SoftBank, SK Telecom, CSES sign 2nd MOU on AI social value

The second MOU builds on a partnership that began with an ESG and SDGs agreement between SoftBank and SK Telecom in December 2022. In April 2024, CSES joined the two companies for a first MOU on measuring social value, and the partners have since held workshops and shared case studies. CSES helped SoftBank develop indicators and formulas suited to its business, while SK Telecom shared measurement know-how. SoftBank had already been converting the social impact of activities such as smartphone classes and handset recycling into monetary terms before that first agreement. SK Group, for its part, has since 2018 used its SK Double Bottom Line framework to measure and publish the social value created by group companies each year, and CSES has continued to refine and standardize that methodology in its DBL measurement guidebook.

The new agreement shifts the focus to AI and ICT specifically, an area where the partners see both new value and new burdens. SoftBank CHRO Yasuyuki Genda said at the signing that AI's impact must be examined not only for its benefits but also for environmental loads such as data-center power consumption. SK Telecom's Ohm Jong-hwan called for a system that can objectively measure and explain AI's social utility alongside its challenges, and CSES head Na Seok-kwon described the MOU as a new starting point for building a global standard. The partners say they intend to use measurement results in service design and investment decisions, aiming for a framework that lets companies compare AI and ICT effects on a common basis.

The push comes as impact accounting draws more attention from investors. A 2023 PwC survey of 345 investors and analysts across 30 countries and regions found that 75% of those who prioritize corporate social and environmental impact believe it should be disclosed in monetary terms, up from 66% the year before. In Japan, a 2024 survey by Keizai Doyukai and others found 37 of 66 valid respondents had already adopted or were considering impact accounting. The partners acknowledge criticisms that monetizing social value can undermine its essence and that measurement takes time and cost, but CSES expects demand for monetary conversion to continue as capital markets seek ways to support investment decisions.