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ALL Environment Social Governance Policy73 articles

[Interview] Father Yang Ki-seok (Stephen)

"On Ecological Spirituality That Overcomes the Climate Crisis"

With Pope Francis's passing, a conclave to elect a new pope was held, and a great wave of change swept through the religious world. Following the wish of Pope Francis, who during his life gravely worried about environmental issues, we met Father Yang Ki-seok (Stephen) — the author of "The Climate Is Changing — Won't We Change?" and chair of the Ecology and Environment Committee of the Catholic Diocese of Suwon — to hear about the "ecological spirituality" that copes with today's climate crisis.The "Prayer for Our Earth" of Pope Francis, who passed away last month, contains the words "let us protect the world rather than harm it, and sow seeds of beauty, not of pollution and destruction." Sharing this spirit, the "Ecology and Environment Committee of the Catholic Diocese of Suwon" was established with the purpose of preserving the order of creation by having the church community achieve an ecological transition. Crossing between home and abroad, it carries out energy-transition and carbon-neutrality-related activities, and strives at various ecological-environmental ministry, such as publishing educational materials and conducting educational activities for ecosystem conservation.• Ministry (samok) usually means, in Catholicism, the work of a priest guiding the faithful.Father Yang Ki-seok (Stephen), chair of the Ecology and Environment Committee of the Catholic Diocese of Suwon, has, since his ordination as a priest in 1999, pondered while seeking the point of contact between social justice, ecological issues, and faith, and is playing a major role in raising interest in ecology and the environment within Catholicism today. Let us hear Father Yang Ki-seok's story about ESG as spoken of in Catholicism.The "Eco Priest" Who Fused Faith and the Environmental MovementFather Yang Ki-seok is called the "Eco Priest." Living up to that name, carrying a tumbler is basic; when doing everyday shopping, he always brings reusable containers to carry home what he buys, and strives to find products with less packaging. Pondering ecology and the environment even during his daily work, he has been deeply involved in environmental issues within the diocese since 2007. In the early days, he recognized environmental problems as issues of social justice and irregularity. But as he gradually began to realize the importance of life and ecology, his eyes opened even to the seriousness of environmental destruction carried out — within the range not defined by law — to the extent of harming human life. To prevent environmental destruction driven by economic logic, he began to live a "life of action." Those efforts connected with the major civil-engineering-project issues our society experienced. His activities — opposing the Korean Peninsula Grand Canal project in 2008 and issuing a statement against the Four Major Rivers project in 2010 — continuously created a fusion of faith and the environmental movement.[The Ecology and Environment Committee, following Pope Francis's ecological spirituality © ESG.ONL]The Catholic Community and a Catholic Way of Practicing ESGIn the Catholic faith, responding to the ecological crisis is a matter directly linked to religious salvation. The Catholic encyclical "Laudato Si'," proposed by Pope Francis in 2015, has the subtitle "an encyclical on caring for our common home" for the future of humanity. This was the first environmentally themed encyclical written by a pope. This encyclical, which points out that "humanity's attitude of prioritizing economic gain and slighting life" is the fundamental cause of the climate crisis, may be somewhat unfamiliar to non-Catholics, but it is an indispensable point when discussing ecological faith. This is because it also reveals the actual state of ecological problems and the approach and mode of action at the Catholic level, and contains in detail content calling for a climate-justice movement.Accordingly, Father Yang said, the Catholic Church seeks to have all the faithful and good neighbors open a sustainable society through ecological conversion and achieve climate justice by practicing "the values of coexistence, care, and consideration." In particular, he emphasizes that, following the doctrine of keeping away from excessive growth-first thinking and forbidding the worship of material things, if this is not overcome, the path of human life and salvation is threatened. For this reason, Father Yang emphasized that a faith-based response to the climate crisis is also needed, in order to fulfill environmental, social, and ethical responsibility that touches on the ESG spirit.Contrary to the outside perception that the Korean Catholic Church is a centralized organization, in reality the faithful's awareness and practice determine the ministry policies and operation each parish priest unfolds. Father Yang pointed out that a task is that, although there are already concrete practice guidelines such as energy transition and eco-friendly consumption, the faithful do not recognize these as their own concern. If the diocesan bishops deliver clear ESG-related messages, the faithful of each parish will accept them as a natural responsibility and be able to lead change in the church and society. If faith-based action guidelines based on Pope Francis's "Laudato Si'" encyclical are also clearly presented so as to be applicable to the Korean situation, Father Yang said, one can also expect a substantive spread of ESG culture and change within the church.[Father Yang Ki-seok, chair of the Ecology and Environment Committee © ESG.ONL]The Catholic Diocese of Suwon's 2040 Carbon-Neutrality Roadmap, Ahead of UN and Government TargetsThe Catholic Diocese of Suwon, to which Father Yang Ki-seok belongs, seeks to achieve energy independence by converting 100% of the electricity used at the 222 churches within the diocese to renewable energy such as solar by 2030. It declared, as the first in Korea's religious community, that it would realize carbon neutrality by 2040. This plan, which reflects the Vatican's 2021 carbon-neutrality declaration and the climate-crisis warning of the "Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)," is a target brought forward by ten years from the UN and government targets.In fact, the Catholic Diocese of Suwon installs solar power plants on each church's roof and idle land, and secures funding through establishing energy cooperatives and cooperating with the government and local governments. It also commissioned the Energy & Climate Policy Institute to create a report examining whether the Suwon Diocese's carbon-neutrality plan is feasible. Newly built and remodeled churches apply zero-energy building certification to raise energy efficiency, and it also developed a carbon-reduction campaign with the faithful through "46 practice items in daily life." Despite such efforts, the outlook for achievement is not very bright. From 2022, when implementation began, to the present, it has achieved a target of about 2,000 kilowatts (kW), falling short of the target of 20,000 kilowatts.It is a regrettable reality, but one cannot stop. Raising awareness of and expanding participation in solar power remain a task, he says. Father Yang carefully conveyed that, sadly, installing solar power plants in Korea often meets opposition depending on political and ideological conflicts and the local community's leanings. He added that even the faithful hold various political views, so opinions on installing solar power are divided. Because of this, he stated that when pushing solar projects, a strategy is needed of strengthening communication with local residents beyond ideological conflict, an approach considering convenience and consideration, and maintaining political neutrality. Creating a culture that naturally settles eco-friendly habits will also play an important role in easing conflict, he says. Still, Father Yang said with a smile that there are more supporters than before he took action, and revealed his resolve that the Suwon Diocese will lead a sustainable future through concrete, systematic practice for climate-crisis response.Religious Solidarity for Climate-Crisis Response and Sustainable DevelopmentFather Yang Ki-seok emphasized the importance of solidarity with other religions, beyond Catholicism. Expressing gratitude and respect to fellow religious figures who have long carried out the environmental movement together, Father Yang introduced the case of the Won-Buddhist order, the first in the religious world to open its eyes to the energy transition. Won-Buddhism worked hard with a plan for its 100 temples to create 100 "sunlight power plants," and, seeing this, Father Yang has worked with Won-Buddhism since 2008. Buddhism too, after various attempts, is carrying out activities to lead climate-crisis response and the energy transition through the "Birojana Natural Energy Cooperative."There is another example too. The cooperation of Korea's five major religious orders (Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Won-Buddhism, and Cheondoism), which began in 2002 from opposition to the Saemangeum development plan, developed into a solidarity body called the "Korea Religious Environment Conference," which for 24 years has carried out activities for various purposes such as nuclear phase-out, expansion of renewable energy, and the realization of environmental justice. In particular, after the Fukushima nuclear-power-plant accident, the orders even visited Germany's nuclear-phase-out sites together, and each order, with strengthened interest in and cooperation on the energy transition, strives to spread faith-based environmental activism and ecological faith. Father Yang said that Catholicism's carbon-neutrality target again promoted collaboration with other religions and became an important occasion for religious joint action toward Korean society's climate-crisis response and sustainable development.[Father Yang Ki-seok's book "The Climate Is Changing — Why Won't We Change?" © ESG.ONL]"There Are So Many Environmental and Ecological Problems; We Must Change Our Actual Living Habits"A large amount of carbon is emitted through our daily lives. So, Father Yang Ki-seok said, we need to recall the words Pope Francis left: "the present era is a time to distinguish what is most important from what is less important." "Is what I am about to buy really necessary, is it something I cannot do without?" Father Yang recommended thinking about this at least once, adding the thought that, to reduce consumption and save energy, we must make efforts to change our own daily lives.Father Yang, who established the meaning of ecological faith, participated in the environmental movement, and sought solutions to the environmental crisis through faith. Realizing the values of ESG through pursuing the diocese's carbon-neutrality roadmap and broad solidarity with other religions, he is opening a new path of ecological spirituality for our society.After meeting Father Yang, there was one sentence that came together clearly: "The climate is changing, so we too must change." What the quiet but sure footsteps of action he has walked tell us is that, whether one has a religion or not, we must, through reflection at this very moment, start with "one action."By Editor L

