SK Materials (CEO Lee Kyu-won), a semiconductor and display materials specialist, has become the first in the industrial gas industry to receive carbon footprint certification, earning recognition as a leading ESG company.

SK Materials announced on the 20th that it was the first in the industrial gas industry to simultaneously obtain carbon footprint ‘measurement’ and ‘reduction’ certification for its tungsten hexafluoride (WF6).

Carbon Footprint Certification is a certification granted to products that have calculated the carbon generated throughout the entire process from production to disposal according to carbon footprint calculation standards, and is managed by the Carbon Trust, a British non-profit organization.

An authoritative global certification that evaluates the carbon impact of a product throughout its life cycle, with three levels of evaluation: 'measurement', 'reduction', and 'carbon neutrality'.

SK Materials simultaneously obtained 'measurement' certification, which is awarded when calculating carbon emissions generated throughout the entire product life cycle in accordance with carbon footprint calculation standards, and 'reduction' certification, which is awarded when reducing carbon emissions.Achieved the results. In fact, SK Materials' tungsten hexafluoride was recognized for reducing carbon emissions by approximately 5% in 2021 compared to 2020.

Through this, tungsten hexafluoride products produced by SK Materials in the future will be introduced to the world with a carbon footprint ‘measurement’ and ‘reduction’ certification mark.

Furthermore, SK Materials plans to effectively address the climate crisis by establishing core eco-friendly tasks and mid- to long-term goals across the entire process from product development to production and disposal, including reducing greenhouse gases, using renewable energy, reducing wastewater and waste, and expanding recycling. This will also accelerate ESG management.

To put ESG management into practice, the company became the first in the materials industry to join RE100 in 2020. Furthermore, the company declared that it would achieve Net Zero by 2030, 20 years earlier than the national target of 2050, and announced a roadmap to achieve this.

In addition, we plan to continue expanding our investments to build eco-friendly workplaces that exceed social demands, such as obtaining ZWTL Gold status by 2023 and achieving 100% wastewater recycling by 2030.

The policy is to transparently disclose the progress and achievements of each of these tasks to stakeholders annually through internal and external verification and evaluation.

SK Materials CEO Lee Kyu-won said, “This carbon footprint certification is recognition of the firm will, efforts, and sincerity of SK Materials and all of its members to move forward as a sustainable, eco-friendly company.” He added, “We will continue to faithfully carry out various tasks to efficiently respond to the environmental and climate crisis, and strive to be more recognized as a company that leads ESG to both the public and stakeholders.”

Meanwhile, tungsten hexafluoride produced by SK Materials is used for metal bonding in the semiconductor wiring formation process. It is an essential deposition gas and accounts for approximately 35% of the global market.