CU, Nationwide Rollout of Eco-Friendly Bags at All Stores

A CU store clerk is packing products in an eco-friendly bag. (Photo by BGF Retail)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] CU is the first convenience store chain in the industry to completely stop using plastic bags at all stores nationwide and replace them entirely with eco-friendly bags.

CU plans to start using eco-friendly bags at approximately 15,000 stores nationwide from the 8th of this month, following discussions with the franchisee council, after piloting the bags at about 150 directly operated stores nationwide in April this year. The company aims to complete 100% adoption by April next year.

The existing plastic bags used until now will be phased out gradually by March next year through returns and other processes by the end of January next year. To guide related policies and encourage customer participation, there will be a period during which plastic bags and eco-friendly bags are used concurrently.

Through this, CU will provide only eco-friendly bags (sold for 100 KRW) at all stores nationwide starting from Jeju Island in January next year and expanding to all stores from April.

CU’s eco-friendly bags are certified by the Ministry of Environment and specially made from 100% biodegradable resin. They decompose naturally under composting conditions when buried, so they can be disposed of as regular waste.

Along with eco-friendly bags, reusable shopping bags (500 KRW) will also be introduced. These reusable shopping bags are sold in a rental format with a refundable deposit after use, aiming to reduce unnecessary resource waste.

Last year, the Ministry of Environment announced the "Plan to Reduce Single-Use Products Together," which bans the use of plastic bags and similar items (including paid provision) in comprehensive retail businesses, including convenience stores, starting from 2022. According to the phased plan, the ban will extend to all industries by 2030, except in unavoidable cases.

Approximately 600 million plastic bags are consumed annually in convenience stores, equivalent to about 1,300 20-foot (6-meter) containers. Generally, plastic bags are known to take over 100 years to fully decompose underground.

If the eco-friendly bags introduced by CU spread throughout the convenience store industry, it will not only prevent soil pollution but also reduce about 9,000 tons of greenhouse gases (CO2) annually and have the effect of planting approximately 3 million pine trees.

In this trend, BGF Retail, which operates CU, has established a mid- to long-term management roadmap called ‘Be Green Friends’ to foster an eco-friendly consumption culture. The company is actively carrying out company-wide eco-friendly activities such as ▲using Revert eco-friendly containers for ready meals ▲operating eco-friendly convenience stores called Green Stores ▲environmental protection volunteer activities by employees and franchisees ▲and the Be Green Friends internal campaign.

As a result of these efforts, CU became the first in the industry this year to acquire the international standard environmental management system ISO 14001 certification. It also received the only comprehensive grade A in the convenience store industry in the '2020 ESG Evaluation and Rating Announcement of Listed Companies' published by the Korea Corporate Governance Service (KCGS).

Meanwhile, CU will also conduct a large-scale customer promotion to raise consumer interest in the eco-friendly bags introduced nationwide and encourage active participation in eco-friendly consumption.

By clicking ‘Join’ for the eco-friendly promise with CU on the CU membership app PocketCU or by posting a photo for environmental protection along with the CU eco-friendly sticker on CU’s official SNS, 500 people will be selected by lottery to receive Pleats Mama shopper bags and flap bags made from recycled PET bottles.

Additionally, to make it easy and convenient to practice environmental protection in daily life, CU plans to upload content videos titled ‘Can Convenience Stores Change the World?’ on its official YouTube channel CU Tube, introducing eco-friendly consumption activities possible at CU and actively promoting them.

Yang Jae-seok, Head of Management Planning at BGF Retail, said, “CU is proactively implementing eco-friendly policies across the entire convenience store infrastructure including products, logistics, and stores in line with the eco-friendly era. This eco-friendly bag also aims to minimize environmental burdens, and we will continue to implement various related policies in the future.”

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