May 15, 2025

[Serial Contribution] Lee Choong-gul (former editor-in-chief of GQ Korea)

EnvironmentSocial

"The Way We Talk About ESG"

Drinking takeout coffee through a plastic straw, I suddenly think, "What if the polar bears go extinct?" What is this guilt I feel every time I see a coffee company's logo? Is it because humans are animals good at pretending to be sorry, so we can lessen our guilt just by pretending to reflect while our hearts aren't really in it?Photo: Kang Bong-hyung; Design: ESG.ONLESG — this term abbreviating environment, society, and governance — evokes in people these days, slowly, painfully, perhaps long-windedly, a certain moral comfort and existential discomfort at the same time. That subtle awkwardness when you first encounter the acronym ESG in the news, at a barbecue restaurant, in a slogan engraved on a coffee cup. The incomprehension that it seems like a category soon to be forgotten.Seoul's summer is hotter than expected, and New York's spring comes later than anticipated. The word ESG swims through the times like a sense of the seasons. But what is this feeling — at first not even glancing at it, and now having vaguely heard of it but not knowing it exactly, something seemingly important yet somehow someone else's story? In a way, it read like a newspaper editorial. Correct words, but a bit far away. Understandable, but without body heat.When I see copy saying a product was made in a sustainable way, I reflexively feel sorry. What on earth is the person who chose a product made in a non-sustainable way thinking? But that's me, isn't it? (Then the "just one person like me" circuit soon switches on, and I put the plastic straw back in. Like the struggle of redefining the potato chips I ate a moment ago as a "naturalist snack containing dietary fiber," while declaring that from tomorrow I definitely won't eat junk food.)Meanwhile, ESG has become the best PR of this era. Because it is moderately harmless, ethical, and packageable. This term, as if symbolizing humanity's contradictions, sounds, so to speak, like a cover letter that wants to make a good impression on everyone. An ambiguity that seems sincere yet not sincere yet sincere. Perhaps it is like a name tag capitalism has stuck on its chest saying, "I'm going to be good now." And companies use this word like the shampoo of marketing. To thoroughly rinse away the greasy truth.A butterfly hits the office window. Crushed against the glass, it flaps its wings fiercely, squeezing out the last strength of its life. The glass reflects the sky as if imitating it, but there is no wind, no clouds. ESG, glossy like a windowpane, asks about the ethics and efficiency, transparency and responsibility of the times. And now it is time to talk about what we see, and fail to see, beyond the curtain of clear letters.ESG is in fact a question, but few answer it. Perhaps it is a question mark too small to be seen. Or a question so big that everyone avoids it. I found a clue to this doubt two years ago, in an alley in Omotesando, Tokyo. A small eatery that had sold grilled-eel rice bowls for decades. The owner developed paper packaging to avoid using plastic containers. Moreover, he donates leftover food to the homeless. All the employees were regular workers, and the head chef was a person with a disability. Thinking back now, the very unspoken motto of that eel-rice eatery was itself ESG. At that time he did not know ESG, but he respected his customers. And I believed that such respect is what lasts. Longer than trends, longer than marketing. Astonishingly, at the eatery two doors down, they were carefully packing up the rice a customer couldn't finish. The paper packaging made of recycled paper was stamped with a cat-shaped stamp and written in Japanese, "Food is life." There was no system telling them to do so, nor any figures reported about it. His day was ethics built upon honestly washed grains of rice. That eatery owner had simply lived that way. Then I learned again that an improved society is completed by such small, repeated choices.One night in Vancouver, at a factory that employed undocumented workers, the boss bought gimbap for a migrant worker who had finished a day's work. It was not in the contract, and it was recorded nowhere. That night, I was certain. Real sustainability is like that gimbap. ESG is not some standard but an attitude. The moments when ESG becomes truly wonderful are often seen outside the reports. Good things always begin quietly, and the beginning usually arises from a very small conviction. Excellent ESG is not something grand but doing the small things well. Washing cups, using less paper, keeping promises. Above all, having no shame in what one does. Some want to speak of turbulent transformation, but real change is always small. So small that it usually isn't even reported in the news. Yet we know. That it is real. That it lasts longer than words.Sometimes even the person shouting ESG doesn't seem to properly understand it. To be exact, he mistakenly believes he understands ESG. The contradiction of refusing a disposable cup, clicking his tongue at the reality of the Amazon, or being aghast at the ratio of female executives in a board photo, while still holding stock in mega-corporations. A retort wriggles inside: so what? Is ESG, in essence, the (perhaps only) attempt to institutionalize human guilt? Or is it a struggle to survive by organizing the era's anxiety into concrete items?Some company publicly declares it will reduce carbon. Those words are like wind, but you have to keep watching where the wind blows from. Words are easy, but monitoring is hard. That is the reason to take an interest in ESG, and precisely the reason we cannot give up. In truth, we pretend not to know while knowing. Because to know means to act. Everyone confesses inside: how tiring action is. But no one is exempt. On the endless treadmill called social responsibility. Sometimes the Earth looks like a huge bucket. The bucket, once full of water, now leaks little by little. Someone makes a hole, another blocks it with a finger, the rest listen to the sound of water. ESG is a story about that finger. The one who blocks. The one who pierces. The one who does nothing. And the one reading this text. In the end, ESG is how I behave decently even when no one is watching me. Not an ethical choice, just a good choice. Not an accounting risk, but human intuition. We all know. That such intuition isn't visible in reports but remains long in memory.Whether ESG becomes a rare tool that changes the world, or ends up as just a report, is ultimately decided by people. Even if sustainability is shouted in the marketplace every day, isn't it in the end a series of small things? What cups the people working behind the company nameplate drink from, whether they turn off the computer when they leave, in what tone they begin a meeting. Not a large-scale declaration, a majestic case, or the ambition to overturn everything, but simply the habit of believing something is better, one person's quiet choice, will change the world little by little, ever so little.Eternity sometimes dwells in unmeasured ways — the gesture of drinking coffee and washing the cup, the heart of adding a kind greeting to an email, the consciousness of taking responsibility for what one has made. Like old timber, like a relationship that grows sturdier the more it is used. Sometimes I think that might be enough. Because there is no such thing as a perfect structure in the world to begin with. Still, someone plants a tree every day. Nor is a tree necessarily planted only in a forest. Sometimes, even under an office desk, something quietly grows.Someday I hope ESG remains as a story. Not in a chairman's interview, but in a factory worker's diary. Not in a brand's ad copy, but in the hands of an old person cleaning the seashore. That, I think, is a gesture without any reward and the purest form of ESG. Now one question remains. What face does your ESG wear? Is it shining like glass? Or is it dirtied with dust yet vividly alive? And what smell does it give off? The smell of paper? The smell of ink? Or a warm smell like freshly baked bread? The world is filled with lies, but if just one person tells the truth, the dry air might, for a moment, grow moist. If so, could I too become that one person? Could you too?By Lee Choong-gul (essayist, former editor-in-chief of GQ Korea)

