KZ Insight
Korea Zinc shares the brand values and future vision of the company
Leadership for Carbon Zero
2022-01-23Leadership for Carbon Zero
ESG
STORY
One of the biggest management issues in recent years is responding to climate change. Of course, it sounds like a far-off story that continuous greenhouse gas emissions will accelerate global warming and cause a huge catastrophe for the planet and humanity. However, as efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions take a long time to produce results, it is imperative that all of the people start now.
Response to climate change, preemptive response is the right answer
Developed countries such as the United States and the European Union (EU) are already taking the lead and taking a preemptive response. In order to promote the response of other countries, global campaigns such as RE100 (100% of electricity consumption from renewables) to economic penalties such as a carbon border adjustment tax are being considered.
Significance of Korea Zinc and SMC preemptive joining RE100
Korea Zinc is actively participating in RE100, which promises to convert the electricity used by globally influential companies to “100% renewable energy” in all work places. In 2020, SMC (Sun Metal Corporation), an Australian subsidiary, joined the RE100 for the first time in the zinc smelting industry, and in 2021, Korea Zinc also joined the RE100 for the first time in the domestic non-ferrous metal industry.
Greenhouse gas emissions
Three Joining Criteria for RE 100
- Make a public commitment to sourcing/or having already sourced 100% renewable electricity
- Electricity for all business sites and offices around the world owned by a company must be procured from renewable energy sources.
- Annually, the level of achievement of the target for using renewable energy should be reported to the RE100 committee.
Korea Zinc’s Efforts toward Zero Carbon Management
Global Movement for Zero Carbon Leadership and Korea Zinc
Now, the world is paying attention to the growth potential of the hydrogen market and investing in it. For the size of the global hydrogen economy market in 2050, Deloitte, a global consulting firm, predicts $2.6 trillion and McKinsey $2.5 trillion, respectively. According to the ‘Hydrogen Insight Report’ recently published by the Hydrogen Council and McKinsey, there are currently 359 large-scale hydrogen-related projects around the world, and based on these projects, the global hydrogen business investment will reach $500 billion by 2030. The EU has set a policy to invest at least 180 billion euros in clean hydrogen production alone to increase the share of hydrogen in total energy from the current 2-3% to 14% by 2050.
Among the 15 domestic companies participating in the ‘Korea H2 Business Summit’, the total investment announced by companies that have disclosed specific investment plans by 2030 is also expected to exceed about 50 trillion won.
