Environmental-friendly Production (South Korea)
Environmental-friendly production in the Republic of Korea refers to a series of incentives, identifications and recognitions involving green businesses and products, which became relevant after the development of the Korean Sustainable Development Goals (K-SDGs) in 2018, where sustainability, adapted to the specific characteristics of the country, can be found as two of the main 17 goals: Sustainable Cities and Communities (11) and Responsible Consumption (12).[1] South Korea had already started its green transition in 2009, with the publication of the National Strategy of Green Growth up to 2050 and The Five-Year Plan 2009-2013, and the establishment of the Korean Environmental Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI)[2], whose mission is granting
“sustainable development through technology development, industry nurturing and eco-friendly lifestyle promotion”.[3]
Through the introduction of a series of eco-label systems and the establishment of both technical and financial assistance to businesses who want to turn green and programs that encourage people to buy eco-friendly products, South Korea has been steadily increasing its environmentally friendly production and consumption.
Eco-labelling systems[edit]
In 2014, KEITI published the 1st edition of their Policy Handbook for Sustainable Consumption and Production of Korea, where both the guidelines of sustainable production and consumption and the description of each green certification (for consumers) were listed and explained in detail. Said certifications are part of the Eco-label Certification System (ECS), which was created in 1992 but was eventually adapted to fit the international standards when the Republic of Korea entered the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) in 1997.[4][5] Each certification aims to provide a clear and reliable information to customers on green products, listing the standards (both environmental and quality) on how each eco-labelled product saves resources and energies, as well as prevents pollution and minimises the harm to human health and the impact on the environment. The Korean standards are provided by the Ministry of Environment and are enforced by KEITI– which is the authority appointing green certifications to products and businesses.[2][6]
In 1992 the number of products presenting an eco-label was only 82,[5] divided into four categories; in 2018, the number had increased to more than 14,600 distributed in six different categories.[7] The exponential growth of eco-labelled products in South Korea has led the eco-friendly market to expand rapidly, causing a shift inside the Korean economy: in 2013 its worth was quoted around 34 trillion KRW (34 billion USD).
Together with ECS, KEITI is also in charge of issuing eco-labels under the Eco Performance Indicator System (EPIS), quantifying the environmental impact of the whole life cycle of a product, in terms not only of pollution but also of resources usage. The third set of eco-labels is the Eco-Self Declaration System (ESDS), appointed by the Fair-Trade Commission (FTC), through which producers can declare the eco-friendliness of their own products if they fit into the defined requirements and procedures, in order not to mislead consumers.[8] The aim of these eco-labels is to push consumers to buy eco-friendly products and inducing producers to voluntarily shift towards more sustainable production.[8] Once awarded, the eco-labels will be displayed on products and businesses with an Eco Mark, which is usually green in colour (when not engraved directly on the product itself), with the same font and size. Any alteration will make the mark automatically invalid.[9]
Through the Green Standard of Energy and Environmental Design (G-SEED) certification system - known as Green Building Certification (GBC) until 2012, the government evaluates both old and new buildings according to their eco-friendliness, including the usage of green and/or recycled constructing products,[10][11] thus pushing constructors to buy more eco-labelled products. In 2014, the category that held the majority of the green product shares was about constructing materials.
Strategies and assistance for SMEs[edit]
Alongside the increased presence of green products on the market, the Republic of Korea has experienced a growth of eco-friendly enterprises and producers. The number of certified producers, as of 2018, is over 3,600:[7] in 1992, only 37 businesses were considered eco-friendly.[5] Due to the notable amount of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which wouldn’t be able to adopt more sustainable production strategies because of their limited human and economic resources and technical capacities, the government established with the Korea Development Bank (KDB) financial and technical assistance through various loans and tax deductions[11] as well as:
- Eco-Business Award, hosted by the Ministry of Environment together with KEITI and Korea Economic Daily, a reputational incentive that aims at rewarding organisations or individuals that worked towards the development of eco-technology and industry; the mitigation of climate change; and eco-friendly consumption and production.
- GREEN-UP, also known as Environment Management Consulting for SMEs, provides consultations with SMEs across different sectors on environmental management with the intent of improving their market competitiveness, resource conservation, and environmental performance. It also should publish standard environmental management manuals for individual sectors.