May 14, 2025

Visiting the "2025 Earth Day" Site: "Our Power, Our Earth"

[ONL On-Site]

Environment

Visiting the "2025 Earth Day" Site: "Our Power, Our Earth"

In April, when the number of outing-goers heading out for flower viewing increased thanks to the weather finally warming up, environment-related events stand out. On the occasion of "Earth Day" on April 22, ESG.ONL visited the site to capture the passion of people who cherish the Earth! Through on-site coverage of the "Earth Day" event hosted by the Seoul city government, we would like to share a time of listening to stories of making an Earth we live in together and reflecting on the significance the 2025 Earth Day holds.[The entrance to the Earth Day event site © ESG.ONL]This past Sunday, ahead of Earth Day on April 22, the "Our Power, Our Earth" outdoor event was held at the "Culture Plaza" of Yeouido Park. This event, created together by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Green Seoul Citizens' Committee, prepared 25 various hands-on booths and won the enthusiastic response of citizens who visited the site. A large hot-air balloon floating in the sky above the plaza and the clear voices of environmental-musical actors on the stage heightened the festive atmosphere.At the center of the site, tables were arranged drawing a large arc, and there was a "Our Power That We Draw Together" drawing hands-on area on large paper, so that everyone's Earth gathered to decorate one beautiful Earth. Like an Earth completed by everyone pooling their strength, various promotional booths at this event showed different ways to practice loving the Earth. Diverse groups participated, adding to the meaning of "Earth Day" — the local government hosting the event, the Seoul city government, as well as nonprofit organizations such as "People Who Think About the Environment," corporate foundations such as the "BMW Korea Future Foundation," the first social-contribution foundation among imported-car brands, and environment-related companies such as "Repenguru," an environmental-education content production company.[A fishing hands-on activity finding reusable containers among disposable ones, and the reusable-container service "returnit" © ESG.ONL]A Meaningful Collaboration Between Local Government and a Reusable-Container CompanyIn front of the booth of the Seoul City Hall Resource Circulation Division, a "magnet fishing hands-on activity" with reusable containers and plastic was prepared, and the laughter of family-unit visitors was constant. The "delivery food" we often order is convenient but has the side effect of generating excessive trash. The Seoul Resource Circulation Division, worried about the harm that endlessly discarded disposable plastic containers do to the environment, worked with "returnit," a reusable-container supplier, to inform citizens of the advantages of reusable containers through a fun game and encourage reducing the use of disposable containers.Using one reusable container many times has the effect of not using 300 disposable plastic containers. Moreover, if you use reusable containers through a delivery app, you can, along with a food discount, earn 1,000 won per order through "carbon-neutral points." Delivery apps such as Baemin, Coupang Eats, Yogiyo, and Ddangyo already offer reusable-container benefits, and the target delivery apps and delivery areas are on a continuously increasing trend. Yang Yu-jin, an official of the Seoul Resource Circulation Division, said, "We will promote so that citizens have a positive view of the very existence of reusable containers, and continuously raise the participation rate of reusable-container delivery orders, currently 10,000 per month on average," asking for the active use of reusable-container ordering, a small effort to protect the Earth.[Climate Fresk environmental education with the nonprofit "People Who Think About the Environment" © ESG.ONL]Exploring "Your Climate Emotions" with People Who Think About the EnvironmentAt the booth of the nonprofit "People Who Think About the Environment" (hereafter "PWTE"), a special environmental education using climate cards was in full swing. It is an environmental-education program developed in France called "Climate Fresk." Through a dialogue asking and answering what the concept of the climate and environmental keyword written on each card is, and whether it is placed in the correct cause-and-effect relationship, it expands thinking, and goes through a process of understanding by checking the explanation written on the back of the card. After the program, participants also talk about the climate emotions they felt through Climate Fresk, and together build wisdom to solve environmental problems. Participants comment that they can have a more interesting and rewarding time than reading any environment-related book.PWTE, an environmental group that aims to share knowledge about environmental problems, connect it to practice, and create a sustainable future, is operated in a citizen-led way. PWTE's members have diverse backgrounds, from urban-ecology majors to environmental consultants and biology teachers. Gathered with a passion to sincerely think about the environment and carry it through to action, they actively raise their voice to the world based on the group's expertise, such as proposing environmental policy together with the "Seoul Youth Policy Network." PWTE Vice President Kim Won-ji said, "Living up to our slogan 'from learning to practice,' I hope the knowledge we conveyed to citizens here today becomes inspiration usable in daily life." PWTE does not only environmental education such as "Climate Fresk" workshops but also academic activities and eco-friendly activities. In particular, it will continuously develop activities to lead the public's practice — such as conducting plogging (picking up trash while walking) campaigns and preparing climate talk concerts, in collaboration with "Earth Mera," which created an application that records eco-friendly activities.[Families assembling an electric-car kit together with the BMW Korea Future Foundation © ESG.ONL]BMW Korea Future Foundation: A Preview of the Future with Electric CarsAmong the many booths at the site, the place where you could feel the popularity by far, with its long waiting line, was the electric-car guidance booth of the "BMW Korea Future Foundation." BMW Korea, which established the first nonprofit foundation among imported-car brands in Korea in 2011, develops various education and campaign programs related to automobiles with sustainable development as its core vision. Its environmental-education program "Next Green" alone is held 20 times a year, and the electric-car kit experience carried out as part of the Next Green program concentrated interest at the event site. Participants learned the principles of electric cars and, by actually assembling and operating a car kit, could build knowledge about electric cars, which will spread further as a future means of transport.BMW Korea donates 15,000 won to the "BMW Korea Future Foundation" for each car sold, under the concept of a "sales matching fund." It is meaningful that everyone — BMW's dealers and finance companies — takes part. Moreover, among BMW customers, there are said to be cases of individual donation to join the foundation's good cause. BMW Future Foundation Manager Lee Hyun-ji said, "Because electric cars have a more positive impact on the environment than internal-combustion cars, I hope interest in electric cars spreads further through a program that children and families can all enjoy together."[Repenguru environmental-education blocks for stacking penguins on a melting iceberg © ESG.ONL]Repenguru: Saving Penguins Is the Way to Save the EarthThis place, full of cute penguin-shaped blocks, is "Repenguru," an environmental-education content company that features the penguin, an animal symbolizing the risk of extinction. Repenguru's penguin blocks are a play tool for stacking large and small penguins on a glacier-shaped block, finding the center of gravity so they don't collapse. This has the meaning of helping children's growth and development while doing environmental education together. The product materials, too, use eco-friendly materials such as wood or biodegradable plastic, containing Repenguru's own philosophy throughout the product.Repenguru is a company established to inform people of the seriousness of climate change, posing the question, "If the glaciers of Antarctica all melt and disappear due to climate change, what will happen to the penguins?" CEO Lee Ji-young, a former designer, has steadily carried out a sincere business over the past ten years, studying endangered penguins one by one and personally making teaching tools, books, stationery, and more. Repenguru CEO Lee Ji-young said, "The message that we should all strive together for the global environment should be conveyed easily regardless of whether one is a child or an adult," conveying the resolve to make Repenguru's products pretty to look at and safe to use, so that anyone can approach them with interest and enjoyment.[The number of disposable cups reduced by using tumblers © ESG.ONL]As it was an outdoor event, the day's weather luck also had to cooperate, and perhaps because it was an occasion commemorating "Earth Day," this past Sunday the event could be enjoyed safely under clear weather. Someone may have a skeptical view of "will carbon neutrality be kept just because I alone change?" But the many groups and citizens who took part in the event will have experienced the hope that we are heading toward a goal together, not through one person's effort alone.At the event site, there was a booth handing out tea for free to people who brought tumblers. And on the electronic-display banner installed right next to it, "the number of disposable cups we reduced today" was written. The "Earth Day" event once again reminded us that what is needed to make a today for tomorrow is the effort of all of "us."By Editor L

