A new survey has found that companies highly recognize the importance of Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance(ESG) but their actual ESG level is still low. 

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Korea Productivity Center revealed on Wednesday the results of their survey on 300 companies on applying and expanding ESG, which is an evaluation of a company’s collective conscientiousness for social and environmental factors.

Seventy percent of the surveyed said they believe ESG is important, while eight percent thought the opposite.  

The survey also found that 29 percent of the firms surveyed thought their ESG level was high compared to the roughly 40 percent that said their ESG level was normal and the nearly 31 percent who said their level is low. 

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said when converting such rates to a five-point-scale, the surveyed firms’ ESG level was estimated to be at two-point-nine points, or lower than the average level of three. 

An official of the business lobby group said, though firms’ interest and expectations of ESG are growing, most companies are finding implementation difficult. 

The official stressed the need for policy support so that conglomerates are provided with guidelines explaining ESG performance indicators, and small firms are given assistance in fostering related professionals.