[One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day Thousand Characters] Picking Up Health and Environment at Rivers and Seas... Coway's ESG

Plogging and Ploving.

Plogging is an eco-friendly activity combining the Swedish word ‘plocka upp’ (to pick up) and the English word ‘jogging,’ involving picking up trash while running or walking. Ploving is a compound word derived from freediving, referring to the activity of collecting underwater marine debris while enjoying diving.

Coway has launched two campaigns that promote both health and the environment. On the 10th, as part of the ‘2023 River Plogging Campaign,’ Coway employees participated in an underwater cleanup ‘ploving’ volunteer activity in Goseong, Gangwon Province. This activity took place in the waters off Songjiho Beach, Goseong, Gangwon Province, with volunteers from the employee diving club who hold diving certifications. Participants collected underwater trash such as PET bottles, toothbrushes, fishing nets, buoys, and fishing gear. The employee club participating in this volunteer work has been conducting underwater cleanup activities once or twice a year.

Coway conducted an underwater plogging activity with its employee volunteer group as part of the '2023 Coway River Plogging Campaign.'
[Photo by Coway]

Coway’s customer participation ‘River Plogging Challenge’ will continue until August 20. The Coway River Plogging Challenge is an eco-friendly event where participants pick up trash while running or walking near bodies of water. Over 2,000 people applied in advance to receive a Coway plogging kit. Anyone can participate regardless of prior registration by collecting trash around water areas such as beaches, riversides, or valleys and posting photos of their activity on their Instagram by August 20. Coway will select outstanding participants and award various prizes including water purifiers and air purifiers. A Coway representative stated, "As Korea’s leading water company, we planned the River Plogging Campaign to spread the value of clean water and raise awareness of environmental protection," adding, "We hope many people will join in protecting the environment by picking up trash in their daily lives."

Coway is engaged in various internal and external eco-friendly ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) activities to contribute to environmental protection. These include the ‘Clean School Classroom Forest Project,’ which donates air-purifying plants and provides environmental education to elementary schools, and ‘EM Mudball Throwing,’ which helps purify water and expand carbon dioxide absorption sources.

Coway employees and volunteers are throwing EM mud balls from a bridge over the Anyangcheon.
[Photo by Coway]

On May 17, Coway conducted the ‘EM Mudball Throwing’ activity to help purify water and increase carbon dioxide absorption sources. EM mudballs are balls made by kneading beneficial microbial fermentation liquid and loess, fermented for about three weeks. When thrown into rivers or streams, they gradually dissolve, purifying the water and eliminating odors. As the ecosystem of rivers and streams recovers, they also absorb and reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide.

About 40 Coway employees and volunteers gathered at Anyangcheon Multipurpose Square to make 3,000 EM mudballs by kneading microbial fermentation liquid and loess, then threw them into the river. Moon Dong-in, a deputy manager from Coway’s 1st Business Division who participated in the EM mudball throwing, said, "I feel proud to participate in activities that protect clean water and to learn the importance of ecological streams," adding, "I want to continue participating in various environmental protection social contribution activities with my colleagues."

Coway stated, "Through the EM Mudball Throwing activity, we were able to contribute to improving local water quality and raise awareness of environmental protection," and added, "We will continue to carry out various eco-friendly ESG activities for a sustainable future."