April 23, 2025

2025 Osaka Expo Opens: Let's See the Future of Sustainability

[ESG and the Expo]

EnvironmentSocial

2025 Osaka Expo Opens: Let's See the Future of Sustainability

The "2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo (EXPO, world exposition)" began its six-month journey on April 13. The theme of this Expo, held again 55 years after Japan hosted its first Expo in Osaka in 1970, is "Designing Future Society for Our Lives."[The official logo of the Osaka-Kansai Expo © Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition]A noteworthy point this time is that the Osaka-Kansai Expo aims to contribute to achieving the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). As an Expo held in 2025, five years before 2030, the SDGs achievement target set by the UN, this event seeks to become a platform that can accelerate the pace of achieving the UN SDGs. At this Expo, where you can see at a glance the latest technology and culture of the 158 participating countries, various exhibitions on a "sustainable future" have also been prepared for this goal. Let us look at the major Expo pavilions selected by ESG.ONL — including Korea and the host country Japan.[A view of the Korea Pavilion © Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency]The Korea Pavilion, a Popular Pavilion Drawing Attention for Scale and ContentThe Korea Pavilion, talked about for its overwhelming super-large LED — 27 meters wide and 10 meters high — consists of three exhibition halls containing the connection of tradition and modernity, people and technology, and Korea and the world, under the theme "With Hearts." The Korea Pavilion, buoyed by interest in K-culture, is counted as a popular pavilion within the Expo; it contains a visual experience through which one can feel the latest digital-media technology and storytelling that makes one reflect on the relationship and recovery between the environment and humans. Its content includes the regeneration of nature blooming from concrete, a symbol of industrialization; a new eco-environmental system utilizing hydrogen fuel cells; and a participatory exhibition experiencing the communion between humans and the environment using breath sensors. At the Korea Pavilion, one can confirm, in dynamic content, the ESG messages we should know amid cutting-edge technologies such as AI and new and renewable energy. The Korean restaurants that can be experienced only at the Korea Pavilion are a bonus.[The Japan Pavilion, built with disassembly and recycling in mind © Yonhap News]The Japan Pavilion, Containing the Great Cycle of LifeThe Japan Pavilion is made of numerous wooden panels, containing the designer's intent, who pondered "the circulation and continuation of life (Between Lives)." The wooden panels form a circle, composing the route so that one can experience the concept of circulation. As the host country that prepared the Expo with ESG in mind, it shows a rough sketch of an environment-related ultra-smart society — the simultaneous resolution of traffic congestion and carbon emissions through real-time data simulation of self-driving electric vehicles, and the optimization of renewable energy through a smart energy grid. At this Expo site, "direct air capture technology" provided by the "Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE)" is also being demonstrated. One can learn the process of separating carbon from the air like a tree, capturing it, and reducing it into a usable substance.The Japan corporate pavilion also prepared its exhibition with an emphasis on regeneration and circulation. The Japanese technology company "Panasonic" built its pavilion by actively using recycled iron and copper obtained from home appliances. Panasonic is also providing ideas and technology to realize the regeneration and circulation of the environment and cities, with a vision of recycling urban empty houses — which had emerged as a social problem in Japan — into "urban Mini Farms." This smart farm will show the future of sustainable agriculture, stably producing fresh vegetables in the city center going forward.[The Netherlands Pavilion, meaning "illuminating the future through water" © archdaily.com]The Netherlands: Future Technology Competing with WaterThe Netherlands, which always carries a tension related to water in a place lower than sea level, especially presents future technologies concerning water. At this Expo exhibition, it shows smart coastline technology and a water-recycling system, through which one can confirm how it responds nationally to problems such as sea-level rise and water shortage. In addition, visitors can confirm, through digital images, how it protects the safety of cities and provides clean water by building a seawall as a digital twin model. In this way, at the Netherlands Pavilion, one can confirm an extraordinary system that responds to climate change together with water — such as presenting an integrated renewable-energy model combining offshore wind turbines and an energy-storage system.[The France Pavilion, adding aesthetic beauty with a spiral staircase © designboom.com]France: The Fashion of a Sustainable FutureFrance participates under the theme "digital-twin-based circular fashion." The fashion-tech startups "Circul'R" and "3DLOOK" show a solution combining fabric recycled from waste clothing with an AI design system. People can experience clothes through AR virtual fitting and, after ordering, watch the process of AI producing clothes with a waste-minimizing pattern. France, a fashion powerhouse, has foreshadowed that, based on the growth of such fashion-techs, it will also present a "2030 France Fashion Waste 50% Reduction Roadmap" at the exposition site, drawing further anticipation.The Link of Sustainable Circulation and RegenerationThe Japanese government, which hosted the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, stated that it plans to apply the technologies presented at the Expo to the "2025 Osaka Carbon-Neutral City Project." This Expo will be an exposition condensing our future, which we will directly experience before long. The 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo runs with a long breath until October 13. Let us enjoy the visions of a sustainable future society from around the world during the remaining Expo period.By Editor L

