Pulmuone Orgaholfood Adds 4 New 'Green Specialized Stores' Designated by the Ministry of Environment

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Pulmuone Orgaholfood has expanded the number of stores designated as green specialized stores by the Ministry of Environment.

Orgaholfood, a fresh market under Pulmuone, announced on the 28th that four new stores?Orgaholfood Banpo Branch, Bioorga Ahyeon New Town Branch, Jeju English Village Branch, and Jeju Ido Branch?have been newly designated as 'Green Specialized Stores,' following the Orgaholfood Bangi Branch.

The 'Green Specialized Store' is an expanded and developed concept of the 'Green Store System' operated by the Ministry of Environment. It is a store with a 'Zero Waste' concept that minimizes plastic waste generation to promote a green consumption culture that considers the global environment. Since May last year, Orgaholfood Bangi Branch has been operated as the first domestic 'Green Specialized Store' under the Ministry of Environment's pilot project. Pulmuone plans to accelerate carbon neutrality and the spread of sustainable consumption culture throughout the entire process from product production to delivery by expanding eco-friendly packaging, dismantling bundled products, and increasing the use of reusable delivery packaging.

The four newly designated green specialized stores have increased the number of items using eco-friendly packaging compared to the first green specialized store, Orgaholfood Bangi Branch. Previously applied only to meat and dried seafood items, the packaging now also includes vegetables and fruits. Packaging materials have been changed to eco-friendly biomass and biodegradable materials made from sugarcane husks, which reduce carbon emissions by more than 70% compared to general synthetic resins. Additionally, dismantling bundled promotional product packaging minimizes the use of vinyl and tape, reducing household waste generation.

Eco-friendliness has also been enhanced in delivery packaging for same-day and early morning deliveries. By switching to multi-use or reusable packaging instead of disposable ones, Orgaholfood contributes to solving the recent surge in disposable plastic and vinyl packaging issues. Orgaholfood uses only multi-use or reusable packaging materials such as paper boxes, paper tape, and 100% water ice packs for same-day delivery services operated at all stores, including green specialized stores.

Furthermore, true to the 'Green Specialized Store' concept, separate zones for low-carbon certified products by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Environment, as well as eco-friendly certified green products, have been established to encourage green consumption. Orgaholfood operates the largest and most diverse range of low-carbon certified fresh foods among domestic distributors, consistently contributing to greenhouse gas reduction. Since the introduction of the low-carbon certification system in 2012, the number of low-carbon certified agricultural products has expanded annually, accounting for 66% of sales as of 2020, with double-digit growth each year.