LG Electronics reduces 220,000 tons of CO2 emissions in 2022

LG Electronics Inc. reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 220,000 tons compared to the previous year at both domestic and overseas facilities. The company has plans to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by the year 2030.

According to LG Electronics' "Sustainability Management Report" released on Friday, direct greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1) and indirect greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 2) from domestic and overseas facilities totaled 927,000 tons last year. This shows a decrease of 225,000 tons compared to 2021 (1,152,000 tons).

LG Electronics has also set a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% compared to 2017 by the year 2030. To achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, the company will invest in sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas treatment facilities and carbon funds, as well as promote the adoption of energy-efficient equipment and carbon emission reduction devices in production processes.

The company achieved an 8.2% conversion rate to renewable energy. Its goal is to achieve a 60% conversion rate by 2030 and 100% by 2050. LG Electronics has also completed its membership in the Renewable Energy 100 (RE100) initiative.

Additionally, LG Electronics is expanding the application of high-efficiency and eco-friendly technologies to accelerate carbon reduction during the product consumption stage. Last year, the functional unit carbon emissions of seven major LG products decreased by 13.1% compared to 2020.

It also increased the collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment and the use of recycled plastic. The total amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment collected from 87 regions in 52 countries last year was 472,876 tons, with a cumulative total of 3,992,768 tons collected since 2006. The use of recycled plastic in products increased by about 25%, reaching 32,987 tons compared to 2021.

LG Electronics has also been consistently promoting efforts for inclusive growth. Last year, the company completed third-party verification of energy consumption and carbon emissions for major tier 1 partner companies. This year, it is conducting carbon-neutral response education for these partner companies, and a total of 152 companies participated in the education program in the first half of this year.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com