April 21, 2025

"Trump's Tariff Bomb and the EU's CBAM, the Crossroads of ESG Management"

[Interview] Attorney Hong Seung-pyo, Espée & Lancée

EnvironmentPolicy

"Trump's Tariff Bomb and the EU's CBAM, the Crossroads of ESG Management"

With the overlap of the Trump second administration's tariff strengthening and the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), Korean companies face a double burden. ESG.ONL met "foreign attorney Hong Seung-pyo," who specializes in EU law and international law, to learn about the ESG competitiveness needed in an era of global trade that is becoming blocked around interests.President Donald Trump's second administration put the brakes on ESG policies from the start. Following withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the abolition of DEI policy, it has recently caused confusion for companies worldwide with tariff pressure. Furthermore, our country is expected to see politically turbulent circumstances continue for the time being. Amid the absence of national leadership, Korea faces the difficulty of the public and private sectors each having to join forces and newly devise a trade strategy toward the US.ESG.ONL met foreign attorney Hong Seung-pyo, an international-law specialist at "Espée & Lancée," from whom we had sought advice on the direction of Europe's ESG after Trump took power, and asked about the position Korea's ESG policy should take at the prologue of the global trade war triggered by the US-originated tariff bomb.Europe's CBAM, America's Tariff Policy: "In Fact, the Risk Has Doubled"Attorney Hong Seung-pyo began the interview with concern about the current turmoil in the trade market, which is pressuring from both Europe and the US. The EU is scheduled to fully implement the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from 2026. Through this, it imposes a carbon cost on imports such as steel and aluminum. It is a situation in which trade barriers are rising — Europe with carbon costs, the US with an expanded tariff policy. When the same item is simultaneously subject to both sides' regulations, a double burden of carbon cost and tariff arises, and so companies' compliance officers need to move quickly to respond to such cost issues.In particular, the role of the new government to come is important. It should strengthen cooperation systems with companies to support carbon-emission verification and reporting systems, and prevent discriminatory application from occurring through negotiations with the EU. In this process, the possibility of trade disputes is also high. Attorney Hong said that it is wise to keep watching the situation and for the government and companies to enter joint negotiations in a timely manner.Attorney Hong Seung-pyo © ESG.ONLResponding to Tariff Risk Through Local Investment and Market DiversificationExpanding local production within the US is one method of avoiding tariffs. So the news that POSCO, Hyundai Steel, and others are pushing to build factories in the US was recently a big topic. Korea has exported 2.63 million tons of steel to the US annually, and it is obvious that, when tariffs are applied, maintaining the market and entering it will become difficult due to worsening profitability. In particular, if auto parts and steel sheets for electric vehicles are included in the tariff targets, an increase in the production cost of eco-friendly vehicles is inevitable. Because of this, related companies are striving to bypass the tariff burden and respond to demand through local production. Is there no other way?Attorney Hong recommends entering markets with low geopolitical risk besides the US, such as India and the BRICS bloc. Expanding entry into emerging countries with populations over 100 million, such as Nigeria, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, would also be a good alternative. He said there is also the method of Korea strengthening regional trade agreements. Building a cooperation model with European companies when entering the African market by utilizing our "Free Trade Agreement (FTA)" with Europe can also be seen as an effective strategy.In particular, Attorney Hong added the opinion that, to respond to the dispute-mediation vacuum that arose because the Trump administration refused to appoint judges to the "World Trade Organization (WTO)," it is necessary to actively utilize dispute-resolution bodies such as the "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)." RCEP is an agreement in which 15 Asia-Pacific countries participate; as an institution that manages trade disputes through structured procedures, it includes in its work a plan to review its dispute-resolution provisions.A Clue to a Solution for Finding Stability in an Unstable Environment: ESG ManagementThere are concerns even with the solutions presented above. Attorney Hong said, "The biggest problem domestic companies face when they build production bases abroad is the problem of managing workers," continuing his voice of concern for Korean companies currently abroad. The number of Korean SME corporate entities that have entered Mexico and Canada reaches about 200. In particular, "Samsung Electronics," "LG Electronics," and "Hyundai Motor" are in Mexico, and "LG Energy Solution" and "EcoPro BM" have entered Canada. A worsening of these companies' profitability is foreseen due to the US tariff policy. And this situation can lead even to the reduction of jobs for local workers in labor-intensive industries and to unpaid-wage problems. The concern that conflict between local workers and companies could spread into an international controversy cannot be ignored either.It is important to prepare response measures for this too, and the solution Attorney Hong presented is that a "localization strategy" must first be strengthened. "SK Hynix" in Indiana, USA, showed a good case of supplying manpower and building the local community's trust by operating a technical-manpower training program in cooperation with the local "Purdue University." Amid the continuing movements of global-level power and companies' management directions, not only in Korea, ESG management through harmony with the local community where a company is located and building transparent labor-management relations will become the foundation of competitiveness — securing business stability.["Attorney Hong Seung-pyo," active in Europe and Korea © Espée & Lancée]Ways for Korean Companies to Sustain ESG ManagementIf the tariff burden grows, will Korean companies reduce ESG investment such as eco-friendly technology development? Attorney Hong, a foreign attorney well-versed in European circumstances — having long resided in Europe and with an office also in Luxembourg — stated, "In Europe, as greenwashing lawsuits over exaggerated disclosure of environmental performance increase, the legal risk of ESG activities is coming to the fore," saying that companies will find it hard to easily choose to reduce ESG investment. In particular, for carbon-intensive industries, purchasing emission allowances is essential to respond to the EU's CBAM. There is a possibility that this will lead to profitability pressure. Because of this, Attorney Hong advised that, to avoid the carbon tax, one must hurry to convert to low-carbon product lines starting now. He also emphasized that one should gain momentum to sustain ESG management by actively utilizing the ESG cooperation clauses of the "RCEP" and the "Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)" for the Asia-Pacific region.Attorney Hong said, "The US is currently dreaming of bringing in competitive manufacturing plants from other countries to create jobs at home and revive the nation," and thinks that President Trump's sweeping tariff-related policy push is a kind of courtship, seeking to take global companies hostage. The active attitude of our companies in responding to the US tariff policy — building factories, investing, and pursuing change — can be a good plan in the mid-to-long term. Attorney Hong also said, "It's hard only at first, weighing the anxiety factors, but once success cases arise, other companies can follow the precedent." He proposes a shift in thinking — focusing on mid-to-long-term response rather than excessive worry about what might happen during the adjustment period.Attorney Hong Seung-pyo's interview can be summarized as: to avoid being swept up in the wave of global protectionism, it is important first to prepare response measures combining compliance with international law and a localization strategy. A win-win-type cooperation model with developing countries is also a good idea for market expansion. As the saying "crisis is opportunity" goes, if we approach even a blocked trade environment with prepared technology, the use of global networks, and the spirit of ESG management, our sustainable growth will not stop here.By Editor L

