"‘Together to Overcome the Climate Crisis!’… BGF Retail and UNICEF Korea Committee Sign Business Agreement"

BGF Retail Overcomes Climate Crisis in 2021... Supports Mongolian Children Affected by Air Pollution

Re-signs Agreement to Expand Support to 5,000 'Ger' Families and Kindergarten Children by 2027

The Korea Committee for UNICEF (Chairman Jung Gap-young) signed a business agreement with BGF Retail on the 8th to support children in Mongolia.

On the 8th, Min Seung-bae, CEO of BGF Retail (right), and Cho Mi-jin, Secretary General of the UNICEF Korea Committee, held a business agreement ceremony at the UNICEF Korea Committee in Mapo-gu. [Image source=UNICEF Korea Committee]

This business agreement was made once again as an extension of the agreement signed in 2021 as part of efforts to overcome the climate crisis, to continuously support Mongolian children whose health is threatened by severe air pollution.

According to the re-agreement, BGF Retail will provide $500,000 over three years until 2027 to help install eco-friendly and high-efficiency gers called CHIPS (Cooking, Heating, and Insulation Products and Services).

CHIPS is a project that BGF Retail began supporting in 2021, referring to eco-friendly and high-efficiency gers developed through collaboration between the Mongolian local government, Mongolian University of Science and Technology, international academic organizations, and UNICEF. It generates heat using electricity instead of coal, reducing air pollution and improving heat efficiency, thereby enhancing indoor air quality.

Mongolia is a country with severe air pollution caused by large amounts of fossil fuels and waste burned in gers, in addition to climate crises such as droughts and extreme cold. Children suffer from various respiratory diseases such as pneumonia, bronchitis, and asthma, threatening their health even outside the winter season.

From 2021 to 2023, BGF Retail supported CHIPS for 425 households (1,572 people) and 5 kindergartens with 292 children in the Ulaanbaatar area, achieving a 31% improvement in indoor air quality. Following these project results, the eco-friendly and high-efficiency ger support project will be expanded until 2027 to additionally support about 5,000 people, including 1,000 households and 10 kindergartens.

Min Seung-bae, CEO of BGF Retail, who attended the signing ceremony, said, “We confirmed visible results from the previous project and decided to extend the project with gratitude to the Mongolian citizens who have shown great support for CU. 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.”

Cho Mi-jin, Secretary General of the Korea Committee for UNICEF, said, “We deeply appreciate BGF Retail for their continuous support in overcoming the climate crisis. This agreement will allow more Mongolian children to enjoy a clean environment. BGF Retail’s strong support will be a great help for Mongolian children to grow up healthily.”

BGF Retail has supported the Korea Committee for UNICEF since 2008. In particular, in 2011, it launched the “Love Coin Collection” campaign together with franchise owners and customers of CU convenience stores nationwide, leading global love-sharing for 14 years. The amount donated through the “Love Coin Collection” campaign alone has reached 2.38 billion KRW.

UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) is the only UN agency explicitly mentioned in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child for promoting children's rights, carrying out projects worldwide in health, nutrition, water and sanitation, education, protection, and emergency relief.

The Korea Committee for UNICEF represents UNICEF in Korea, raising funds for children worldwide and promoting children's rights domestically through projects such as creating child-friendly societies.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the Korea Committee for UNICEF is the only national committee that has transformed from a developing country receiving aid to an advanced country providing aid.