LG Electronics (LG) is reducing plastic consumption and carbon emissions by adopting a new material and manufacturing process for its commercial 4-way system air conditioners.
Aligned with the company’s Better Life for All ESG vision, these latest efforts demonstrate a commitment to minimising environmental impacts.
TÜV Rheinland, a global testing and certification organization, recently confirmed that LG’s newly instituted production process has lowered carbon emissions from the manufacturing of its 4-way system air conditioners to 14.85 kilograms of CO₂ equivalents* per unit.
Along with the shift in manufacturing method, the primary driver of this reduction is the introduction of a new material used for the air conditioners’ exterior panels.
Moving away from conventional plastic manufacturing techniques, LG employs a foaming injection moulding process whereby nitrogen gas is injected into the mould to create bubbles within the material.
This innovative approach reduces plastic use by approximately 900 grams per unit. Additionally, LG has replaced the use of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) with Polypropylene (PP), which has a lower carbon footprint.
These improvements are expected to cut plastic consumption by roughly 270 tonnes annually and CO₂ equivalent carbon emissions by over 4,400 tonnes each year – a reduction comparable to the carbon absorbed in one year by a 30-year-old pine forest covering more than 580 soccer fields.
LG began applying its foaming injection moulding method to 4-way system air conditioners in June and plans to gradually expand it to other residential and commercial models.
In pursuit of carbon neutrality, LG aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54.6 per cent by 2030 compared to 2017 levels, as outlined in its Sustainability Report.
To reach this target, the company is integrating high-efficiency equipment into its manufacturing processes and adopting renewable energy sources to produce high-efficiency appliances leveraging its proprietary Core Tech.
A prime example of Core Tech is LG’s inverter motor technology, which minimises energy waste by adjusting motor and compressor speeds in real time according to demand.
The company has also advanced its environmental compliance by launching an inverter scroll chiller using R32 refrigerant, which has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) about 30 per cent lower than R410A refrigerant.
* A metric measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases on the basis of their global-warming potential (GWP), by converting amounts of other gases to the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide with the same global warming potential.