SK bioscience, a global innovative vaccine and biotech company committed to promoting human health from prevention to cure, announced today that it has signed a direct power purchase agreement (PPA) with the energy company SK E&S. The PPA is a typical carbon-neutral activity that can substantially contribute to greenhouse gas reduction and provides long-term energy procurement without cost fluctuations.

Under the agreement, SK E&S will supply 23,277 MWh of renewable solar power to SK bioscience’s main business sites, including its manufacturing plant Andong L House, for 20 years starting from 2027. This amount of electricity is enough power approximately 75,000 households per month, based on the average electricity consumption of a four-person household (307 kWh). It is also equivalent to reducing about 11,061 tons of greenhouse gases per year and planting about 4,400 trees that absorb 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

SK Group is taking the lead in achieving the ´Net Zero by 2050´ target set by the Korean government joining the international movement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Last year, SK Group´s main affiliates, including SK bioscience, SK Telecom, SK Biopharm, and SK Gas, signed a preliminary PPA agreement with SK E&S for a total of 537 GWh per year, the largest in Korea.

This PPA agreement is part of SK bioscience´s ESG management strategy and its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by shifting to renewable energy. The company is committed to achieving carbon neutrality and respond to climate change by establishing an eco-friendly management system.

SK bioscience’s L HOUSE in Andong was awarded the Governor´s Award at the Gyeongsangbuk-do Energy Grand Prize last year for saving more than 30 percent of energy and improving facility processes and efficiency by installing LED lighting, recycling water, and eco-friendly refrigerants. In 2022, the company acquired the international standard environmental management system ´ISO 14001´. In the same year, the company also published the Climate Change-related Financial Disclosure Council Report (TCFD Report) for the first time in the domestic pharmaceutical and bio industry, which contains its management strategies and action plans to respond to climate change.

As a result of these continuous efforts, SK bioscience earned an A grade, the highest rating in the domestic bio industry, in the ESG evaluation conducted by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) in 2023, following a B rating in 2021 and a BBB rating in 2022.

Jaeyong Ahn, CEO of SK bioscience, said, "Amid the global climate crisis, such as extremely heavy rains and heat waves, carbon neutrality is an obligation for every company” He added, “As Korea´s leading vaccine and bio company, SK bioscience will continue to take the lead in responding to climate change by taking actions to achieve carbon neutrality."