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SKC sets example for global cooperation on environmental-friendliness by becoming the first Korean business to join AEPW
Date Submitted 2019-09-06

l SKC leads the effort to reduce plastic waste, participating in joint projects with BASF, Dow Chemical, P&G, etc.

l SKC participates in joint effort with other affiliates of SK Group to use lightweight plastic materials and develop technologies that promote the reuse and recycling of used plastic materials.


SKC (President Lee Wan-jae) has become the first Korean business to join the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), in which major global businesses such as BASF, Dow Chemical, P&G, PepsiCo, etc. are taking part. On July 8 (local time), the AEPW's Board of Directors approved SKC’s adhesion at a session held in New York, making SKC the fourth Asian business to join the Alliance.


Global businesses involved in the production, use, sale, processing, collection, and recycling of plastic materials are taking part in the AEPW, which was launched in January this year. The organization aims to develop plastic waste management infrastructure and recycling techniques, encourage the participation of governments, businesses and local communities, and reduce the amount of plastic waste discharged into the sea.


As for SKC, it initiated the commercialization of environmentally-friendly, biodegradable films, the first of its kind ever attempted, in 2009. Since then, the Company has led other enterprises in the development of environmentally-friendly materials, including the development and supply of film materials that can enhance the performance of photovoltaic power generation panels. Now, SKC is carrying out relevant projects jointly with global businesses such as BASF, P&G, LyondellBasell, etc. in a bid to enhance its social value.


Simultaneously, SKC is strengthening its cooperation with affiliated businesses in step with the SK Group’s three-pronged strategy for addressing the issue of plastic waste issue. First, it is striving to increase materials using fewer plastic materials. Leading examples include SKC’s PCT film, which it commercialized jointly with SK Chemical for the first time in the world, and the High Crystalline Polypropylene Plastic (HCPP) developed by SK Global Chemical. The use of these two products, largely in vehicle cables and vehicle interiors/exteriors respectively, has reduced both the amount of plastic materials used and the weight of the vehicles concerned.


The Company is also striving to enhance recycling rates through the development of simplified collection and recycling technologies, of which the Eco-Label developed by SKC Inc., a local corporation of SKC in the United States, is a good example. The label does not have to be detached from a bottle during the recycling process, but is rather recycled together with the bottle.


Finally, the Company is striving to recycle plastic materials as raw materials for goods or energy resources. It is testing a technology for transforming waste polyurethane into raw materials for new polyurethane goods. Until now, all used polyurethane has been either incinerated or buried underground. The amount of scrapped mattresses amounts to some 23,000 tons per year, and if stacked one upon another would form a pile equivalent to about 29 times the height of Mt. Everest (i.e. 29 x 8,848 meters). Needless to say, environmental pollution could be reduced considerably if they were all converted into raw materials for polyurethane.


Commenting on the matter, VP Won Gi-don, who is in charge of the overall business operation, said, “We will strive to create new social value by solving plastic-related problems through our participation in the AEPW, while developing the relevant technologies and businesses by strengthening global cooperation. We intend to maximize synergies by linking the SK Group’s core capabilities with the AEPW’s insight.”



[SKC joined the AEPW at a session of the latter’s Board of Directors held in New York on July 8, thus making SKC the first Korean business to join the organization. SKC’s VP Won Gi-don, (right) is in charge of overall business operations, while Yang Ho-jin (left) is the head of the Chemical Business Development Division, and Mr. David Taylor (middle) is the chairman of the AEPW as well as the chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble. ]