Reusable container cleaning companies that did not receive green funds... now become 'eco-friendly investments'

The image shows reusable containers being washed. The photo is unrelated to the article content.

The government has added 10 new economic activities to the green investment criteria. Sectors that were previously unrecognized, such as reusable container washing and the utilization of leaked groundwater, will now be acknowledged as 'eco-friendly activities,' enabling related companies to receive green funding.

On the 23rd, the Ministry of Environment held a joint 'Economic Relations Ministers' Meeting and Industrial Competitiveness Enhancement Ministers' Meeting' with related ministries at the Government Seoul Office, unveiling the plan to supplement the '(Korean) Green Taxonomy for Expanding Green Investment' that includes these updates.

The Korean Green Taxonomy is the officially recognized eco-friendly investment standard set by the government. For domestic companies to smoothly receive eco-friendly-related investments or support, they must be included in the Green Taxonomy. It was directly established by the government in 2021 to present clear principles and standards for green economic activities and to prevent greenwashing.

As new environmental industries emerge and various environmental goals arise, the government is adding new activities to the Korean Green Taxonomy. This is to prevent situations where eco-friendly activities are excluded from the taxonomy and thus unable to receive green investments. The Ministry of Environment has newly included 10 economic activities across four major sectors: water, circular economy, biodiversity, and pollution management. Additionally, 25 new recognition criteria have been established to further specify the standards for certification as green activities.

For example, in the water industry, the use of leaked groundwater from underground facility construction for road washing and cooling fog has been incorporated as green economic activities. In the circular economy sector, services that collect, wash, and resupply reusable containers, as well as 'refill stations' that sell only the contents of reusable containers in small quantities, have been added. 'Depolymerization,' which chemically pyrolyzes waste plastics for re-fusion, has also been specified as an economic activity. Furthermore, activities such as utilizing contaminated remediation soil and measuring indoor air quality have been newly recognized.

The Ministry of Environment stated that diversification of the green finance market is expected. Most domestic green investments are concentrated solely in the greenhouse gas reduction sector. The issuance scale of Korean green bonds this year is 5.1622 trillion won, of which 3.0479 trillion won (59%) is allocated to greenhouse gas reduction. However, with the addition of new economic activities, the Ministry analyzes that investment promotion will occur in various fields such as water and circular economy. It also evaluated that as green standards become clearer, their usability in industry and finance will increase.

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