Business community launches ‘temperature awareness’ campaign

[Courtesy of Federation of Korean Industries]

As electricity demand surges due to a heat wave this summer, the business community in South Korea is taking steps to reduce electricity usage by promoting a series of “1-1-1” energy-saving practices to prevent energy waste.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) posted a video on its YouTube channel on July 15th, 2024, featuring Vice Chairman Park Il-joon as part of its “Temperature Awareness” campaign.

In the video, Park introduced energy-saving tips, such as raising indoor temperatures by 1 degree, turning off cooling systems one hour before the end of work, and switching off unnecessary lights one by one, as well as encouraging people to participate in the campaign.

The Temperature Awareness campaign, which was launched on July 10th by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy and the Korea Energy Agency, aims to foster a culture of mindful energy use in daily life.

Other economic organizations, including the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF), the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), and the Korea Federation of SMEs (KBIZ), have also joined the energy-saving campaign by posting posters and card news on their websites or social media accounts, sharing practical energy-saving tips and urging the industry to take part.

Private companies are also responding to the movement initiated by these economic organizations. Lotte Group, for example, reportedly began efforts to reduce power consumption, and is using social media across its subsidiaries.

“We joined the energy conservation campaign due to the sense of urgency that the peak electricity demand could break records again,” an official from the business community said. Electricity demand reached 93.8 gigawatts (GW) on August 5th, 2024, to set a fresh record and the power reserve ratio dropped to 9 percent.