Sustainability is a top priority for LG Chem

Researchers at LG Chem’s research center test the physical properties of newly developed biodegradable materials. of newly developed biodegradable materials. [LG CHEM]

LG Chem has made sustainability a top management agenda and its key to competitiveness, while working to improve its business structure.

To proactively establish global ESG leadership, LG Chem announced in February 2022 that it aims to achieve Net-Zero by 2050, advancing its previously stated carbon reduction goal by 20 years.

In order to meet the new target, they would have to offset a total of 20 million tons of carbon emissions yearly by 2050.

Twenty million tons of carbon emissions is around the same amount of carbon emitted by 8.3 million combustion engine vehicles in a year, which could only be offset by planting about 140 million pine trees.

To accomplish this goal, LG has announced its plan to complete a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on its products, evaluating their environmental impact from the raw material phase through its manufacturing, both domestically and internationally, by 2023.

LG Chem also plans to power its global production sites 100 percent with renewable energy, including solar and wind energy, while exerting various efforts to satisfy the demand of renewable energy.

It was awarded an annual 107 gigawatt hours of renewable energy through Green Premium in 2022. Major facilities, including the cathode material plant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, which produces core materials for electric vehicle batteries, will source their electricity from this renewable energy.

Also the Leyou New Energy Materials plant in Wuxi of Jiangsu Province, China, has been operating solely on renewable energy since 2021, and it is expected to reduce approximately 100,000 tons of carbon emissions compared to conventional electricity usage.

Following the cathode material plant in Wuxi, LG Chem transitioned its precursor plant in Zhejiang Province to renewable energy through a power purchase agreement with China.

This shift allowed LG Chem to achieve 100 percent renewable energy across the entire battery material value chain in China, with a focus on the precursor and cathode material, as of June 2021.

The chemical company is also spearheading the development of ecofriendly post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic and biodegradable plastic to address the issues of pollution and micro plastics.

In July 2019, it succeeded in the commercial production of eco-friendly white PCR plastic, the first in the world. Until then, the industry had grappled with challenges such as reduced durability and fading colors of existing PCR products as they are recycled. Additionally, it could only be made in black and gray.

LG Chem improved it by finding a way to keep the strength of the recycled products similar to that of virgin plastic and developing technology for white PCR plastic production.

The company has also developed a biodegradable material with 100 percent biodegradable content derived from corn-based glucose and waste glycerol. This single material is the world’s only that can match the physical properties and transparency of synthetic resins like polypropylene.

Unlike traditional biodegradable materials, which need to be blended with other plastics or additives, LG Chem’s material achieves the desired quality and properties on its own.

Its flexibility, a key attribute, is an improvement of over 20 times compared to existing biodegradable products. Even after processing, it maintains its transparency, making it a significant advancement in the ecofriendly packaging industry, where traditional biodegradable resins often resulted in opaque packaging due to mixed materials.

LG Chem is committed to enhancing its leadership in sustainability. By formulating strategies for ESG management across all sectors, it is actively pursuing the goal of offering innovative solutions for both the environment and society.

BY KIM SU-HYEON [kim.suhyeon4@joongang.co.kr]