Lotte Chemical to commit W49b to new ESG fund

Lotte Chemical said Friday it planned to commit 49 billion won ($41.7 million) worth of capital to a new fund dedicated to tackling environmental, social and governance issues.

The money will go into a new 50 billion-won ESG fund, the course of four years, according to a disclosure submitted to the Financial Supervisory Service Friday.

The fund will be managed by retail-to-chemical Lotte conglomerate’s early-stage investment arm Lotte Ventures, formerly known as Lotte Accelerator. Lotte Ventures will inject 1 billion won.

The fund will be used to support technologies to achieve carbon neutrality, in line with Lotte Chemical’s “Green Promise 2030” initiative, Lotte Chemical said in a statement.

The investment vehicle will lay a foundation for Lotte Chemical to secure technologies for hydrogen production, plastic recycling, energy efficiency, as well as carbon capture, utilization and storage, according to Lotte Chemical.

Lotte Chemical added that the funding plan gained approval at the first session of its internal ESG committee held Thursday.

The new fund will be registered as a technology venture investment association, under the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)