Choi Jong-hyun's 'Forest Cultivation for National Prosperity' → Chey Tae-won's 'ESG Management'... SK Introduces 50 Years of Afforestation Projects at World Forestry Congress

SK Imup 50th Anniversary... Booth at World Forestry Congress from 2nd to 6th

Late Chairman Choi Jong-hyun "Stop Bare Mountains"... Chairman Choi Tae-won Elevates 'ESG Management'

The "Tree of Life" sculpture installed at the center of SK's dedicated booth, the "Green Forest Pavilion," set up at the 15th World Forestry Congress (WFC) held on the 2nd at COEX Mall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. SK introduced its carbon reduction efforts in the form of media art. At the booth, SK showcases its ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management, including afforestation projects carried out over the past 50 years. (Photo by SK)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] SK Group will participate in the World Forestry Congress (WFC) to mark the 50th anniversary of SK Forestry, founded by the late Chairman Choi Jong-hyun, and introduce the group's carbon reduction efforts. As the first group in Korea to secure carbon emission rights, SK plans to unveil its ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management blueprint, including plans to build a 'forest-based carbon emission trading platform.'

According to SK Group, SK Forestry will present its achievements in domestic and international afforestation projects over the past 50 years since its establishment in 1972, as well as plans for the carbon emission rights platform business, at the 15th WFC held on the 2nd at COEX Mall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The WFC, held in Korea for the first time, will run for five days from this day until the 6th. SK is the only domestic conglomerate engaged in afforestation projects and participated by creating an independent booth representing Korean companies.

The exhibition booth, called the 'Green Forest Pavilion,' was designed to allow visitors to experience the group's forest creation and carbon reduction efforts as a single journey. The entire exhibition hall was created as a forest path inspired by Indeungsan Mountain in Chungju, Chungcheongbuk-do, where the group has been conducting afforestation projects. A model of the 'Tree of Life' was installed in the center to express the commitment to creating a sustainable future. The Green Forest Pavilion was also well-received at CES 2022, the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition held in Las Vegas, USA, last January.

At the congress, SK Forestry will introduce various carbon reduction projects through afforestation. A representative project is the A/R CDM (Afforestation/Reforestation Clean Development Mechanism) project underway in the barren land of Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do, where 250,000 birch and other afforestation trees have been planted. This project measures the greenhouse gases absorbed by the forest and recognizes carbon emission rights. This project was made possible because SK was the first Korean company in 2013 to receive final approval from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to secure carbon emission rights through forest creation.

In the future, SK plans to build a 'forest-based carbon emission trading platform.' This platform will supply carbon emission rights generated through increased carbon absorption from afforestation projects to companies and individuals voluntarily participating in carbon reduction. It aims to provide economic incentives to forest owners and reliable carbon offset methods to companies, contributing to forest conservation and addressing the climate crisis. Leveraging its experience in securing forest carbon emission rights by participating in forest protection activities in developing countries overseas, the group announced plans to continuously develop projects that affiliates can participate in to achieve the group's carbon reduction goals.

SK participated in the 15th World Forestry Congress (WFC) held on the 2nd at COEX Mall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, with a dedicated booth called the "Green Forest Pavilion." At the booth, SK introduces its ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management, including afforestation projects carried out over the past 50 years. (Photo by SK)

The group's afforestation business began in 1972 when Chairman Choi Jong-hyun established Seohae Development Co., Ltd. (now SK Forestry). Chairman Choi, witnessing the increase of barren mountains due to indiscriminate logging in the 1960s and 1970s, started by purchasing 480.9 hectares of land on Gwangdeoksan Mountain in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do, followed by 1,180 hectares on Indeungsan Mountain in Chungju and 2,364.8 hectares on Sihangsan Mountain in Yeongdong-gun, Chungbuk, totaling 4,100 hectares of barren forest land to create forests. To prevent forest land from becoming speculative assets, afforestation sites were chosen far from the metropolitan area. High-quality broadleaf trees such as walnut and birch were planted. As a result, the mountainous forest land, once close to barren land, was transformed into a dense forest with about 4 million trees. The area is approximately 40 times the size of Namsan Mountain in Seoul. Profits from the afforestation business were used for scholarships through the Korea Higher Education Foundation. SK explained that Chairman Choi Jong-hyun's afforestation business is the "starting point of ESG management" as it contributes to society (Social) through environment (Environment) and talent development.

The strong commitment to eco-friendly business continued with Chairman Chey Tae-won’s ESG management and carbon reduction efforts. In October last year, Chairman Chey emphasized the long history of SK's eco-friendly business by introducing the forest greening project started by his father, Chairman Choi Jong-hyun, on LinkedIn, the world's largest business networking SNS. SK is innovating its business model and investing under the goal of 'contributing to a 1% reduction of the world's carbon reduction target by 2030.'

The WFC is the largest international forestry event held every six years by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Governments, international organizations, civil society groups, academia, and companies worldwide participate to discuss cooperation in forestry and environmental fields. With growing interest in creating a carbon reduction ecosystem, this Seoul congress will see the largest-ever participation, with over 10,000 environmental stakeholders from 143 countries.