CU to Build Electric-Powered 'Eco-Friendly, High-Efficiency Ger' in Mongolia

At the business agreement ceremony held at the UNICEF Korea Committee in Mapo-gu, Seoul, (from left) Geonjun Lee, President of BGF Retail, Adilbish PG, Chairman of Ganho Yak, Alex Highcans, Director of the UNICEF Mongolia Office, and Gicheol Lee, Secretary General of the UNICEF Korea Committee, are posing for a commemorative photo.

Donated $500,000 to UNICEF Korea Committee over 3 Years, Supporting Eco-Friendly and High-Efficiency Ger Installation Project
Using Electricity Instead of Thermal Power, Sustainable Gers Reduce Harmful Substances and Air Pollution Concerns
Donated About 2 Billion Won Over 10 Years... Used for Child-Friendly Library Renovations and Education Support for Children in Developing Countries

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] BGF Retail announced on the 27th that it has signed a "Mongolia Eco-Friendly and High-Efficiency Ger (Ger) Project Support Business Agreement" with the UNICEF Korea Committee to join forces in an environmental protection project for the healthy future of Mongolian children.

The signing ceremony was held at the UNICEF Korea Committee headquarters in Mapo-gu, Seoul, attended by BGF Retail CEO Lee Geon-jun and UNICEF Korea Committee Secretary-General Lee Ki-cheol. BGF Retail's Mongolian partner, Gankhuyag Adilbish, Chairman of Premium Group, Alex Heikens, UNICEF Mongolia Representative, and Mongolian government officials gathered via video conference.

According to this business agreement, BGF Retail will donate $500,000 (approximately 555 million KRW) over three years through the UNICEF Korea Committee to support the installation of eco-friendly and high-efficiency gers for at least 500 households and 10 kindergartens.

In Mongolia, half (45%) of the total population is concentrated in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. Among them, about 870,000 people, accounting for 58%, live in gers, which are traditional Mongolian portable tents. Most gers use coal and wood as fuel, exposing pregnant women and children to large amounts of harmful substances generated during the combustion of low-quality fuels.

In contrast, eco-friendly and high-efficiency gers use electric heating and insulation systems, which have less impact on air pollution and reduce heat loss by about 25% compared to regular gers, effectively lowering energy consumption. They also have a lower risk of fire. BGF Retail and the UNICEF Korea Committee plan to continuously support improvements in indoor air quality and energy efficiency of gers to enhance children's living environments.

BGF Retail emphasized, "The donation delivered through this agreement is especially meaningful because it was directly collected by CU franchisees and customers via the Love Coin Donation Boxes placed nationwide in CU stores." BGF Retail also donated an additional 100 million KRW as the franchisor to share this intention.

Since 2011, BGF Retail has played a role as a sharing platform where anyone can easily practice donations in daily life through the Love Coin Collection Campaign. Over the past 10 years, donations collected through BGF Retail and nationwide CU stores have reached about 2 billion KRW. The Love Coin donations are used annually through the UNICEF Korea Committee for various child welfare projects, including ▲Global Child-Friendly Library Environment Improvement Projects ▲Education Support for Children in Developing Countries.

Lee Geon-jun, CEO of BGF Retail, said, "This business agreement was made to express our gratitude to Mongolian customers who have given strong support for CU to proudly become number one in the Mongolian convenience store market." He added, "BGF Retail will continue to realize global ESG management with responsibility as a global franchiser, contributing to solving environmental, social, and child-related issues worldwide."

Meanwhile, BGF Retail established ties with Mongolia by entering the local convenience store market in 2018 in partnership with Mongolia Premium Group. Currently, over 110 CU stores operate in Mongolia.

Indoor view of a ger equipped with eco-friendly and high-efficiency electric systems (Photo by UNICEF Mongolia Office).

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