Hanwha Group Completes 2020 Happy Sunshine Campaign

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Hanwha Group has completed its eco-friendly social contribution activity, the '2020 Happy Sunshine Campaign,' which provides free solar power generation facilities to social welfare institutions nationwide.

Chairman Kim Seung-yeon emphasized the importance of practicing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management together with society during difficult times in his New Year's address this year, saying, "Although this is a time when both body and mind inevitably become exhausted, let us overcome this moment by encouraging each other with a spirit of 'together.' Even in the non-face-to-face era, the values of communication and consideration, represented by 'together far,' must be cherished more dearly."

Despite the hardships caused by COVID-19, Hanwha Group actively pursued corporate social responsibility management (ESG) by recruiting applicants for support through its website for fifteen days starting October 12 last year. After document screening and on-site inspections, 29 social welfare facilities were finally selected.

Starting in December and continuing until the end of last month, solar power generation facilities with a total capacity of 173 kW were installed at the 29 selected social welfare institutions. This capacity corresponds to the electricity usage of 57 average households.

The installed solar power generation facilities are expected not only to reduce management and operating costs of welfare facilities but also to help alleviate difficulties in cooling and heating during summer and winter seasons.

In addition to installing solar power generation facilities, eco-friendly energy education was conducted for about 130 children and adolescents at six child and youth facilities among the 29 social welfare institutions to raise awareness about eco-friendly energy.

Started in 2011, the Happy Sunshine Campaign is Hanwha Group’s flagship eco-friendly social contribution program that installs and donates solar power generation facilities free of charge to social welfare institutions.

Hanwha Q CELLS directly participates by supplying and installing solar products, and also supports post-management activities such as maintenance including safety inspections of the solar power generation facilities and monitoring of power generation.

Now in its 10th year, the campaign has installed solar power generation facilities with a total capacity of 2,187 kW free of charge at 320 social welfare institutions nationwide over the past decade. This corresponds to the electricity usage of about 720 households and has the effect of reducing 507 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to the planting effect of approximately 910,000 20-year-old pine trees.