April 16, 2025

The Consumer's Choice: The Eco-Friendly Packaging Revolution

[ESG and Design]

Environment

The Consumer's Choice: The Eco-Friendly Packaging Revolution

If you are someone who, at the mart, considers even the environmental impact and pays a little more attention to packaging material when choosing goods, you could also be called a "greensumer." As product types have become diversely subdivided and the "packaging industry" continues to develop to avoid the risk of content spoilage and to maintain freshness, the demands of consumers sensitive to the green trend have awakened companies. Consumers are also paying attention to whether product packaging is "eco-friendly or not." This is also because the environmental crisis has emerged as an important topic across industry as a whole, and, more broadly, across our society. In this way, eco-friendly packaging has become an important element from the standpoint of manufacturers' ESG management too.[ESG Sustainable Packaging Fair @KINTEX]Reflecting such a trend in the packaging industry, an "ESG Sustainable Packaging Fair" is also said to be held at KINTEX on Earth Day, April 22. Here, it is said, one can see renewable packaging materials with one's own eyes, experience AI-based smart packaging technology, and glimpse the revolutionary change of eco-friendly packaging.So, let us look at domestic eco-friendly packaging cases worth noting in the packaging industry at this point, and how consumers responded to them.From Material Development to Participatory Campaigns: A Sustainable Future Made Together with the CJ GroupA representative company in Korea that has steadily developed eco-friendly packaging is the CJ Group. The plastic CJ developed is said to decompose both in soil and in the sea. This eco-friendly material, made by fermenting plant-based raw materials, is called "polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)," and this material — hard even to pronounce — is second to none as a replacement for existing plastic. Currently, CJ is leading the eco-friendly trend by applying this PHA material to various product containers, such as the "Water Velvet Vegan Cushion" of the beauty brand "Wakemake" and the "Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm" of "Banila Co."Also, CJ CheilJedang's bestselling product "Hetbahn" helped consumers join in resource circulation by collecting Hetbahn containers from consumers through a recycling campaign. The company recycled the collected containers to make various goods such as cheering sticks and humidifier kits and delivered them to consumers. Consumers communicated with the company that made "the product I chose" while also gaining an economic reward, so the response was hot. Moreover, consumers could gain, beyond economic utility, the satisfaction of joining in environmental protection that safeguards the Earth.[Hetbahn containers are upcycled to become a model of the environment and resource circulation © CJ CheilJedang]Don't Feel Guilty When Throwing Away Boxes: Thermolab KoreaThe wrapping that piles up when buying products is a problem, but seeing the delivery boxes that pile up in front of the house every day, one also worries whether these boxes are being recycled well. "Thermolab Korea," which has a vision of zeroing out the environmental burden created in the product distribution process, is solving that problem. Thermolab Korea is a company sincere about eco-friendly, reusable packaging, providing delivery boxes to some 200 distributors such as Coupang and Market Kurly. Its main product is "Eco Liner," a waste-paper-recycled packaging material made from waste newspaper, delivery boxes, and the like. Thermolab Korea uses insulation and protective materials recycled from waste paper instead of hard-to-decompose styrofoam, and strives to achieve "zero environmental pollution" with ice packs filled 100% with water. As the whole nation habitually uses delivery, customer response to the packaging appeared immediately. Positive reviews continued that recycling is convenient because the paper and insulation can be easily separated.Riding this momentum, Thermolab Korea is building its own technological capability, applying for some 40 intellectual-property rights. It is said that, beyond developing biodegradable materials, it will additionally develop AI predictive-analysis technology and combine it with sustainable packaging solutions. Furthermore, expanding its business scope with the single packaging business, it is preparing a leap into the Asian and North American markets.[Thermolab's eco-friendly packaging material "Eco Liner" © Thermolab]Packaging That Leads the Green Consumption Trend: SPCSPC's effort for eco-friendliness is also contained in the packaging of foods consumers enjoy, such as Paris Baguette and Baskin Robbins. SPC, in collaboration with SKC, developed a "polylactic acid (PLA) film" that is 100% biodegradable from ingredients extracted from corn, sugarcane, and the like. This packaging, used for bread wrappers and ice-cream cake boxes, is said to completely decompose in soil within 180 days. Compared with ordinary plastic, which takes over 500 years to decompose, this is a groundbreaking eco-friendly material.Also, for salad containers and disposable cups, it develops and uses "Bio-PET" material based on sugarcane in cooperation with Lotte Chemical. By utilizing Bio-PET material, the carbon footprint can be reduced by as much as 28% compared with existing plastic. Among the packaging materials from SPC, everything that looks like plastic does not become trash if disposed of properly. If well gathered in designated collection bins and separated for recycling, these packaging materials are recycled to make packaging for other SPC products. They can also be used as the outer packaging for "Kleannara" toilet paper. Through such a recycling system, an infinite-plastic-circulation ecosystem is created within SPC.Consumers can also collect SPC's packaging materials to receive gift vouchers such as coffee coupons. A campaign that improves the recycling rate also affects the consumer-participation-based green consumption trend. SPC's dense efforts for the environment led even to the first green-specialist company certification in the food industry, contributing to improving the corporate image.[SPC's eco-friendly packaging decomposes easily and is continuously recycled @SPC]Eco-friendly packaging, which shows companies' sense of social responsibility, is thus establishing itself as consumers' choice. Consumers show active movement in the use of eco-friendly packaging and in participatory campaigns through which they can join in environmental protection while doing everyday consumption. If more companies well reflect this trend, the path of a "green revolution" created together by consumers and companies will be able to settle closer to our daily lives.[Packaging is no longer trash © IMPAKTER]By Editor L

