▲ CEO of SK Geo Centric Na Kyung-soo

In the third interview with SK Innovation executives to talk about how the company will take actions in 2022, the first year of Financial Story execution, we have met Na Kyung-soo, CEO of SK Geo Centric. Let’s check the content below to see how SK Geo Centric will realize the “Waste & Carbon Zero” goal as an eco-friendly, earth-centered chemical company.

Q1. Last year, your company name has changed to SK Geo Centric under the goal of transforming into a “green company”, and you have also carried out the vision of “Green for Better Life.” So what is your plan for 2022?

I am proud that SK Geo Centric has led the petrochemical business, which is the driving force of Korea’s economic growth in many years. Based on our company’s built-up potential power and competence, we would like to present a new way to embrace the era of ESG that asks for carbon neutrality and eco-friendliness. Therefore, last year, we decided to change our company’s name to SK Geo Centric to show our strong will to become a green chemical company that focuses on the Earth, that truly thinks of the environment, and we also explained our Financial Story in detail to stakeholders.

SK Geo Centric would like to faithfully fulfill its responsibility as a producer of raw materials of plastic, which have given convenience to mankind, but become a significant threat to the earth’s environment. By taking business transformation by and large, we set a challenging goal of “Waste & Carbon Zero” to recycle all plastics produced by SK Geo Centric by 2027 and achieve Net Zero before 2050.

This year is an important year for us to build a strong a foundation for a big shift to become a green chemical company. Along with the full-fledged promotion of 3 chemical recycle technologies in our business, we are trying to put our strategy on track by expanding eco-friendly products. I am feeling grate responsibility to make the company the world’s best eco-friendly chemical company.

Q2. We know that the tighter global environmental regulations are, the more people are interested in recycling plastics. Regarding this, can you please explain in more detail about SK Geo Centric’s “Waste & Carbon Zero” strategy?

▲ CEO of SK Geo Centric Na Kyung-soo is announcing concrete plans for the company’s Financial Story at the Brand New Day event held in August 2021

In terms of global environmental regulations on plastics, companies that are unprepared would perceive them as a leash. But, for those prepared, they are an opportunity. SK Geo Centric has been innovating its business model, transforming from a petrochemical enterprise into an eco-friendly chemical company. In other words, we are aiming to accomplish the “Waste & Carbon Zero” by setting up the value chain of the plastic circular economy through continuous expansion of eco-friendly product line-ups. Literally, we are aiming to accomplish “zero production of carbon and plastic wastes,” which is the top value for a chemical company. This is a difficult task to talk about, and even more daunting to practice. But, we are trying to make this our chance for new growth. It’s the pursuit of SUPEX*, so to speak.

*SUPEX: “Super Excellent Level,” which means the highest level attainable by human ability.

SK Geo Centric’s Waste Zero strategy is to recycle 2.5 million tons of produced plastic, accounting for 100% of the global production volume, and expand the proportion of eco-friendly products, such as EAA, to 100% by 2027. For the Carbon Zero strategy, by 2030 we will reduce carbon emissions by 50% compared to the level of 2019, and achieve Net Zero target by 2050.

To accomplish these challenging goals, it is essential for us to secure various technologies for different types of plastics. Until now, SK Geo Centric has already secured three next-generation technologies that enable us to recycle most plastics. We can significantly reduce plastic wastes by chemically recycling contaminated waste plastics that had been impossible to recycle physically, and composite materials mixed with various materials. We can also create more social value by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during the process of landfilling or incineration

Furthermore, we would like to introduce the 3R Solution (Reduce/Replace/Recycle) products and bio raw materials. We wish to contribute in reducing carbon emissions by reducing plastics usage, replacing them with eco-friendly or recyclable products, and developing and introducing biomass-based raw materials instead of the petroleum-based ones.

This year is going to be the year that we are going to initiate what we strategized and prepared in earnest. In short, this is the year of initiating our Financial Story, and we are going to prove our value by doing it right. Please support us and see how we, SK Geo Centric, will move forward to accomplish Waste & Carbon Zero.

Q3. SK Geo Centric is leading the establishment of the plastic circular economy by securing three chemical technologies as you mentioned above. Could you elaborate on the significance of them and how you are implementing them?

▲ (Left) Daniel Solomita, CEO of Loop Industries (left), and Na Kyung-soo, CEO of SK Geo Centric (right) posed for a commemorative photo at Loop Industrics’ facility during SKGC’s North America tour in November 2021 / (RIght) ▲ Mike Otworth, CEO of PureCycle Technologies (left) posed for a photo with Na Kyung-soo, CEO of SKGC (right) at PureCycle Technologies’ facility in the U.S. during SKGC’s North American tour in November 2021.

Obviously we have been trying to recycle more plastic waste, but there is a limit to the materials and scope that can be recycled by applying the mechanical recycling methods. Therefore the recycling rate is still low, related businesses are yet small, and in Korea plastic recycling has not been working as systematically as in other developed countries. In order to solve such issues and establish the plastic circular economy here, SK Geo Centric are cooperating with multiple global companies that own next-generation recycling technologies. We are aiming to secure the world’s first commercially-operating plants based on pyrolysis technology to recycle vinyl wastes, depolymerization technology that can turn polyester fiber and mid- to low-end PET flakes back to the pristine materials, and solvent extraction technology to remove contaminated substances by melting materials with polypropylene (PP) solvent.

