With Earth Hour to be held Saturday, various “green” firms in Korea, including Sangha Farm, Coway, and Samsung Electronics, are making eco-friendly gestures.

Earth Hour will be held from 8:30 p.m., with participants switching off their lights for an hour to signify efforts against climate change. The event is held simultaneously in some 170 countries.

The Korean companies participating this year have not only agreed to join the global event by switching off their lights, but also came up with various eco-friendly products and services to support sustainable growth.

Sangha Farm, established in 2008 under the corporate philosophy “What is best for nature is best for humans,” began its business by selling organic milk.

The company has participated in the Earth Hour campaign for the past six years by switching off the lights in its headquarters. It has invited others to join in by promoting the event through its Facebook page, and has promised to raise funds to donate to the World Wildlife Fund depending on how many people agree to participate in the comments section.

Sangha Farm has also been managing the “Organic Circle Campaign.” Gardening classes for children which give out organic kits comprised of bottles, organic compost and herb seeds are a part of this project.

Coway declared in 2006 that it would pursue environmental management, minimizing the industry’s impact on nature.

It joined the Earth Hour campaign last year, and encouraged participation from its workers and customers by promoting the event through its company portal and social networking channels.

Aside from the Earth Hour, the company has been working closely with the WWF through its “WWF edition” that is produced in an ecofriendly manner from start to end. Part of the revenue earned from this edition is used for other environmental projects.

Coway has also installed solar panels in three of its factories producing up to 174,709 kilowatts of electric power and reducing approximately 81 tons of greenhouse gas last year.

Samsung Electronics is joining the Earth Hour campaign as well to fulfill its green management.

The company ran its own “Turn off your light” campaign in Suwon Digital City and its 51 global sales corporations on Tuesday to take the moment to think about the Earth and resolve the uneven distribution of electrical power. The funds raised by saving the electricity along with Samsung Electronics’ social fund were used to provide LED lanterns to areas in Indonesia that suffer from electricity shortages.

“We decided to participate in this event with the domestic and foreign employees of Samsung Electronics since we regard it as a great opportunity to discuss the issue of climate change with more people,” said Samsung Electronics. 

By Yim Ji-min (jiminy@heraldcorp.com)