LG Electronics to transition to 100% renewable by 2050

LG Electronics said Sunday that it will shift to renewable energy for 100 percent of its needs by 2050, doubling down on its previous pledge to go carbon neutral by 2030.

According to the South Korean tech giant, the transition will begin at its North American headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey, which will switch entirely to electricity generated by renewables by the end of this year. All its overseas production bases will follow suit by 2025.

This will allow LG Electronics to source 50 percent of its electricity from renewables at home and abroad.

LG Electronics will raise the figure to 60 percent by 2030 and 90 percent by 2040 by using clean electricity at its domestic business sites.

“To transition 100 percent to renewable energy, LG Electronics will generate and use electricity using highly efficient solar panels, purchase renewable energy certificates and purchase electricity directly from power generators,” a company official said. The firm will also consider paying extra for clean electricity from the Korea Electricity Power Corp.

LG Electronics’ production base in Noida, India, is equipped with a 3.2-megawatt solar power generation facility that generates all its electricity. The firm is in the process of registering the facility as a project of the United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism. Once listed, the facility would receive carbon emission rights in exchange for a reduction in consumption equivalent to 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)