Creating 'Environment' That Generates Profits Through SME Green Technology

Ministry of Environment Supports Commercialization of Small Environmental Enterprises for 10 Years
This Year Partners with Ministry of SMEs for 'Green New Deal Promising Companies 100' Project
Up to 3 Billion KRW per Company... Linked with Funds and Policy Financing
Nurturing 'Pre-Green Unicorns' with Corporate Value Over 100 Billion KRW

Minister of Environment Cho Myung-rae attended the "Green New Deal Promising Companies 100 Launch Ceremony" held on the 3rd of last month at POSCO Changeup Ground in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and stated that he would actively support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises leading the future green industry. (Source: Ministry of Environment)

"I'm your Father."

In the 2015 Ministry of Environment public campaign titled "Even Trash Has a Genealogy," this phrase was cleverly applied to recyclable waste. When a can rescues a car in distress, the car asks the can, "Who are you?" and the aluminum can replies, "I am your father." This was the first time a government ministry public service advertisement won the grand prize. The ad conveyed its message with comic elements by portraying the relationship between trash and recyclables as that of a father and son and parodying a famous movie line. It emphasized the importance of resource circulation and recycling, gaining national sympathy.

In this advertisement, the aluminum can is the car's father, meaning that aluminum cans are the primary material used to make the car's exterior parts. Then, what is the car's son? Can't the car's interior materials be recycled again? DIT Green Co., Ltd. developed sound-absorbing and insulating building materials technology by recycling car waste seats. This technology was selected this year for the Ministry of Environment's commercialization support project for small and medium environmental enterprises. DIT Green's building interior materials mix special polyester fibers and flame-retardant fibers after shredding waste fiber products and waste seats into certain sizes. It is an eco-friendly green technology that does not emit harmful gases.

What if a clean bus that acts as an air purifier by thoroughly cleaning fine dust on the road appears? Although it sounds like a story from imagination, the small and medium environmental enterprise Pure Ecotech has already realized such technology. They attached a whale-shaped ventilated air purifier to a bus, purifying the air on the road and supplying it inside the bus, where it is purified once more before being released outside again. Another small and medium environmental enterprise, Europa P&C, developed an indoor shared food waste input port that charges fees differently based on monthly emissions. This input port is sealed to effectively block food waste odors.

Ventilation-type air purifier that removes fine dust inside and outside buses by the small and medium environmental company 'Pure Ecotech'

To apply such eco-friendly technologies in daily life, high public awareness of the environment must be accompanied by companies' efforts to develop green technologies. However, general companies often consider green technologies to have high production costs and low returns on investment, and companies that develop environmental technologies face difficulties in commercialization due to these prejudices. Since 2010, the Ministry of Environment has been running the commercialization support project for small and medium environmental enterprises for ten years to resolve such difficulties, support green technology development, and improve awareness.

The Ministry of Environment's commercialization support project for small and medium environmental enterprises supports the commercialization of promising environmental technologies owned by SMEs, helping them enter the market and generate profits, as seen in the cases introduced earlier. It provides a package of commercialization funds, commercialization promotion consulting, and private investment attraction. Through support for prototype production improvement, performance evaluation, and promotion, sales related to 89 company projects increased by 33.2%, from approximately 88.8 billion KRW to about 119.7 billion KRW (2016?2018). Investment attraction activities led to investment contracts totaling 33.64 billion KRW with 24 companies from 2017 to 2019.

Starting this year, the scope of existing commercialization support has expanded from general environmental fields to leading green industries. Among the five core areas for building a green industrial innovation ecosystem, clean air, bio-materials, and post-plastic fields have been additionally recruited to accelerate support for commercialization and market launch of environmental technologies.

On the 3rd of last month, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups jointly held the launch ceremony for the "Green New Deal Promising Companies 100" support project and announced the "Green Startup and Venture Promotion Plan," which establishes a full-cycle support system from startup to growth and globalization of green companies.

Through the Green Startup and Venture Promotion Plan, from this year until 2022, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will select 100 promising companies in the environment and energy sectors and provide focused support for technology development, commercialization, and overseas expansion funds (up to 3 billion KRW per company over three years). Additional support measures such as funds, guarantees, and policy funds necessary for mass production will also be linked.

Through this, they aim not only to expand the scope of small and medium environmental enterprises but also to create "preliminary green unicorns" with corporate values exceeding 100 billion KRW in the green sector by 2025. They plan to support 11,000 companies and create 25,000 jobs in the green sector by 2025. Additionally, a public participation system will be introduced at the selection stage to raise public interest and allow people to experience the effects in daily life.

The Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in June to lay the foundation for supporting small and medium environmental enterprises. The Ministry of Environment is responsible for green industry policies, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups handles SME policies, aiming to intensify mutual cooperation.

The commercialization support project for small and medium environmental enterprises has increased its budget annually from 11.2 billion KRW last year to 82.4 billion KRW this year (25.4 billion KRW in the main budget and 57 billion KRW in supplementary budget) and 89.7 billion KRW next year to revitalize the stagnant economy and create green jobs. The Ministry of Environment plans to do its best during the execution phase to foster an environment where SMEs with excellent environmental technologies can grow, as next year's budget is the largest ever allocated.

Minister of Environment Cho Myung-rae said, "To proactively respond to future climate change and environmental crises, the efforts of SMEs to transition to eco-friendly and low-carbon technologies are essential," adding, "The government's role is to nurture small and medium environmental enterprises as new growth engines for economic and social green transitions through continuous support."