The Carbon Neutrality Support Center under the Ansan Environmental Foundation is expanding carbon neutrality activities that citizens can practice in their daily lives, focusing on homes and commercial spaces.
According to the foundation on August 20, the center has been selected for the '2026 Gyeonggi Province Regional Carbon Neutrality Leading Project,' aimed at supporting energy conservation and carbon neutrality practices in non-industrial sectors.
The core of this initiative is the 'Non-Industrial Sector Carbon Neutrality Consulting,' which seeks solutions directly from the field.
The center collaborates with local merchant associations and shopping districts to recruit participants, with professional consultants visiting homes and businesses to assess energy usage and provide tailored conservation strategies.
This initiative stands out by not merely being a campaign or promotional effort, but by actively inspecting energy use in real living spaces and connecting it to practical actions.
Through this project, the center plans to conduct consulting for 330 locations, including businesses and homes.
Additionally, the center will operate a 'Carbon Neutrality Practice Record Archiving' program to document participants' carbon neutrality efforts online, sharing their activities and promoting continued practices even after the project concludes.
In related news, the Gyeonggi Environmental Energy Agency visited the Ansan Carbon Neutrality Support Center on August 19 to review the project's progress and execution status.
The on-site inspection received positive feedback for its approach of engaging local merchants to encourage participation and its field-centered system that directly reaches citizens' living spaces.
Citizens expressed optimism about the initiative, noting that, "Starting with reducing the electricity and energy we use daily feels more realistic than grand activities," and that having experts inform them about what can be reduced in their homes and businesses would be helpful for implementation.
Particularly, there was a consensus on the value of a collaborative approach involving local merchants and citizens, stating, "It's great that the entire neighborhood can participate together, rather than just individual efforts."
Shin Jin-ok, head of the Carbon Neutrality Support Center, stated, "For the region to achieve overall carbon neutrality, practices must occur in both the industrial sector and the living spaces of citizens and local businesses."
She added, "We will work with Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Environmental Energy Agency to create effective carbon neutrality practice models that reflect the characteristics of Ansan."
Looking ahead, the center plans to broaden participation opportunities by utilizing local events and various citizen engagement points, aiming to establish a lifestyle-oriented carbon neutrality model co-created by local businesses and citizens.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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