Yuhan-Kimberly, the nation's leading hygiene product manufacturer, received a presidential citation Tuesday for its contributions to resource recycling and greenhouse gas reduction.
The company was honored for its “Bi:Cycle” campaign, a recycling initiative carried out with 35 partners including companies, local governments and public institutions.
Yuhan-Kimberly supplies around 10,000 tons of Kleenex hand towels annually. Although dried hand towels are recyclable, most have long been discarded due to logistical and environmental hurdles.
Following eight years of research, the company in 2022 completed a full resource-circulation system that spans use, disposal, sorting, collection, transport, recycling and reuse. It is currently deepening supply chain collaboration to broaden the adoption of circular economy efforts.
As of October, the initiative had recycled 529 tons of hand towels, cutting emissions by 597 tons of CO2 equivalent -- equal to the annual carbon absorption of 65,608 30-year-old pine trees in central Korea, according to a report from the National Institute of Forest Science in 2019.
“It is meaningful that we were able to propose and expand a new resource circulation model through collaboration with various partners,” said Yuhan-Kimberly President and CEO Lee Jay-hoon. “We will help advance a carbon-neutral culture by accelerating the shift to a circular economy and sustainable products.”
Yuhan-Kimberly is committed to reducing emissions throughout its manufacturing cycle, aiming for more than 95 percent of its sales from sustainable products by 2030. These efforts include halving plastic use from 2019 levels, sourcing certified sustainable pulp, increasing recycled plastics and expanding hand towel recycling.
andreahaneu@heraldcorp.com
