Coway employees plant a tree at Coway's "clean forest," in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province. (Coway)

South Korean home appliance maker Coway said Sunday it has been expanding its eco-friendly management in 2022 through clean energy and environment preservation projects.

Coway has been installing solar energy plants on the rooftops of its facilities since 2013. Most recently it began construction of a solar power plant in October on the roof of its global sleep technology subsidiary iOBED’s plant in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

The solar plant will begin operation in the first half of 2023, and is estimated to have an annual generation capacity of 800 kilowatt-hours, according to the home appliance company.

This is the fifth solar energy facility run by Coway, with four other plants being run in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, Gongju, South Chuncheong Province and Incheon.

Upon the completion of the new plant in March 2023, the home appliance maker will be able to reduce 470 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Meanwhile, Coway has also been running environment preservation classes for elementary school students since June. The project was operated at three different elementary schools nationwide, and over 1,150 students participated.

As part of the project, Coway has designated 3,801 square meters of property as a “clean forest” in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province. Coway said it planted one tree for every schoolkid who participated in its program.

Coway said it will expand the program and create more such forests.

Meanwhile, Coway has also operated a campaign in March to recycle old reusable water bottles, and to promote clean air.

“Coway seeks to provide ecofriendly products to our customers while minimizing effects our corporation has on the environment,” said a company official.