Evonik Korea Strengthens 'Sustainability' and 'Horizontal Culture' Leveraging 170-Year Tradition

Evonik Korea, the Korean subsidiary of the global chemical company Evonik with a 170-year history, is building a horizontal corporate culture by putting forward sustainability as a core value. According to a KOTRA TV video, Evonik Korea, as a global company leading the specialty chemicals industry, is focusing on 'Next Generation Solution' centered on eco-friendly materials and processes.

"A company that makes me move on my own"... Proactive work environment and core competencies

The work environment at Evonik Korea is designed to emphasize the autonomy and initiative of its members. An employee working in the lubricant additives team explained the proactive structure, stating, "Evonik Korea is a company that makes me move on my own," describing how they independently judge and handle issues and risks that arise in all work processes. It is characterized by a method of overseeing everything from A to Z of a task and making decisions independently.

Advice was also given to lower the vague entry barriers to foreign companies. The employee in the video mentioned that perfect English fluency is not essential to join a foreign company. He emphasized, "While language capability is fundamentally necessary, what is more important is the communication skill to build rapport with colleagues." He also cited 'driving force' to lead projects and 'proactivity' to take the initiative ahead of others as core competencies.

Intersection of eco-friendly materials and Korea's core industries... Concentrated global investment

Evonik Korea goes beyond being a simple chemical company and takes sustainability as a core business value. It focuses on eco-friendly product groups such as the use of bio-based raw materials, plastic recycling technology, and renewable energy fields related to secondary batteries and electric vehicles (EV). The product groups are also supplied to a wide range of industrial sectors, including shipping, construction, and pharmaceuticals.

In particular, it is noteworthy that there is a high level of connectivity with Korea's core industry groups. According to an employee in charge of sales and marketing, many of Evonik Korea's products are supplied to the shipping, secondary battery, and semiconductor sectors where Korea has strengths. Accordingly, the global headquarters also recognizes the Korean market as important, which serves as the background for reviewing business strengthening and active investment within Korea.

From hot-desking to coaching culture... Flexible welfare for working moms

Evonik Korea has established a flexible working environment based on smart work. The English nickname culture introduced in 2020 acts as a device that enables horizontal communication regardless of rank. Additionally, it is characterized by removing spatial constraints, such as converting individual offices of executives into meeting rooms. In particular, they actively practice a 'coaching culture' to the extent that 90% of all employees hold official coaching certifications.

In terms of welfare systems, systems supporting work-life balance are operated specifically. A flexible working system where commuting times can be adjusted freely, except for the core time from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and working from home once a week are in effect. Furthermore, they guarantee more vacation days than the statutory holidays, and an atmosphere is created where maternity leave and parental leave can be used freely, supporting the job continuity of working moms.