Distribution and Food Industry, Strong Drive for Eco-Friendly Policies

Lotte Mart Targets 50% Reduction in Waste Vinyl and Plastic by 2025
Solar Power Facilities Installed on Rooftops
Lotte Chilsung Launches Label-Free Bottled Water
Industries Take Lead in Adopting Proactive Eco-Friendly Policies

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Recently, amid concerns of a 'waste crisis' due to reduced demand for waste plastics caused by the aftermath of COVID-19 and other factors, various industries have begun proactively adopting eco-friendly policies. Solar power facilities are being installed on the rooftops of large supermarkets, and labels are disappearing from PET bottles.

◆50% Reduction in Vinyl and Plastic by 2025= On the 8th, Lotte Mart announced plans to build an eco-friendly store model, including a goal to reduce waste vinyl and plastic by 50% by 2025. Lotte Mart establishes sequential annual reduction targets and sets seven eco-friendly packaging guidelines such as 'substituting with eco-friendly materials' and 'using reusable packaging' when producing private brand (PB) products. Environmental considerations will be incorporated as core tasks alongside sales and profits, and reflected in the performance evaluations of product planners.

They are also pushing for the 'zero use' of plastic bags in stores. Last year, Lotte Mart's use of roll bags decreased by more than 60% compared to 2018. They plan to continuously expand this reduction to reach 0%. Food waste in stores is targeted to be reduced by 30% by 2025. Through company-wide campaigns, daily measurement of food waste generation will be conducted, and sales times held close to store closing hours will be significantly advanced to increase opportunities for customers to purchase discounted products.

They are also working on building eco-friendly green stores by expanding renewable energy and electric vehicle infrastructure. Currently, Lotte Mart has installed solar power facilities on the rooftops of 39 stores, producing 4.6 million kW annually?enough electricity to power 1,600 households for a year?and plans to expand this to 60 stores by 2021. The electric vehicle charging infrastructure installed at 120 Lotte Mart stores enhances customer convenience while promoting the spread of electric vehicles. A new concept charging station that charges electric vehicles using solar power generated at the store is also installed and operated on the rooftop of the Yeongdeungpo store.

Eco-friendly policies are also spreading among home shopping and online delivery companies. Hyundai Home Shopping has introduced the 'Finger Box,' an eco-friendly delivery box made of 100% paper material without adhesives. Market Kurly recently replaced Styrofoam boxes used for frozen product packaging with eco-friendly paper boxes and switched vinyl cushioning packaging to paper, reflecting industry-wide efforts to replace packaging materials used during delivery with eco-friendly materials.

◆Eco-friendly Initiatives in Food and Beauty Industries= Food and beverage manufacturers and the fashion industry are also accelerating eco-friendly policies. Lotte Chilsung Beverage, riding on the popularity of 'Isis 8.0 ECO,' a no-label bottled water launched in January as the industry's first to remove labels from PET bottle bodies, released 'Isis ECO' 500ml and 2L bottles on the 5th. This eco-friendly water reduces the hassle of removing labels while improving convenience for separate disposal and increasing PET bottle recycling rates.

CJ CheilJedang, which established a 'Sustainable Packaging Policy,' recently introduced new packaging for 'Baeksul Premium Oil' focusing on recyclability and reducing plastic usage. The previously colored PET bottles were changed to transparent, and labels were attached using 'water-soluble adhesive' to facilitate easy label separation during disposal.

Global sports brand Adidas has set a policy to increase the proportion of recycled polyester used in plastics for products released this year to over 50%. Adidas announced a management policy to use recycled polyester for all products containing plastic starting in 2024.

Amorepacific, the largest beauty company in Korea, is conducting a 'Less Plastic' campaign encouraging the reduction of harmful or unnecessary plastic use and promoting the use of easily recyclable plastics. They actively collect used cosmetic containers at stores for recycling and engage in upcycling by creatively reusing various by-products generated during product manufacturing, aiming for eco-friendly social contribution activities that coexist with nature.

Meanwhile, with the nationwide implementation of the 'Vinyl and Transparent PET Bottle Separate Disposal System' starting in July, eco-friendly policies across industries are expected to be further expanded. Under this policy, recyclable transparent PET bottles must have their contents and labels removed and be disposed of separately from colored PET bottles and general plastics in designated collection bins.

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