SK Group has established an in-house body dedicated to reviewing and verifying its subsidiaries’ programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the conglomerate said Sunday.

The SK carbon certification center, installed under the auspices of the group’s top decision-making body, the Supex Council, will work to ensure the implementation of the “SK Carbon Standard,” its own set of principles and guidelines to realize the group’s net zero vision.

Last month, the chief executives of all SK companies agreed to make concerted efforts to achieve carbon neutrality before 2050.

“While it takes about 18 months on average to go through the complicated process required by overseas agencies to get our carbon-cutting efforts certified, the SK center will be able to reduce that to six months,” a group official said.

“With the center up and running, we hope to further our eco-friendly business capacity, while accelerating the ongoing drive to slash emissions.”

To increase the credibility and objectivity of its work, 50 percent of the SK carbon center’s board consists of outside experts, the group said. All certifications will go through a prior review by a third-party panel that includes a renowned business consultancy and an accountant.

The first batch of projects to be reviewed by the center concerns major products such as SK Innovation’s electric vehicle batteries, SK Lubricants’ eco-friendly lubricating products and SK hynix’s low-power semiconductors. Around 10 such projects at SK subsidiaries will be examined.

The center has been modeled after the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism, as well as Verra, or the Verified Carbon Standard, the world’s most widely used voluntary program for the certification of emissions-reduction projects, SK Group said. 

By Korea Herald (khnews@heraldcorp.com)