Aims to Be Fully Carbon-neutral by 2050
Coway announced on June 21 that it would continue its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments in alignment with South Korea’s 2050 carbon neutrality strategy.
As a leading environmental home appliances company, Coway pledged to follow an ESG framework that would minimize the impact of its business operations since 2006. The company has now put a variety of these initiatives into action.
Coway announced that by 2030 it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% vs. 2020. In the mid-to-long term, the company plans to operate on 100% renewable energy and be fully carbon-neutral by 2050.
To meet this commitment, Coway is using solar power in three factories and one distribution center. It aims to make more investments towards generating solar power and offset GHG emissions through renewable energy.
It also seeks to move towards a circular economy with a cycle of recovering, reusing, and recycling used resources. The goal is to achieve a 100% waste recycling rate, a 100% industrial waste resource recovery rate, and 20,000 refurbished product sales by 2030.
Coway also introduced a refurbishment system to the home appliances rental industry in 2007, which has multiple benefits. It reduces waste disposal costs for the company, creates lower-priced products for customers, and puts less impact on the economy.
The aim is to have an entirely eco-friendly product development process.
As a result of these ongoing efforts, Coway was named on the prestigious 2020 DJSI World Index (Dow Jones Sustainability World Index) for the fifth consecutive year and was the only Korean company to be included in the Household Durables category. The DJSI ranking indicates that Coway’s sustainability practices are in the top 15 percent of the 2,500 largest companies in the S&P Global BMI (Broad Market Index), proving its world-class competitiveness in corporate sustainability.
On a more local level, the company has also had eight consecutive years on the DJSI Asia-Pacific Index and three successive years on the DJSI Korea Index.
The Korea Corporate Governance Service (KCGS) also awarded Coway an ‘A’ in the 2020 ESG Rating for outstanding performance in environmental and social responsibility and governance. KCGS measures the ESG ratings of listed companies and financial institutions in Korea every year.
Coway is committed to transparency and has continued to publish details of its environmental and social progress in the annual “Sustainability Report” since 2006. The company also publishes the “Carbon Report” and publicly discloses information to investors and consumers through the annual Carbon Disclosure Project.
A company official said: “Coway’s commitment to a sustainable future through various efforts has continued for more than a decade. We will continue to make a concerted effort to fulfill our responsibility in the environment, society, and governance, and transparently communicate our progress.”