SK Energy Launches Korea's First Carbon Neutral Petroleum Product

Launch of 'Carbon Neutral Petroleum Products' Offset by Carbon Credits
Expansion Planned Across All Value Chains Including Gasoline Products Sold at SK Gas Stations

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoonju Hwang] SK Energy announced that it will launch the country’s first ‘Carbon Neutral Petroleum Products’ to realistically advance the ‘Net Zero’ initiative, which SK Group is strongly implementing as part of its ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management.

SK Energy explained that ‘Carbon Neutral Petroleum Products’ not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions during the product manufacturing process but also expand the scope of reduction to include greenhouse gases generated during consumption. This reflects SK Innovation’s commitment to achieving the international carbon neutrality goal of ‘Net Zero’ ahead of the 2050 target.

At the group-wide management meeting held last June, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won emphasized early promotion of Net Zero at the group level, stating, "Considering that carbon prices will rise faster than expected, Net Zero is not a matter of whether to do it or not, but a matter of competitiveness. Moving faster than others will lead to winning in competition."

The carbon neutral petroleum products launched by SK Energy offset the amount of greenhouse gases generated throughout all processes including production, transportation, and consumption by calculating the total emissions and neutralizing them with an equivalent amount of carbon credits issued from projects such as afforestation and greenhouse gas absorption and reduction initiatives.

To this end, SK Energy has been collaborating with the global financial institution Macquarie Group on voluntary carbon credit acquisition, greenhouse gas emission calculation, and offsetting. At the end of July, SK Energy signed a procurement contract for high-quality carbon credits issued from afforestation and forest degradation prevention projects. The secured carbon credits will be applied to SK Energy’s carbon neutral marine fuel and aviation fuel products sold to corporate customers in the industrial sector starting from the second half of this year.

Additionally, SK Energy plans to sell carbon neutral gasoline products at its gas stations within this year (tentatively called the Green Drive Campaign). This aims to encourage SK gas station customers to participate in greenhouse gas reduction activities and promote responsible consumption, while advancing Net Zero across the entire value chain of products sold by SK Energy.

SK Energy President Cho Kyung-mok stated, "The launch of carbon neutral petroleum products is significant because it creates a structure where not only SK Energy but also consumers using petroleum products can participate in preventing global warming and pursuing carbon neutrality." He added, "SK Energy will take a leading role in reducing greenhouse gases to achieve SK Group’s early Net Zero goals, actively responding to the climate crisis."

Meanwhile, SK Innovation announced its eco-friendly strategy called ‘Carbon to Green’ at its Story Day event last July. The company declared three core strategies: strengthening the green portfolio, transitioning to eco-friendly business models such as plastic recycling, and achieving Net Zero early.

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