Establishment of an ESG Index for Shipping Companies Using Big Data Analysis

This study aims to assess the ESG index of listed Korean shipping companies utilizing text mining techniques. ESG assessment methods greatly differ among institutions, resulting in inconsistent evaluations for the same company. To enhance ESG measurement reliability, this study benchmarks the MSCI ESG Leaders Index. The analysis utilizes structured data from ESG reports and applies text mining techniques. We employ MSCI’s classification framework to calculate ESG scores in the categories of Environment (E), Social (S), and Governance (G). The findings suggest that shipping companies generally have lower ESG scores than other industries, particularly in the environmental and social categories, highlighting areas for potential improvement. Nevertheless, governance performance aligns with that seen in other sectors. Moreover, although the ESG performance in the shipping industry has gradually improved, there remains a need for more robust strategies for sustainable management. This research enhances ESG evaluation methodologies and underscores the necessity for shipping companies to fortify their ESG strategies, including reducing carbon emissions, adopting eco-friendly vessels, and improving labor conditions.