Hyundai presents carbon neutrality initiatives at B20 Summit

MANILA: Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chairman Euisun Chung was one of the keynote speakers at the 2022 B20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia on November 13.

Under the theme “Energy Poverty and Accelerate a Just and Orderly Sustainable Energy Use,” the B20 Summit facilitated a consultative body made up of private economic groups and companies that delivered policy recommendations to the leaders of the 2022 G20 Bali Summit, held on November 15 to 16.

“Now is the time for bold decisions and now is the time for leadership,” Chung stated in his keynote speech at the B20 Summit’s “Energy, Sustainability & Climate, and Finance & Infrastructure” session.

Chung also mentioned the severe energy shortage and the climate crisis, highlighting the need for all responsible members of society, including governments and corporations, to collaborate in order to switch to sustainable energy sources.

“The fact is that the world is facing a climate change crisis. The auto industry is rethinking energy and investing in renewable energy, but it is an endeavor that we cannot pursue alone. With commonsense solutions, government and industry can provide the right incentives to businesses and consumers to embrace clean mobility,” he said.

“Climate change is not the only reason to accelerate our transition to sustainable energy. The world is facing a myriad of economic challenges: the social and economic aftershocks of COVID, a global semiconductor shortage, inflation, rising interest rates and the soaring prices of raw materials.”

Hyundai Motor Group's initiatives towards carbon neutrality were highlighted by Chung.

“We are pursuing a net-zero strategy across all our value chains, including the purchase of auto parts, vehicle manufacturing, logistics, customer use of our products and vehicle recycling. We need the strong support of global leaders who create policies that encourage investment in these new resources and technologies,” he said.

Chung recognized hydrogen as a potential source of clean energy in the future. “With renewables come different challenges — including limits on supply and storage. Hydrogen can solve many of these issues and now, there is a global consensus on the importance of hydrogen as a future, limitless, energy solution,” he explained.

“Governments and businesses must play their part and drive global change. Together, we can set the conditions to accelerate the adoption of eco-friendly solutions,” Chung added.

Chung concluded his speech by reaffirming Hyundai Motor Group's commitment to achieving sustainable growth. “Hyundai Motor Group will continue to make the right moves for the right future for everyone,” he stated.

After the keynote speech, a panel discussion on energy, natural resources, and finance was held, with prominent corporate leaders from around the world sharing their perspectives on “sustainable financial expansion for infrastructure, climate, and energy security.”

In pursuit of carbon neutrality as well as sustainability for present and future generations, the environment, and global communities, Hyundai Motor Group is involved in a variety of socially responsible management activities.

Through carbon reduction and offset, Hyundai Motor and Kia aim to attain net zero emissions across their entire value chains, including supply, manufacturing, logistics, and disposal as well as at the use stage of vehicles.

By 2040, Hyundai Motor and Kia will only sell electric vehicles with no carbon emissions in major markets, starting with Europe in 2035.

Furthermore, four Hyundai Motor Group companies joined RE100 this year, including Hyundai Motor and Kia. The goal of the global initiative is to unite the most influential companies committed to using only renewable energy sources. Hyundai Motor Group wants its entire global electricity to be supplied by renewable energy by 2045.

By using more renewable energy sources, including solar and wind power, greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon from manufacturing processes, are already being reduced on a large scale.

In addition to actively reducing carbon emissions, Hyundai Motor Group's companies are incorporating solar power generation systems into production facilities. These new technologies include improved carbon capture and recycling.

Hyundai Motor Group's Metaplant in Georgia, USA, which had a groundbreaking ceremony in October, likewise uses the eco-friendly low-carbon method to achieve RE100. It is intended to produce power using roof-mounted solar panels and use energy storage systems (ESS) for storing.

Hyundai Motor Group's plant in Indonesia, which was completed earlier this year, was also constructed to reduce carbon emissions through air pollution reduction methods including solar power generation facilities.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Group's plant in Slovakia has only used renewable energy since 2019, and its Czech plant will do the same starting this year.

Hyundai Motor Group seeks cooperation in the medium to long term to generate green hydrogen, which has been considered the most environmentally friendly energy possible due to the total lack of greenhouse gas emissions during manufacturing. It plans to use it as a major energy source at commercial sites in the future.

In support of various initiatives for the environment, global communities, and future generations, Hyundai Motor Group has declared “The Right Move for the Right Future” as its social responsibility management message.

In line with this philosophy, Hyundai Motor Group has been executing the “for Tomorrow” campaign since September 2020 in partnership with the UN Development Program (UNDP). The campaign's objective is to discover solutions to societal issues including transportation, housing, and the environment and turn them into reality by pooling the collective knowledge of participants from all walks of life around the world.

A total of 78 solutions have been proposed in 52 countries over the past two years. Hyundai Motor and UNDP are financing chosen projects that will be carried out through the UNDP Accelerator Labs and Hyundai CRADLE under UNDP.

Hyundai Motor Group is also implementing the Green Light Project, which provides infrastructure and self-reliance programs to global communities in areas such as economy, education, health, and the environment. It has been implemented for more than 10 years in 12 regions across nine countries in Africa and Asia, including Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda.

Hyundai Motor Group also provided electric vehicles as official transportation of the 2022 G20 Bali Summit.

The Genesis Electrified G80 was chosen by the Indonesian government to serve as the official VIP car for the G20 Summit in 2021. A total of 393 units, including 131 Genesis Electrified G80 and 262 Hyundai Ioniq 5 units, were made available as fleet vehicles.

Hyundai Motor Group has also constructed the first electric vehicle production facility in the ASEAN region in Indonesia, where it will manufacture the Hyundai Creta and Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Photo from Hyundai Motor Group, Kia, and Hazel Nicole Carreon

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