SK General Chemical Leads Plastic Problem Solving with Packaging Industry

Korean Society of Packaging and 'Korea Eco-friendly Packaging Forum' Held
SK General Chemical Leads ESG Management

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SK Geo Centric, the Korean Packaging Society, and other public, private, and academic sectors gathered to lead the establishment of ESG in the packaging industry by building a circular economy through the reduction of packaging waste.

SK Geo Centric announced on the 19th that it held the "Korea Eco-friendly Packaging Forum" hosted by the Korean Packaging Society at the Walkerhill Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul.

SK Geo Centric's previously hosted "Plastic Packaging Material Eco-friendly Forum" has expanded this year into a nationwide forum with significantly increased participation from government agencies, academia, and companies. This was due to a consensus on the need to solve the plastic waste problem that emerged from the increased demand for parcel delivery caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering the COVID-19 situation, the forum minimized offline attendance and was conducted via real-time online live streaming.

The forum, held under the theme "Building a Circular Economy through Packaging Waste Reduction," discussed on the first day ▲domestic and international circular economy policies and directions ▲packaging use reduction and packaging redesign (food industry) ▲packaging recycling (plastic manufacturers). On the second day, it proceeded in six sessions according to presentation topics: ▲packaging reuse (distribution/logistics industry) ▲domestic and international eco-friendly packaging certification and regulations ▲food packaging safety management.

Companies such as CJ CheilJedang, Maeil Dairies, and Pulmuone discussed eco-friendly activities in the domestic food/bakery/dairy industries and collaboration plans to reduce packaging waste during the "Packaging Use Reduction and Packaging Redesign" session held on the morning of the first day.

In the "Packaging Recycling" session hosted by SK Geo Centric, they shared cases such as the "SK Zic Zero" recycled container made entirely of recycled plastic from product containers to caps and attached stickers, pyrolysis oil technology that extracts petrochemical raw materials from plastic waste to produce fine chemicals and lubricants, and the development of single-material packaging (One Material) to facilitate recycling.

Since the "Eco-friendly Packaging Forum" held last year, SK Geo Centric has accelerated research and development of eco-friendly packaging materials by collaborating not only with first-tier customers but also with second- and third-tier customers to develop "Down Gauging" materials that reduce the thickness and weight of packaging films to decrease plastic usage, and eco-friendly PE materials that are easier to recycle instead of conventional PVC. SK Geo Centric plans to continue collaborating with more companies and institutions to develop eco-friendly packaging for building a circular economy.

Na Kyung-soo, CEO of SK Geo Centric, said, "Despite COVID-19, many people showed willingness to participate both online and offline, which made us realize that social responsibility in solving the plastic waste problem has increased." He added, "SK Geo Centric will take the lead in creating a plastic recycling ecosystem to jointly solve plastic waste environmental issues from an ESG management perspective in collaboration with the government, companies, and academia, and contribute to building a circular economy."

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