April 15, 2025

Sustainability Products for the Future: "Red Dot Award Winners"

[Design and ESG]

Environment

Sustainability Products for the Future: "Red Dot Award Winners"

At the world's three major design awards, the winning of products containing a sustainability concept stands out. Recently, Korean works too are standing out in the sustainability category. ESG.ONL introduces sustainability products drawing attention at world-class design awards, seeking to look at how ESG ideas such as sustainability touch our lives.The scale of the sustainability market is growing more and more. According to the research firm "Mordor Intelligence," the sustainability market is estimated at 16.56 billion dollars in 2025, and is said to reach 27.63 billion dollars in 2030. There is a field through which one can know the future of the growing sustainability market — the world's three major design competitions, Germany's Red Dot Design Award and iF, and the US IDEA Design Award. The forms of the sustainability market are various, but the future of idea concepts and products can be foretold through the winners of these three awards. Today, let us look at the various sustainable solutions presented by the design products showcased at the Red Dot Design Award.Red Dot Design Award 2024 Winners — Best of the Best[Zero-waste camera © FOTOFOTO]① A zero-waste camera made from recycled waste, FF-1"FOTOFOTO" is a company that recycles camera waste to make single-use film cameras. The FF-1 camera, attractive for its compact pastel-toned design, at a glance looks no different from a traditional single-use camera. But this camera company, which above all puts forward "zero waste" as its brand value, provides a service of developing the film when customers return the single-use camera to the company after use. And it prevents the materials from becoming waste by recycling the camera's internal components. Thus a cycle of sustainable consumption that reduces the carbon footprint is completed. It does not fall short in function either. Using cinema film, with rich color reproduction, one can leave not single-use-camera photos that merely note down memories, but a life's masterpiece like a work of art.[The Buoy Bottle tumbler, recycled from marine trash © Buoy]② A perfect circular-economy model, the Buoy Bottle"Buoy" is a US company that makes reusable containers. Buoy drew the Red Dot Design Award's attention especially with the "Buoy Bottle," for resolving the seriousness of marine-ecosystem destruction and ocean pollution. The Buoy Bottle is made of 100% plastic collected from the seas and rivers of North America and Mexico. Making goods from a pure single material makes recycling easy and is said to reduce the carbon footprint by up to 80%. It also emphasizes that no additives to make the plastic flexible were used. When a long-used Buoy Bottle reaches the end of its life and is returned to the company, a new bottle is provided, creating a circular economy. The eco-friendly meaning is good, and its modular design, combining colorful hues, also catches the eye. In terms of function, complete separation — the advantage of a modular design — is possible, making it convenient for adding ice or washing. Buoy expands its brand value by donating part of its revenue to various NGOs that contribute to marine conservation.[Oyster shells transformed into tiles © Ecoshell]③ Oyster shells transformed into tiles for marine buildings, Eco shellEco shell, designed by Yingfei Zhuo, a young Chinese-born designer and architect, is an exterior tile made from discarded oyster shells and fish bones. The seafood industry worldwide discards millions of tons of oyster shells every year. When these enter the sea, they generate foul odor and wastewater. Eco shell, which can solve this problem, looks similar to concrete at a careless glance. But Eco shell is much lighter than concrete, so it has the advantages of being easy to install and reducing the building's load. The components from the fish bones act as a biodegradable adhesive, and when this combines with the oyster shells, it becomes a strongly cohesive tile. Because these oyster shells are resistant to salt corrosion, they can be used especially practically for coastal buildings.[Waste tires reborn as a longboard © Hankook Tire]④ Project Transformation, the longboardThis longboard, which has excellent shock absorption using recycled rubber, is a product that recycles tires. Our company "Hankook Tire" has previously made shoes and footwear as part of a tire-upcycling project. This upcycled longboard, developed by recycling tires for sustainable resource circulation, has a tire-recycled rubber sheet in the central deck to cushion shock and strengthen stability. As stability increases, it has become a longboard easy even for beginners to ride. Bio-polyurethane containing eco-friendly seaweed oil was also applied to the wheels, adding eco-friendly value.By Editor L

April 10, 2025

"Until Everyone in the World Becomes a Tree-Planter"

[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol, Director of Tree Planet

EnvironmentSocial

"Until Everyone in the World Becomes a Tree-Planter"

