INDEPENDENT CONFIRMATION OF LG’S PLANS TO CUT GREENHOUSE GASES BY 2030

There are plenty of major companies round the world making statements about their intentions to save the planet by cutting the production of greenhouse gases but surprisingly few of them subject their plans to independent validation. LG – one of the leading manufacturers of electronic equipment – tvs, mobile phones, heating and air conditioning equipment – has done just that.

LG Electronics (LG) recently announced that its strategy for cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the entire manufacturing process from production to use by 2030 has been independently reviewed and validated by climate expert SBTi, making LG the first Korean manufacturer of home appliances to receive such recognition. The validation confirms LG’s confidence in its strategy to reduce the total amount of direct greenhouse gas emissions in line with Business Ambition for 1.5°C, which LG committed to earlier this year.

SBTi is a global coalition organization co-founded by the Carbon Information Disclosure Project (CDP), United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) to promote science-based targets for reducing Green House Gases. To achieve its Zero Carbon 2030 pledge established in 2019, LG’s plan calls for reducing the total amount of direct green house gas emissions in Scope 1 and targeting indirect green house gases generated during the production process by 50 percent compared to 2017 standards in Scope 2. LG expects to reduce GHG emissions up to 20 percent in the product use stage compared to 2020 standards in Scope 3.

LG’s environmental commitment was on further display at last month’s Route to Net Zero: Asia conference hosted by Carbon Trust, the London-based business-led publicly funded organization founded 20 years ago to respond to climate change. The presentation covered the many LG appliances that have earned Carbon Trust Footprint Label and Water Footprint Certification for their effectiveness in reducing household carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and water usage to minimize the products’ impact on the environment.

Under its recently unveiled Zero Negative Environmental Impact initiative, LG plans to establish more production sites that make a positive impact on the environment. To ensure that the company reaches its stretch goals for carbon neutrality and circular economy, LG announced its intention to reduce the use of petrochemical-based plastics by introducing up to 600,000 tons of recycled plastic into its manufacturing process by 2030 and nearly double the recovery of electronic waste to 8 million tons by the same year.

“As an industry leader, LG takes its responsibility as a good corporate citizen in the global community very seriously,” said Kim Joon-ho, executive vice president and head of LG Electronics’ Quality Management Center. “LG is firmly committed to realizing our carbon neutrality and net-zero science-based targets so that future generations will still be able to say that life’s good.”