibility for plants, as all ingredients and raw materials come from Mother Earth. The key, though, is people. After all, both plants and profit are the foundation we use to support the beautiful and healthy lives of people. That's why AMOREPACIFIC engages in a wide range of activities designed to benefit employees, business partners and the sales force, while also promoting CSR programs for the beautiful and healthy future of women.

Sustainable management is an issue which affects the whole world, not only Korea. Our competitors are not in fact Korean companies. We strive to learn about best practice in sustainable management across different industries on a global basis and identify areas in which we have an absolute competitive advantage. I hope that every member of AMOREPACIFIC can think of what we can do to change the world with beauty as the Asian Beauty Creator.