[HERALD INTERVIEW] ‘Business engagement key to conservation’

It is not just up to individuals to conserve nature, industries have an important role to play too, says the Korean office of global conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature.

In an interview with The Korea Herald, WWF-Korea’s CEO Simon Yoon said, “About 1.2 billion of the 7 billion world population are major consumers who pollute the environment. Meanwhile, about 500 major global conglomerates make up 70 percent of the total priority commodity market. Which party do you think would be more effective and able to make changes faster? The 1.2 billion people or the 500 companies?”

Both parties are crucial, however, motivating the 500 companies to step up would yield significantly faster results, he said.

WWF, established in 1961, is one of the world’s largest independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries.

WWF-Korea was established in March 2014. Yoon has been its CEO since August last year. The 56-year-old was a former Yahoo Korea COO and a former Overture Korea CEO.

“WWF-Korea is a performance-driven and execution-focused organization. It is hard to succeed in the nature conservation campaign and bring about fruitful results without efficient operations through meticulous strategies,” he said.

While the global organization mainly focuses on six areas -- oceans, water, forests, wildlife, food, and climate and energy -- the Korean office pays particular attention to oceans, climate and energy, he said. 

Yoon has put efforts into raising awareness about the importance of lifestyle changes to curb climate change and conserve nature.

“If Koreans keep up their current lifestyles, we will need 2.5 earths to sustain it. Globally, we need 1.6 earths to regenerate the natural resources that we use now. It’s crucial to think about how we can change lifestyles and sustain our one and only earth,” Yoon said.

To encourage the public to pursue an environmentally friendly way of life, the CEO first highlighted the need to persuade various industries to participate in the organization’s project called “Market Transformation Initiative.”

“With science-based data that WWF has accumulated, I work to persuade priority commodities to pursue responsible management and to adopt an independent and credible certification system,” he added.

Under this project, certification is given by independent non-profit organizations to businesses that follow sustainable and strict environment-friendly production rules. These include the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for the timber/paper industry, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for seafood and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).

“Among the world’s overall supply, 55 percent of the recycled paper industry acquired certification and 53 percent of the white fish market gained certification too, making the industry more sustainable and enabling consumers to make smarter choices. The rate of such certification in Korea, however, is less than 5 percent in the market,” the CEO noted.

Through various channels, Yoon has also been trying to spread awareness on the importance of making smart choices that lead to better lifestyles.

Yoon has been pushing to launch “Living Planet Platform,” a digital platform that integrates massive research data and studies collected across all of WWF’s international offices for public use. So far, there has been no such platform that allows the public to view comprehensive data by the WWF, including its visual contents.

“We are attempting to provide a ‘content journey’ for the public to see and think about how they can make changes. Rather than just saying ‘don’t waste resources’ through demonstrations, I believe it is more effective to have them realize the reality through contents.”

WWF-Korea also released a full translated text of the WWF’s biannual Living Planet Report for the first time in Asia in 2014.

To promote collective efforts in conservation, various events are also being held in Korea.

The Seoul office will host the WWF CEO and Board Conference from March 6-8 to share its knowledge and experiences of seeking innovative sustainability strategies. Thirty-eight CEOs are planning to visit this event.

Under the theme of “Innovation, Sustainable Cities and Green Growth,” the annual forum will offer a number of sharing sessions, including one by the Seoul-based Global Green Growth Institute Director-General Yvo de Boer.

WWF’s signature lights-off event, “Earth Hour,” which is done annually, will also be held on March 19. Last year, about 1 billion people across 7,000 cities in 172 countries participated in the event which aims to raise awareness about saving energy, the office added.

“Panda Talks,” an environmental version of TED, which is a non-profit organization that aims to promote ideas through talks, is also slated to be hosted by WWF Korea in September in Seoul.

Besides public awareness, Yoon is also seeking to expand fundraising in Seoul.

“We have about active 8,000 donors supporting our office, but we still have a long way to go. We are planning to encourage the noblesse oblige in various fields,” he said.

All in all, his aim is simple -- to help society seek the “One-Planet Lifestyle.”

“As the world’s seventh largest carbon emitter, Korea needs to collectively show responsibility for nature. Just as the WWF’s slogan this year says, ‘Together, possible.’”

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)