HiteJinro and Major Products Including Chamisul Obtain Additional 'Environmental Product Declaration' Certifications

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] HiteJinro is expanding and strengthening its eco-friendly management.

HiteJinro announced on the 14th that its representative soju products, Chamisul Fresh, Chamisul Original, Chamisul 16.9, and Jamong Aiseul, have received the ‘Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)’ certification, which is supervised by the Ministry of Environment and operated by the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute.

The Environmental Product Declaration certification, implemented by the Ministry of Environment since 2001, is a system that quantifies and evaluates the environmental impact throughout the entire process of a product, from raw material extraction, production, transportation and distribution, usage, to disposal. Last year, the Ministry of Environment strengthened the recycling promotion (plastic use reduction) system to expand participation in resource circulation activities across industries and society, and from this year, it aims to realize a low-carbon circular economy by objectively and quantitatively evaluating greenhouse gas reduction achievements.

In line with these eco-friendly policies, HiteJinro has expanded its eco-friendly management by obtaining the ‘Carbon Footprint’ certification in 2010 for the first stage, which converts greenhouse gas emissions into carbon dioxide emissions for Chamisul brand products; in 2013, it became the first in the liquor industry to receive the second stage low-carbon product certification; and now it has received the third stage Environmental Product Declaration certification. Including the eight Filite products certified last year, a total of 14 products have obtained the Environmental Product Declaration certification.

Since receiving the low-carbon product certification in 2013, HiteJinro has reduced approximately 1,700 tons of carbon annually on average, and it is expected to contribute even more to greenhouse gas and carbon reduction under the strengthened standards. In addition, it is carrying out various eco-friendly management activities that align with the Ministry of Environment’s realization of a low-carbon circular economy for green transition across society and the economy.

In 2014, HiteJinro signed a business agreement with the Environmental Foundation and donated 100 million KRW to support the ‘Clean Air with Chamisul’ campaign program. Through this, 1,656 trees that reduce greenhouse gases were planted in the ceramic village of Icheon City, where the Chamisul production factory is located, and it received voluntary reduction certification of 300 tons annually from the Korea Energy Agency.

Also, since last year, HiteJinro has been participating in the ‘Forest Factory Creation Project’ led by Gyeonggi Province. This project involves 120 companies in Gyeonggi Province planting and managing about 30,000 trees with high fine dust purification effects on idle land around business sites. HiteJinro plans to continue fine dust reduction and air purification activities by planting trees excellent at purifying fine dust around the Icheon factory by December 2021.

HiteJinro’s strategy is to actively participate in the transition to a resource-circulating society by increasing circularity throughout the entire process from product production to waste treatment and recycling, promoted by the Ministry of Environment, and to continue eco-friendly management.

Oh Seong-taek, Executive Director of Marketing at HiteJinro, said, “Since receiving the first low-carbon product certification in the liquor industry in 2013, HiteJinro has continuously made its best efforts for environmental friendliness. As environmental issues such as fine dust become more serious, we plan to expand various eco-friendly management activities to strengthen the ‘cleanliness,’ the core asset of Chamisul.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.