BGF Retail and UNICEF Korea Committee Sign Agreement for Eco-Friendly Ger Support Project in Mongolia

$500,000 Donated Over 3 Years, Supporting 1,000 Households

BGF Retail announced on the 9th that it has signed a “Mongolia Eco-friendly and High-efficiency Ger Project Support Agreement” with the UNICEF Korea Committee to improve air pollution in Mongolia.

The agreement ceremony took place on the 8th at the UNICEF Korea Committee’s 1st floor “UNICEF Children’s Experience Center” in Mapo-gu, Seoul, attended by Min Seung-bae, CEO of BGF Retail, Cho Mi-jin, Secretary General of the UNICEF Korea Committee, and others.

At the business agreement ceremony held at the UNICEF Korea Committee in Mapo-gu, Seoul, Jomi-jin, Secretary General of the UNICEF Korea Committee (left), and Min Seung-bae, CEO of BGF Retail, are posing for a commemorative photo.
[Photo by BGF Retail]

Under this agreement, BGF Retail will donate $500,000 over three years through the UNICEF Korea Committee to support the installation of eco-friendly and high-efficiency gers in 1,000 households and 10 kindergartens in Mongolia.

Part of the donation was raised through BGF Retail’s “Love Coin Collection” campaign, which has been ongoing since 2011. The donation boxes placed in CU stores nationwide collect more than 200 million KRW annually on average. As the franchisor, BGF Retail additionally donated 100 million KRW to share in this meaningful cause.

Although many apartments and modern houses have been built in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia where nearly half of the population is concentrated, it is estimated that about 900,000 people still live in traditional Mongolian portable tents called gers on the outskirts of the city.

In the ger districts of Mongolia, air pollution caused by fossil fuels used for heating has become a serious social issue. Vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women, and the elderly are directly exposed to large amounts of harmful substances, increasing the likelihood of respiratory diseases such as pneumonia.

In contrast, eco-friendly and high-efficiency gers use energy-efficient electric heaters and install windproof and waterproof insulation materials to enhance heat retention, improving indoor air quality and reducing the impact on air pollution. Compared to regular gers, they reduce heat loss by about 25%, significantly cutting energy consumption, and also lower the risk of fire, making them safer for children.

Since 2021, BGF Retail has created a comfortable and healthy living environment through this project for 425 households comprising 1,572 family members and five ger kindergartens attended by 292 children aged 2 to 5 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

CEO Min Seung-bae said, “After confirming visible results from the previous project and with the support of many Mongolian citizens for CU, we decided to extend the project,” adding, “Going forward, BGF Retail will continue to carry out various ESG projects with a sense of responsibility as a global corporate citizen to contribute to solving social and environmental issues worldwide.”