SK Lubricants to Share Eco-Friendly Technology and ESG Practices with Lubricant Industry

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Yoon-joo] The lubricants industry has joined the movement toward eco-friendliness. The industry has agreed to produce containers using a single plastic material, thereby increasing the proportion of plastic recycling and contributing to the environment.

SK Innovation announced on the 7th that its lubricants business subsidiary, SK Lubricants, has decided to jointly enhance ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) values with the industry by expanding the use of "eco-friendly containers" in the lubricants sector.

Last year, SK Lubricants proposed the formation of a consultative body to establish a waste plastic recycling ecosystem to the Korea Lubricants Industry Association. Since July of last year, the association has held monthly regular meetings and set "voluntary social value creation by the lubricants industry" as a common goal.

No Jong-seop, Executive Vice President of the Korea Lubricants Industry Association, said, "Member companies and related industries will do their best to create eco-friendly social value for lubricants and lubricant containers."

SK Lubricants, together with SK Innovation’s chemical research institute and its chemical affiliate SK Global Chemical, successfully developed eco-friendly containers made from recycled waste plastics. These eco-friendly containers were used for all products in the 'ZIC ZERO' and 'ZIC World Series' lines launched in September this year.

The aluminum caps previously attached inside container lids and the labels attached to container surfaces were all unified into the same plastic material (polyethylene). By standardizing the material, it becomes easier to separate and dispose of used lubricant containers. Collected containers, being made of a single material, are free of contaminants and easy to recycle. As a result, the proportion of recycled plastic used in producing eco-friendly containers can be increased. Previously, containers were made of polyethylene, caps of aluminum, and labels of coated paper, making recycling difficult.

SK Lubricants shared this technology with consultative body member companies selling lubricants domestically, including ▲GS Caltex ▲S-Oil Total ▲Hyundai Oilbank ▲Korea Shell Petroleum ▲Michang Petroleum Industry ▲Geukdong Wire Industry ▲Mobil Korea ▲Donga Specialty Chemicals ▲BP Korea ▲Hanyu Energy ▲Korea Valvoline, agreeing to maximize social value creation together.

The consultative body member companies selected key initiatives for 2021, including commercialization of recycled containers, changing materials for caps and labels, and developing eco-friendly pigments, and agreed to review implementation plans for each member company. Despite the challenging business environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they committed to envisioning a better future together.

SK Lubricants plans to continue research with SK Innovation and SK Global Chemical to increase the proportion of recycled plastic blend, currently at about 20%. Starting this month, they are pilot-producing and selling containers made with 30% recycled plastic.

Cha Gyu-tak, President of SK Lubricants, emphasized, "We will strive to maximize eco-friendly social value in all areas of our business and spread this throughout the industry so that everyone can work together to open a sustainable eco-friendly future."

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