SK General Chemical Receives Top Eco-Friendly Certification from the United Nations

Kim Jung-hoon, Executive Director of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Association (left in the photo), and Na Kyung-soo, President of SK General Chemicals, are taking a commemorative photo while presenting the international environmental certification GRP highest grade certification ceremony. Photo by SK Innovation

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] SK General Chemical announced on the 25th that it received the highest grade (AAA) in the GRP (Global Reporting Protocol for climate change response and plastic reduction), an international environmental certification recognized as a UN best practice.

GRP is a global climate response guideline for plastic reduction and sustainable marine environment creation, an international eco-certification system designated as a best practice by the United Nations. The UN Sustainable Development Goals Association evaluates it annually based on 30 major backgrounds and 39 global guidelines related to climate change response, plastic reduction, and marine ecosystem protection, announcing the results every May.

This certification system evaluates six industry groups, including infrastructure industries such as petroleum & chemical, energy, construction & plant, as well as fashion & apparel, distribution & logistics. SK General Chemical is the first company in the global petroleum & chemical industry to receive the AAA grade. This year, about 570 companies worldwide participated in the GRP certification, with only 21 companies receiving AAA or AA+, AA, AA- certifications.

The company developed pyrolysis oil manufacturing technology that decomposes waste plastic by heat and regenerates it into naphtha, a plastic raw material, establishing a virtuous cycle system. It also developed eco-friendly technologies and products such as single-material packaging that is easy to recycle and biodegradable plastic PBAT. The company explained, "Our technology-based 'green business' transformation, which we are fully committed to, was highly evaluated for its eco-friendliness."

With this certification, the company expects to be introduced as a model case in the environmental field in the ESG international disclosure standards of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the world's largest ESG international disclosure standards organization. Na Kyung-soo, President of SK General Chemical, said, "We have raised a major issue of green business transformation in the global petroleum & chemical industry," and added, "We will lead the establishment of a circular system throughout the waste plastic value chain."

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