Environmental-friendly Production (South Korea)

In the Republic of Korea, the concept of environmental-friendly production became relevant after the development of the Korean Sustainable Development Goals (K-SDGs) in 2018, in which sustainability, adapted to the specific characteristics of the country, can be found as two of the main 17 goals: Sustainable Cities and Communities (11) and Responsible Consumption (12). However, South Korea had already started its green transition in 2009, with the publication of the National Strategy of Green Growth and the establishment of the (KEITI), whose mission is granting “sustainable development through technology development, industry nurturing and eco-friendly lifestyle promotion”. Through the introduction of a series of eco-label systems and the establishment of both technical and financial assistance to businesses who want to turn green and programs that encourage people to buy eco-friendly products, South Korea has been steadily increasing its environmentally friendly production and consumption.
Eco-labelling systems
In 2014, KEITI published the 1st edition of their Policy Handbook for Sustainable Consumption and Production of Korea, where both the guidelines of sustainable production and consumption and the description of each green certification (for consumers) were listed and explained into details. Said certifications are part of the Eco-label Certification System (ECS), which was created in 1992 but was eventually adapted to fit the international standards when the Republic of Korea entered the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) in 1997. Each certification aims to provide a clear and reliable information to customers on green products, listing the standards (both environmental and quality) on how each eco-labelled product saves resources and energies, as well as prevents pollution and minimises the harm to human health and the impact on the environment. The aforementioned Korean standards are provided by the Ministry of Environment and are enforced by KEITI - the ultimate authority appointing green certifications to products and businesses.
In 1992 the number of products presenting an eco-label was only 82, divided into four categories; in 2018, the number had increased to more than 14,600 distributed in six different categories. The exponential growth of eco-labelled products in South Korea has led the eco-friendly market to expand rapidly, causing a shift inside the Korean economy: in 2013 its worth was quoted around 34 trillion KRW (34 billion USD).
Together with ECS, KEITI is also in charge of issuing eco-labels under the Eco Performance Indication System (EPIS), quantifying environmental impact of the whole life cycle of a product, in terms not only of pollution but also of resources usage. A third set of eco-labels is the Eco-Sell Declaration System (ESDS), appointed by the Fair-Trade Commission (FTC), through which producers can declare the eco-friendliness of their products if they fit into the defined requirements and procedures, in order not to mislead consumers. The aim of all these eco-labels, therefore, is not only to push consumers to buy eco-friendly products, but also inducing producers to voluntarily shift towards a more sustainable production. Once awarded, the eco-labels will be displayed on products and businesses with an Eco Mark, which is usually green in colour (when not engraved directly on the product itself), with the same font and size (as seen in Figure 1). Any alteration will make the mark automatically invalid.
Through the Green Standard of Energy and Environmental Design (G-SEED) - known as Green Building Certification (GBC) until 2012 - certification system, the government evaluates both old and new buildings according to their eco-friendliness, including the usage of green and/or recycled constructing products , thus pushing constructors to buy more eco-labelled products. In 2014, the category that held the majority of the green product shares was about constructing materials.
Strategies and assistance for SMEs
Alongside the increased presence of green products on the market, the Republic of Korea has experienced a growth of eco-friendly enterprises and producers: indeed, the number of certified producers, as of 2018, is over 3,600 However, due to the notable amount of which wouldn’t be able to adopt more sustainable production strategies because of their limited human and economic resources and technical capacities, the government established with the Korea Development Bank (KDB) financial and technical assistance through various loans and tax deductions The Korean GPP has been listed by OECD as one of the best practices for Green Procurement.
Green Credit Card
In 2011 KEITI, in association with the Ministry of Environment, established a Green Credit Card, which incentives people to buy eco-friendly products by giving them an economic reward (such as a discount on public transportation or electric cars charges) calculated on the amount of KRW spent on Korea eco-labelled products and transformed into Eco-money. To do so, a system of Green points-of-sales (POS) has been implemented as well, thanks to which retailers can recognise eligible eco-labelled products (1,957 in 2016) and reward the Eco-money immediately through the barcode. As of 2018, the number of Green Credit Card issued was 18.48 million. Although the aim of this system is to increase the awareness on eco-friendly products, it also encourages negative patterns of increased consumption among the population, since there are no rewards for those who consume less.
The awareness on the importance of sustainability and a greener behaviour has been growing inside the country: in 2008, South Korea's government started targeting the general public with a series of events on climate change and eco-friendly resources and lifestyle, as well as implementing school programmes and majoring courses with the intent of fostering future green leaders and adopting sustainable habits. in a survey conducted by KEITI and distributed among the Korean population in 2014, 75.2% of people pay attention to the environmental performance of a product when purchasing it, and 76.1% of respondents have purchased at least once eco-friendly products. However, only approximately the 40.9% of the population has a clear understanding of how Korean eco-labels work, since more importance is given to the private benefits (economic reward) than to their social and environmental value.

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