There is a company that will plant 100 million trees around the world by 2050 — "Tree Planet," which makes "the world's most valuable product," a forest. We heard the vision of sustainable growth built together with forests from Jeong Min-cheol, co-founder of Tree Planet, a social enterprise that goes anywhere in the world where a forest is needed.Along with various natural disasters, wildfire damage is becoming serious on a global scale. In particular, Korea recently experienced its largest-ever wildfire damage. Can a forest be the solution to such climate-crisis problems, which can also be seen as an extension of the climate crisis? It is a good time to hear Tree Planet's forest-making story — creating "collective impact," a way in which various stakeholders cooperate to solve social problems as a common goal. This weekend, when many things are happening nationally, is also Arbor Day.Tree Planet, which is "creating a way for everyone in the world to plant trees." From the early days of the business, Director Jeong Min-cheol wanted to make an environment-participation platform. And he developed a tree-planting game named Tree Planet. It drew much domestic and international attention with the ingenious item that when users plant trees in a virtual space, trees are actually planted in reality. But afterward, he closed the game business and decided to move closer to the essential business of making forests. While leading the business, Director Jeong Min-cheol built up understanding and expertise about trees.[Tree Planet Director Jeong Min-cheol @ESG.ONL]New and Fun: The Beginning of Tree Planet, Connecting Environmental Awareness to ActionTree Planet was known in its early days for a tree-planting game. Through the game, it sought to improve people's awareness of donation and environmental issues. And it led people to the action of donating trees while playing the game. But various questions arose in the minds of Tree Planet's members, who were still in their twenties. Does a tree-planting game have to be fun? If so, are we a game-making team? After pondering the fun of the game and the organization's identity, the conclusion Tree Planet reached was that "Tree Planet cannot become mainstream in the game industry." The world knew Tree Planet as a social-contribution game company.The "Sewol Ferry Memorial Forest," where ginkgo trees symbolizing peace and hope were planted © Tree PlanetIn 2017, Tree Planet ended its game service and decided to pour more attention into the essential activity of tree-planting. New and fun methods were still needed. After deliberation, the Tree Planet team enabled donors to have an emotional communion with trees. A tree sends a letter to a user. The tree speaks to the user, saying, "Mom, Dad, it's cold here these days." One donor actually traveled to a remote area of Nepal, taking dozens of hours by plane and car, to meet their tree. A single tree I planted somewhere on Earth holds affection no less than sponsoring a child overseas. The "star forest," which contributed to raising Tree Planet's public recognition, is also a form of emotional communion between forests and people. After pursuing the first project together with fans of the group 2NE1, the forests created together with the Seoul city government alone reach some 100. Director Jeong Min-cheol said, "The star forest is rather a case we learned through fandom culture." Fans wanted to present their stars with the eternal gift of a forest. As such feelings gathered, star forests of K-pop idols like BTS are now created not only in Seoul but also in China, Indonesia, Brazil, and elsewhere. Tree Planet is a company that carries out communication connecting forests and people, and it learned that if there is sincerity in communication, it can become a "sufficiently deep heart."Sincere Communication Connected to Tree-Planting, a Forest That Shares Our Society's Memory[The "Sewol Ferry Memorial Forest," where ginkgo trees symbolizing peace and hope were planted © Tree Planet]Tree Planet's communication connects even to the memory of our whole society. In 2017, Tree Planet created the Sewol Ferry Memorial Forest. It began with a proposal from "Sean Hepburn," son of the actress "Audrey Hepburn." Director Jeong Min-cheol said that when he first received contact, he doubted, "Is this for real?" "But because I felt sincerity in his words, I went to San Francisco in person." The Sean Hepburn that Director Jeong met was a film producer who understood Korean sentiment well, having filmed movies in Korea. Worried that when a big incident occurs in Korea, Koreans seem to forget it easily, he proposed creating a space that would not be forgotten, like New York's 9/11 memorial museum. At this point, Tree Planet had a shift in thinking: "the purpose of making a forest might not be solely the purpose of preserving the natural environment." In the end, this project was completed with the creation of the "Sewol Ferry Memorial Forest" located in Jindo, Jeollanam-do.[The "Forest Remembering the Girls" © Tree Planet]After that, Tree Planet created the "Forest Remembering the Girls" for the "Japanese-military 'comfort women' victims" at the Peace Park inside Seoul World Cup Stadium. Many young people and social enterprises who wanted to plant trees themselves in a park frequented by citizens took part. Director Jeong Min-cheol shared the impression that he felt the "value of healing" that a space called a forest holds, and conveyed the words of the guides at the forest-interpretation education space. Those who have long done forest interpretation say, "A forest education program is fine to have, but it's okay without one too." This is because when we enter a forest, we can naturally feel something on our own. Anyone who has experienced making a forest, or experienced nature's healing power, will absolutely empathize with these words.The Key to Sustainable Business and Collaboration Is the "Company's Core Assets"Tree Planet, which is continuing our society's sustainability together with various social organizations, does not explain the value of its work solely by the meaning of a social-contribution business. Tree Planet has collaborated with many government agencies and companies, and Director Jeong Min-cheol emphasized that projects connected to the technological assets a company or agency originally has were effective. This is because they can produce results that have a long-term good impact on the environment, rather than a one-off business. Among these, the "China Desertification-Prevention Forest" created together with the Hanwha Group is a representative case that maintains a continuous positive impact on the environment even now. With Hanwha, with which it formed a bond through advertising within the Tree Planet game, it collaborated through the eco-friendly technology of solar panels. In 2013, Tree Planet used Hanwha's solar panels as the energy source for a water pump to grow trees in the desertification area of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and 200,000 trees in that desert area came to receive water. Even to Director Jeong Min-cheol, who has experience creating many forests, the result of the collaboration with Hanwha was like a miracle. Creating a forest is a project whose results are hard to confirm in a short time. Because of this characteristic, companies too participate with patience over a long time, and they evaluate confirming the success of the project as all the more meaningful.[A forest created together with Hanwha's solar panels © Tree Planet]Tree Planet's initial vision of "planting 100 million trees" gradually changed with the passage of time. From the goal of once hitting the number 100 million, it sought to change it to having 100 million people plant trees. But in the end, it reached the conclusion that a change in our awareness toward trees, forests, and environmental change is important. What Tree Planet currently focuses on is high-tech innovation industries such as agriculture and forestry. Conveying the message about the value of the environment is of course important, but to carry out a sustainable business, one must do "what is needed now but no one is doing." Director Jeong Min-cheol conveyed, "ESG-related companies too, in the end, would do well to establish ESG policies in a direction that actively utilizes their own core assets, such as technology or assets, in order to make a sustainable business possible."From Planting Trees to Providing Saplings: The Transformation of Tree Planet's Business"Due to the climate crisis, wildfires cannot help but continue."Director Jeong, who has accumulated countless experiences related to forests, expressed a heavy heart about the recent wildfire situation. Once a wildfire occurs, one is said to have to wait two to three years to enter that mountain and stream again to restore it. This is because the soil is acidified and has little organic nutrient. So the soil is turned over with an excavator, and the ash-turned dead trees are cut down. Sprouts sometimes grow from the cut trees. But Korea is fundamentally short on saplings. There is great difficulty in forest restoration. With the problem awareness that the production of quality saplings is insufficient, Tree Planet established an agricultural-company corporation called "Forest Ventures" in Icheon and is preparing sapling research and production. Forest Ventures, made up of people who majored in tree-related studies, plans to research good and new varieties broadly, produce more saplings, and develop a value chain that can supply them where they are needed.["Forest Ventures," which converts natural capital into a climate-change solution © CREVISSE]Tree Planet has so far focused on carbon-neutral forests for greenhouse-gas reduction and on disaster-recovery forests for restoring wildfire-damaged areas and biodiversity. Now Tree Planet has entered a "version 3.0" period, deeply pondering what tree should be planted where, and what variety can pass on what value to future generations. "In foreign countries such as Sweden, much research has been done from tree seeds to downstream industries," Director Jeong Min-cheol pointed out. Tree Planet says that going forward it will also do a business of developing and supplying saplings of trees that will create high added value, such as raw materials for pharmaceuticals or cosmetics.The place the flames clawed through still seems full of an acrid smell. At this time, when everyone's feelings toward Arbor Day are special, we look forward to the swift recovery of the damaged areas. Tree Planet, broadening the scope of thought from the individual to society and narrowing it from the forest to the tree, is creating the awareness and action our society and environment need. We look forward to the future to which Tree Planet will contribute over the long term — sustainable forest restoration, the development and planting of good-quality saplings, and more.By Editor L

April 3, 2025

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