- Eco-design program, financial and technical support thought to encourage SMEs in developing and commercialising innovative products and services addressing environmental problems. It also includes the development of product prototypes, acquisition of patents and eco-label, and marketing.[7][12]
Sustainable production has also been supported by creating programs to encourage businesses to buy green products: through the Green Public Procurement (GPP) introduced in 2005 under the Act on of Purchase of Green Products, South Korea encourages all public institutions and organisations to meet their needs by buying the largest amount possible of eco-labelled or recycled products by giving them fiscal incentives.[1][13] The Korean GPP has been listed by OECD as one of the best practices for Green Procurement in the world.[14]
Green Credit Card[edit]
In 2011 KEITI, in association with the Ministry of Environment, established a Green Credit Card, with the aim of incentivising people to buy eco-friendly products by giving them an economic reward (such as a discount on public transportation or electric cars charges) calculated on the amount of KRW spent on Korea eco-labelled products and transformed into Eco-money. To do so, a system of Green points-of-sales (POS) has been implemented as well, thanks to which retailers can recognise eligible eco-labelled products (1,957 in 2016) and reward the Eco-money immediately through the barcode.[15] As of 2018, the number of Green Credit Card issued was 18.48 million.[16] Although the aim of this system is to increase the awareness of eco-friendly products, it also encourages negative patterns of increased consumption among the population, since there are no rewards for those who consume less.
In order to enhance the awareness on the importance of sustainability and a greener behaviour, in 2008 South Korea's government started targeting the general public with the institution of commemorative days and events on climate change and eco-friendly resources and lifestyle, as well as implementing school programmes and majoring courses with the intent of fostering future green leaders and adopting sustainable habits.[11] In a survey conducted by KEITI and distributed among the Korean population in 2014, 75.2% of people pay attention to the environmental performance of a product when purchasing it, and 76.1% of respondents have purchased at least once eco-friendly products. However, only approximately 40.9% of the population has a clear understanding of how Korean eco-labels work, since more importance is given to the private benefits (economic reward) than to their social and environmental value.[11][17]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Green Public Procurement in Korea (GPPK) - UN Environment Programme (UNEP) https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/32535/GPPK.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Implementation of the Korean Green Growth Strategy in Urban Areas I OECD https://www.oecd.org/korea/49330153.pdf
- ↑ "Mission & Vision - Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute". www.keiti.re.kr. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ "Eco-label Certification System (ECS) in Korea". chemycal.com. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "'환경표지' 제도 20년, 제품 수 100배 증가". m.ecotiger.co.kr (in 한국어). Retrieved 2021-08-26.
- ↑ "Green companies, organisations & government bodies - Global Ecolabelling Network". globalecolabelling.net. Retrieved 2021-08-23. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "중소기업의 환경표지 인증 취득을 도와드립니다". www.korea.kr (in 한국어). Retrieved 2021-08-21.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Rocca, Aldo Baietti, Andrey Shlyakhtenko and Roberto La. Green Investment Climate Country Profile – South Korea. World Bank Publications. Search this book on
- ↑ "Korea Environmental Policy Bullettin - Eco-label Certification System (ECS) in Korea" (PDF).
- ↑ "Analysis of Green Building Certification System for Developing G-SEED". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Korea's Green Growth Experience - Global Green Growth Institute https://www.greengrowthknowledge.org/sites/default/files/downloads/resource/Koreas-Green-Growth-Experience_GGGI.pdf
- ↑ Eco-Business. "Korea fosters green start-ups". Eco-Business. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
- ↑ OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Korea 2017. Paris: OECD. 2017. Search this book on
- ↑ "Smart Procurement: Best practices for green procurement - OECD". www.oecd.org. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
- ↑ "Green Credit Card I Republic of Korea". United Nations Climate Change. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) https://cop23.unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/ict-solutions/green-credit-card-i-republic-of-korea - ↑ Addressing air pollution in South Korea through the transport sector - UN Office for Sustainable Development https://unosd.un.org/sites/unosd.un.org/files/group_3_final_presentation.pdf
- ↑ Hwang, Jung-Ah; Park, Youkyoung; Kim, Yeonbae (2016-11-04). "Why do consumers respond to eco-labels? The case of Korea". SpringerPlus. 5 (1): 1915. doi:10.1186/s40064-016-3550-1. ISSN 2193-1801. PMC 5095107. PMID 27867822.
External links[edit]
- Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN)
- Green Climate Fund
- Green growth in action: Korea (OECD)
- KEITI (English version)
- KEITI Eco-label
- Ministry of Environment (South Korea)
- Policy Handbook fo Sustainable Consumption and Production of Korea (2014, KEITI)
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