Korea's first successful use of telecommunication technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions….It obtains environment-friendly certification
For the first time in the domestic telecommunications sector, the first case of securing carbon emission rights through greenhouse gas reduction has been created.
Carbon emission rights are the right to emit greenhouse gases that are allocated when companies are officially certified for greenhouse gas reduction through technology development and power operation changes.
SK Telecom announced on March 9 that it succeeded in reducing electricity usage through integration and upgrade of LTE network equipment with 3G and received greenhouse gas reduction certification for the first time in South Korea from the Ministry of Environment.
Until now, it has been common to reduce electricity through changes in energy sources, such as using LEDs instead of fluorescent lights or using solar and renewable energy.
But this is the first time that the greenhouse gas reduction method using telecommunication technology has been certified by the Ministry of Environment.
SKT's method of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is to integrate and upgrade 3G and LTE network equipment, which reduces power usage by about 53% compared to the previous one.
SKT started applying this technology in 2019 and has completed applying it to all 78 of its base stations and relay stations in South Korea, including Seoul, by 2020.
Through this, 1,117 tons of carbon credits were recognized by the Ministry of Environment at the end of last year due to greenhouse gas reduction, and about 10,000 tons of carbon credits are expected to be recognized every year.
The 10,000 tons of carbon credits correspond to the amount of electricity that about 7,600 households in Seoul can use for a year (based on the 2019 Seoul power usage statistics).
There are a total of nine new greenhouse gas reduction methods registered with the Ministry of Environment in 2020, and it is not easy to develop and certify new energy reduction methods so that none of them are registered in 2019.
Among telecommunication companies, there have been cases of energy savings such as reducing the electricity use of existing IDC servers or replacing corporate vehicles with electric vehicles, but this is the first time in the field of telecommunication technology and equipment.
"SK Telecom will contribute more to energy reduction and environmental protection based on ICT technology and lead ESG management in the future," said Lee Joon-ho, head of SKT’s ESG business.
