COWAY

Ahead of this year’s Earth Day on April 22nd, Coway, the “Best Life Solution Company”, is taking a moment to reflect on the importance of its ongoing efforts towards reducing the company’s environmental footprint across each stage of the product lifecycle – from design to disposal.

With Coway having publicly released its Sustainability Report every year since 2006, these annual updates provide a detailed closer look at how the company has been working to contribute to a more sustainable future across all areas of its business operations.

Designing Sustainability into Every Product


<Coway’s Eco-friendly Product Design Process>

As a global industry leader, Coway is committed to developing innovative, eco-friendly technologies able to minimize the environmental impact of its products. One such example is the Prime Stand Water Purifier (CHP-5720L), which features the energy-saving multi-sensing and inverter technologies. Through these, the water purifier is able to monitor both internal and external temperatures in real-time, automatically adjusting its electricity consumption based on usage conditions. This innovation leads to approximately a 20% reduction in annual electricity bills when compared to previous models.

The NOBLE Air Purifier series is another example, with an exterior design that is made with 99% recycled materials. Furthermore, certain filters found in purifiers from this series have been specifically designed for easier recycling and disposal, the first air purifier filters in South Korea to have been applied with resource recycling.

Coway has also further been standing out in the sustainability space by being the only company in South Korea to have developed bidets using flame-retardant recycled materials, specifically recycled PCR resin. Since 2023, the company has been incorporating recycled materials in at least 10% of the plastic weight of five of its leading bidet products.

Reducing Waste, Enhancing Value

In order to promote resource circulation, Coway integrates environmental considerations at every stage, from product development through to recycling. When developing new products, Coway ensures that each one achieves a recycling rate of 75% or higher.

In 2007, Coway introduced its Refurbishment system to the rental home appliance industry. Through this system, parts that need replacement can be swapped with new ones, ensuring product longevity and waste reduction.


<Coway's Waste Mattress Recovery and Recycling System>

Looking ahead, Coway is committed to further enhancing its resource efficiency and to achieving zero waste, aiming for a 100% recovery and recycling rate at its business sites by 2030. An initiative that forms part of this commitment is Coway’s waste mattress recovery and recycling system, which has been in place since 2018. Through this system, the company takes care of the entire mattress recycling process, from collecting used mattresses through to cutting, shredding and separating valuable materials such as scrap metal and synthetic resin. It has been recognized by South Korea’s Ministry of Environment as a model of resource circulation.

Biodiversity Matters: Coway’s Commitment

The Korean peninsula, Coway’s homeland, is known for its diverse climates and varying terrains, all of which support a rich array of biodiversity. Coway continuously monitors the biological species around its business sites and conducts annual assessments using national platforms in order to gain a better understanding of the species living in South Korea.


<Coway Employees Collect Trash from the Seabed>

Coway also further spotlights biodiversity through such activities as the Coway Classroom Forest Project, which the company has been running since 2022. To date, the program has entered six elementary schools in South Korea, with 2,714 air purifying plants having been donated. Each donated plant is paired with an endangered species seedling, a move that reflects Coway’s dual mission of nurturing biodiversity and reducing its carbon footprint. This project also instils in young students the importance of plants as the foundation of ecosystems, as well as their role in maintaining ecological balance.

As an industry-leading water purifier company, Coway employees, too, actively participate in environmental initiatives designed to spread awareness about the value of clean waterways. Once or twice each year, Coway organizes a ‘plogging’ campaign, where employees collect trash while jogging or walking near bodies of water. Last year’s campaign was expanded even further, as a team of scuba-certified employees removed waste, including plastic bottles and discarded fishing gear, from the seabed off the coast of Goseong, Gangwon Province.

Further details about Coway’s environmental stewardship and latest biodiversity policies will be available in the company’s 2025 Sustainability Report.

Working Towards a More Sustainable Tomorrow

Coway has committed to achieving carbon neutrality (net zero) and transitioning to 100% renewable energy by 2050. In order to achieve these goals, the company has established an environmental, social and governance (ESG) committee and is implementing strategic ESG management practices. As an industry leader, Coway is dedicated to innovation that contributes to a more sustainable future for all.