▲ From L: Jang Ji-in, chair of the Korea Committee of the Carbon Disclosure Project; Ahn Sang-woo, head of finance at Shinsegae; and Jose Ordonez, APAC regional head of CDP Global, pose for a photo at the 2025 CDP Awards, where Shinsegae received a special award for carbon management. Photo provided by Shinsegae. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

SEOUL, March 11 (Yonhap) -- Shinsegae Department Store said Wednesday it has received a special award for carbon management from the Carbon Disclosure Project, a global environmental disclosure organization.

 

The award recognizes the company’s efforts in responding to climate change and advancing environmental management on an international level.

 

Despite participating in the CDP assessment for the first time last year, Shinsegae earned an "A-" leadership grade in its inaugural disclosure, placing it among the top global performers.

 

The company said the recognition is particularly meaningful as it reflects comprehensive achievements that go beyond greenhouse gas reduction to include biodiversity conservation, a key focus in global environmental management.

 

▲ A photo of Shinsegae Department Store's media wall, provided by Seoul city. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

Founded in Britain in 2000, the Carbon Disclosure Project is a global nonprofit organization known as one of the world’s most authoritative ESG evaluation bodies. It requests and assesses environmental disclosures from major cities and publicly listed companies worldwide on issues such as climate change, water resources and plastics.

 

Shinsegae Department Store said it has been investing in technologies to reduce carbon emissions at its business sites and expanding carbon-neutral infrastructure across all of its stores.

 

The company currently operates solar power generation facilities and geothermal heating and cooling systems at its sites. It has also introduced wastewater recycling systems to maximize resource efficiency.

 

▲ The logo of Shinsegae Inc. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

Shinsegae utilizes an artificial intelligence-based energy management system to optimize energy use in real time and has been steadily replacing facilities with high-efficiency, environmentally friendly equipment to systematically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

 

The retailer also launched a project to create habitats for seagrass, a protected marine species, along the coast of Busan to restore marine ecosystems and expand carbon sinks, becoming the first in the retail industry to carry out such an initiative.

 

Seagrass meadows, known as blue carbon sinks, absorb and store carbon dioxide while enhancing biodiversity in marine ecosystems. Shinsegae said its biodiversity conservation efforts were recognized as a differentiated environmental management practice in the evaluation.

 

Following the award, the company plans to further refine its carbon neutrality roadmap and continue advancing biodiversity conservation activities in connection with its business strategy.

 

A Shinsegae Department Store official said winning the special carbon management award while achieving a leadership-grade rating in its first CDP evaluation demonstrates that the company’s environmental management system meets global standards.

 

“We will continue striving to deliver sustainable value through multifaceted environmental management efforts, including responses to climate change and ecosystem conservation,” the official said.

 

jwc@yna.co.kr

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