South Korea’s leading tobacco maker Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation (KT&G) plans to build a forest as part of its efforts to tackle the global climate crisis.
The inaugural ceremony for the project witnessed the presence of officials from KT&G, social enterprise Tree Planet, and Eastern Province Forest Service. The new project is aimed at contributing to carbon neutrality with the plantation of trees to absorb carbon dioxide and fine dust.
After the forest is built, the plan is likely to see collaboration among the three parties to maintain the green area and call attention to the severity of the climate crisis.
Work on the project is likely to start sometime this month, near Seonjaryeong, a mountain in Pyeongchang country in Gangwon Province. Around 1,000 spreading yew trees are likely to be planted across 1.5 hectares of land.
The company said that spreading yew trees were chosen as they can withstand strong wind which is very common in the area known as Daegwallyeong.
KT&G employees got involved in safeguarding the trees for the forest by taking part in plogging, which is a combination of jogging and picking up litter. The project also got funding from donations from its employees.
An official at KT&G mentioned that by doing this they are expanding the scope of their eco-friendly efforts through various environmental campaigns and ocean cleaning activities. The official further added that they want to continue taking steps to tackle the climate crisis, protect the environment, and participate in various activities that address environmental issues.
The forest project is the most recent in a series of environmental projects the company has launched in the past few years, both on corporate and staff levels.
Previously, around USD 12 million (150 million won) was secured by KT&G staff via the Sangsang Fund. It was donated to Green Asia Network, a non-governmental organization to tackle fine dust and counter desertification in Mongolia.
The company has also built around 400 smoking facilities throughout the country since 2011 to stop people from littering cigarette butts.
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