Climate change is a global issue. Earth’s temperature rise is altering the ecosystems, which in turn affects human life. To preserve “biodiversity,” LG Energy Solution is producing batteries in sustainable ways. It attempts to go further and therefore is committed to reducing use of natural resources in manufacturing products and to returning used resources back to nature.
What are biodiversity and natural capital?
Biodiversity is the concept stated in the Article 2 of the Convention on Biological Diversity signed by 158 government leaders at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in 1992. It means the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.
In particular, biodiversity is not limited to the diversity of species. It is a comprehensive concept that includes the diversity of ecosystems where living organisms inhabit as well as the diversity of genes.
First, species diversity is about various species of plants, animals, and microorganisms. Generally, it means the variability in a particular area or taxonomic diversity.
The one that addresses the ecosystems of various areas such as deserts, forestlands, marshlands, mountains, lakes, rivers, and farmlands is ecosystem diversity. It means diversity about interactions of living and nonliving things in one ecosystem.
Lastly, genetic diversity is the variation of genes within a species. It could deal with multiple groups among the same species or the variation of genes among individuals of one group.
To protect the planet’s ecosystems, natural capital should be preserved along with biodiversity. Natural capital is defined as the world’s stock of living and nonliving things that are the base of goods and services supporting human lives.* They include fishery resources, water resources, mineral resources, mudflat sediments, marine energy, and marine landscape. This is a concept also used when taking an economic perspective on how a society or business relies on natural capital such as forests, rivers, and soils to be able to function. For a business, in particular, a loss of natural capital could be a risk that can detriment its business activities.
*Source: Korea National Park Service, 2015
LG Energy Solution’s activities to preserve biodiversity
LG Energy Solution is committed to “biodiversity management,” one of its ESG strategic projects, and is building a biodiversity management system. One of the projects is to protect endangered species in Cheongju.
In October 2022, LG Energy Solution signed MOUs with the Geumgang Basin Environmental Office and the Cheongju City government. Under the agreement, the battery maker has helped activities for releasing giant water bugs, one of the endangered species in the area, back into the wild and for improving their habitat. In July of 2022 and 2023, it released about 130 of them into the marshland near the Ochang Energy Plant.
Giant water bugs are classified as a second-grade endangered wildlife species. They were easy to find in nature, but the recent urbanization and the following farmland improvement project caused destruction of their habitats and water pollution, prompting a rapid decline in the number of insects. Against this backdrop, LG Energy Solution is not just supporting the efforts to breed giant water bugs at preservation facilities outside of their habitats but also takes a comprehensive consideration in selecting new living places for the bugs born from the breeding, to make sure the places are free of light pollution, have good environmental conditions such as water supply, and are out of human touch. Also, it monitors hibernation of the released insects to learn whether they have adapted to the new environment and uses the findings for the selection of the next habitat.
LG Energy Solution will continue finding out biodiversity issues around our plants and local communities. And we will cooperate with local environmental offices, local governments, preservation facilities outside of their habitats, and local residents.
LG Energy Solution will stay committed to coexistence with local communities as well as the preservation of ecosystems for the planet.