Why Are Seongdong-gu Office Employees Carrying Eco Bags?

Produced and distributed 1,500 reusable container-only eco-bags to all employees this month for 'Zero Waste Practice'... Ordinance includes goal of carbon neutrality with zero greenhouse gas emissions and energy-saving efforts in public sectors like 'Eco Government Building'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu enacted and promulgated the "Seoul Special City Seongdong-gu Basic Ordinance on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth for Climate Crisis Response" on the 6th, taking a more active and concrete approach to responding to the climate crisis.

The ordinance stipulates matters related to the implementation goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the district by 2050, the establishment of related basic plans, the transition to new and renewable energy, the activation of green buildings, and the expansion of carbon sinks as greenhouse gas reduction measures.

Through the "Seongdong-gu 2050 Carbon Neutral Green Growth Committee," various opinions from environmental experts are reflected to promote more effective greenhouse gas reduction projects.

In particular, the district will take the lead in reducing energy consumption starting from the "public sector" to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Based on the 2007 greenhouse gas emissions of the public sector (6609 tCO2), the district plans to reduce emissions by 30% in 2020 and by 34% this year.

Previously, the district named all 27 affiliated organizations as "Eco Buildings" and involved all employees in greenhouse gas reduction tasks. It operates an automatic power-off system in offices, automatically turning off lights during lunch hours and after 10 p.m., and implements "electric energy saving" by turning off all lights except the minimum necessary lighting after 6 p.m.

The district also plans to promote "zero waste" by subdividing recycling bins within the building to minimize general waste generation, recycling scrap paper, and operating paperless days to reduce paper consumption.

In particular, the district produced and distributed 1,500 eco-bags to enable all employees to conveniently use reusable cups.

The eco-bags, compact enough to hold reusable cups, are designed to be easily carried along with personal items when going out and can be worn sideways with handles for convenience. Since all employees are naturally encouraged to use reusable items, the response has been positive. Employees are actively participating for the environment with commitments such as "Eco-bags are now essential even for business trips" and "We must protect the environment by using reusable items first."

A Seongdong-gu official said, "As the climate crisis is very serious worldwide, with abnormal weather exceeding 50°C even in May, we must be vigilant and protect the environment starting with ourselves," adding, "We will continue to promote various policies that make it easy to reduce energy consumption in daily life."