LG Chem Wins EBRD's Top Award for Sustainable Management

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] LG Chem's European plant in Poland has received solid certification as a model case of sustainable management.

On the 10th, LG Chem announced that it won the Gold Award, the highest prize in the 'Sustainable Energy' category, at the 'Sustainability Awards' held annually by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a European international financial institution.

LG Chem was recognized for significantly contributing to the spread of electric vehicles in Europe while simultaneously improving the environment. LG Chem plans to secure a production capacity of over 65GWh at its Polish electric vehicle battery plant by the end of the year, which is the world's largest production capacity for a single plant and enough to produce 1 million high-performance pure electric vehicles annually.

The 1 million units correspond to 6% of all cars sold in Europe (gasoline, diesel, electric vehicles, etc.), and if 65GWh of batteries are installed in electric vehicles, it can contribute to reducing more than 1 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.

The European Union recently tightened the average carbon dioxide emission standards per vehicle sold from 130g to 95g. A fine of 95 euros per vehicle is imposed for exceeding 1g of carbon dioxide. Additionally, the EU declared a carbon neutrality goal for 2050 and raised the greenhouse gas reduction target for 2030 from 40% to 55% compared to 1990 levels.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has been conducting the 'Sustainability Awards' annually, selecting companies with outstanding sustainable management performance among projects it financially supports. The Sustainability Awards select Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards in five categories, and this year, 16 companies were finally selected out of 47 candidates.

Also, LG Chem secures power for plant operations through renewable energy and is carrying out comprehensive sustainable management activities.

The European Poland plant has been using 100% renewable energy since 2019, and the Michigan plant in the United States has been using 100% renewable energy since July 2020. Additionally, the Ochang plant in Korea and the Nanjing plant in China plan to introduce 100% renewable energy by 2025.

LG Chem was the first in the domestic chemical industry to declare '2050 Carbon Neutral Growth' and is the first Korean company to promote RE100 (Renewable Energy 100) across all its global business sites. RE100 means producing products using 100% renewable energy.

LG Chem is also leading the establishment of a circular economy system, including recycling used batteries, and is actively engaging in responsible supply chain management by expanding supply chain due diligence through external organizations for key battery raw materials such as cobalt.

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