Dongwon Industries, Korea’s largest fisheries company, catches an average of 150,000 tons of tuna annually.
Of this, 80 percent is certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a symbol of sustainable fisheries.
The certification, which aims to protect the ocean’s food resources by preventing illegal fishing and overfishing, is notoriously difficult to obtain and takes years to prepare for, but Dongwon Industries became the first Korean company to earn MSC certification in 2019.
According to the company’s 2023 Sustainability Report, Dongwon is pursuing the expansion of MSC certification as one of its key environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies.
Currently, the company holds MSC certification for both purse seine nets (commercial fishing nets) and longline fishing for tuna. Dongwon is the first company in the world to be MSC certified for both fishing methods.
MSC is considered the most authoritative global non-profit organization in the field of sustainable seafood. Certification is based on an assessment of more than 30 factors, including compliance with legal fishing methods and maintaining adequate stocks.
Even after certification, companies are audited annually and must undergo a reassessment every five years.
As the need for sustainable fishing grows, MSC-certified seafood is increasingly in demand. Dongwon Industries acquired MSC certification early to capitalize on this demand.
About 15 percent of all seafood sold globally is MSC-certified.
Recently, famous companies such as Walmart, Costco, and McDonald’s have expanded the handling and sales of MSC-certified products, and this share is increasing every year.
Dongwon Industries is also a founding member of SeaBOS, an international organization that discusses sustainable management.
Dongwon is the only Korean company to participate in SeaBOS.
SeaBOS is running the Protein Challenge 2050 Campaign which aims to increase protein sources to meet the world’s growing population.
As part of this, Dongwon Industries broke into the aquaculture business. It is predicted that demand for protein will increase by 70 percent in 2050 from now and since there is a limit to artificially increasing natural fish catches, the company produces its own protein sources.
President Jang In-sung of the Dongwon Institute of Technology and Park Wan-gyu, vice president with the H&A Business Division at LG Electronics, pose after they signed an MOU at LG Science Park in Seoul on Sept. 9.
Project for Carbon Neutral 2050 Vision
Dongwon Group announced on Sept. 9 that it has signed a business agreement with LG Electronics to build high-efficiency HVAC solutions as part of its Carbon Neutral Program to reduce carbon emissions by more than 40 percent from the current level by 2030.
Dongwon Group plans to invest an additional 40 billion won by 2030 to reduce carbon emissions from its 60 or so major business sites by nearly half of the current level.
The project is being led by the Dongwon Institute of Technology, an organization within Dongwon Group dedicated to production innovation activities, building new technologies, and discovering new businesses. Engineers of the institute are working together with those of LG Electronics to carry out the project.
The Gyeongsan Center and the Yangsan Center, logistics bases of Dongwon Loex, were selected as the first targets.
It took more than six months to diagnose the energy efficiency of about 50 refrigeration and air-conditioning units and implement solutions.
The two places were selected as the first sites for the project because of Dongwon Loex’s cold chain logistics system.
Dongwon Group has been practicing carbon emission reduction mainly by innovating materials for food packaging and increasing the durability of its facilities.
In 2020, it celebrated its 50th anniversary and declared the year of carbon neutrality and established energy-saving plans at each of its plants.
Accordingly, its focus has been set on reducing carbon emissions in each of its core business elements such as fisheries, food, materials and logistics.
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