2022 will be an important year for SK Geo Centric to promote the businesses cooperated with companies that own these chemical recycling technologies. In particular, by integrating these three into the Recycle Cluster to be built in Ulsan, South Korea, we expect among respective processes of efficient and effective collection, sorting, and processing of plastic wastes.

Q4. To create an eco-friendly plastic ecosystem, SK Geo Centric has been running the “Green Packaging for a Sustainable Circular Economy Forum” for three years. Please tell us the reason and your plans for this year.

The plastic circular economy does not just work well by one of the entities in one stage doing it right. It works well when carefully examining each stage from the plastic manufacturers to its actual consumers, followed by the stage of use and disposal, and finally recycling or landfill/incineration.

To create a space where companies and organizations of each stage can gather to solve the relevant issues, SK Geo Centric has been running the “Green Packaging for a Sustainable Circular Economy Forum” for the last three years. The forum had a special meaning especially in 2021, as it created an opportunity to discuss which part of the stages is the pain point and what efforts are needed more, beyond just gaining the public awareness of grave concern on plastic wastes that became more serious due to COVID-19. The distributors (the Brand Owners), producers of plastic packages, providers of raw materials, and companies in the recycling business are working hard to make the plastic circular economy come true, and SK Geo Centric, as a solution provider, is putting efforts to develop and introduce packages made of one-easy-recyclable material and to establish partnerships with the Brand Owners to transform disposed plastics to reusable resources.

Again this year, we plan to proceed in depth with the tasks that must be resolved among the government, academia, and industry to establish the plastic circular economy. As we enter our 4th year this year, we plan to focus on creating tangible results that can be recognized by the companies of each stage.

▲ Participants of the 2021 Korea Eco-friendly Packaging Forum take a commemorative photo at the event on November 3, 2021. Front line, sixth from left: CEO of SK Innovation Kim Jun, CEO of SK Geo Centric Na Kyung-soo.

Q5. How about the plans for SK Geo Centric’s global business?

Speaking of the SK Geo Centric’s global business, our overseas capital has grown by more than ten times from KRW 200 billion to KRW 2.1 trillion, whereas domestic capital has been maintained at the level KRW 5 trillion since 2012. In 2021, our overseas sales have made a huge leap from KRW 300 billion to KRW 2.2 trillion.

In particular, we are planning to break ground for the new EAA joint plant in China during the second half of the year by utilizing the EAA technology acquired by DOW in 2017. To achieve the Waste & Carbon Zero goal, we are working on creating economic value by globally expanding our high-functional and eco-friendly products, such as lonomer and Specialty PP.

Q6. In your New Year’s message, you mentioned bold initiative and creative challenges. Can you please elaborate on the reason for emphasizing such culture to members of SK Geo Centric??

As I mentioned earlier, achieving the Waste & Carbon Zero through plastic circular economy is never an easy goal. Therefore, to make it happen, I believe taking a “creative” challenge, which deviates from conventional means, is the only way. It is a time that we need the creative challenges of SK Geo Centric members the most to put a new way of thoughts and means into action, such as by making connections between the Value Chains and by understanding and recognizing customers in a novel way.

To make a Deep Change to become a green chemical company and survive in the rapidly changing business environment, SK Geo Centric is running its organizations in an agile way in order to flexibly and swiftly adapt to changes. And to initiate the Financial Story in earnest, I believe it is crucial to have a corporate culture in that members demonstrate the agility to take a daring action with self-learning and growth. Especially for leaders, I am planning to create and encourage a culture in which they can provoke creativity of the organization and take bold initiatives to open new paths, even if plans are somewhat unready.

In other words, we are stressing that not only the business model but also the corporate culture must be deeply changed in order to succeed in the financial story we dream of.

Q7. Recently, SK Geo Centric has held a campaign called “Refresh with geo-centric mind,” and personally you have been very active in SK Innovation’s Plogging Campaign and Take Green Campaign, showing the good examples of eco-friendly lifestyle. Is there anything else that you are planning this year?

▲ (Left) A photo of CEO Na Kyung-soo participating in ‘Take Green’ campaign posted on SK Geo Centric’s official Instagram in December 2021 / (Right) CEO Na Kyung-soo (first left) is participating in SK innovation’s Sanhaejinmi Plogging Campaign in Seoul, South Korea, in June 2021

“Going green” is a metadiscourse that may be nothing more than an empty slogan if no action is taken. Therefore, I believe that I have to start taking even some small actions and put them into practice. Of course, I also feel the responsibility of being a member of the first petrochemical company in Korea, but the motivation of my participation in environment-protection activities such as Plogging Campaign, Take Green Campaign (using more reusable products), etc., started from the thought that any individual should take it.

As for our company, SK Geo Centric has held the online quiz campaign named ‘Refresh with geo-centric mind’ with our will to “refresh our environment and nature,” and communicated with the public for the first time through social media. Such activity helps us realize that there are many who truly care about the environment like us. Through the online quiz about the waste separation and disposal, we also learn that the number of people who are actively taking actions to the Earth us beyond our expectation. Thanks to the “true green people,” our campaigns were held successfully.

▲ SK Geo Centric held an online quiz campaign named ‘Refresh with geo-centric mind’ in about 3 weeks from November 22, 2021.

The communicating target of SK Geo Centric is to make the whole public care about our environment, so we are planning for activities that everyone can easily join. As long as we are determined to create an eco-friendly chemical company, we believe that plastics should become a “true friend of the Earth,” and, to achieve that, we are going to prepare for more campaigns that offers a window to “communicate in earnest with the Earth” this year.