○ The number of trees planted last year was 30,431, exceeding the official goal by 124%.
○ Fine dust was reduced by approximately 1 ton last year alone, and a decrease of 2 tons is expected by next year.
○ Gyeonggi Province plans to induce an additional 12,000 air pollutant emission business sites to plant trees this year.
○ The “One Tree Per Company” campaign is slated for promotion next year.

Gyeonggi Province announced on February 10 that the “Factory Forest Project” for the planting of trees at major business sites within the province to help reduce particulate matter achieved excellent results last year.
The Factory Forest Project aims to reduce particulate matter through the planting of pine, cedar, nut pine, and fir trees with high air purification effects on idle land around business sites in order to improve air quality and expand public leisure areas.

Last year, companies based in the province signed the “Agreement on the Creation of the Factory Forest Project” with Gyeonggi Province to undertake the tree planting project. The total number of trees planted through the project around their 96 industrial facilities last year amounted to 30,431, surpassing the official target of 13,602 trees by 124%.
In March last year, Gyeonggi Province and 121 companies in the province including Samsung Electronics, Kia Motors, and SK Hynix concluded the “Agreement on the Creation of the Factory Forest Project” for the success of the project.

This year, Gyeonggi Province plans to induce an additional 12,000 companies that discharge air pollutants to plant trees, and next year will promote the “One Tree Per Company” campaign for all business sites within the region.
In addition, the tree parks created at some business sites will be opened to local residents as leisure areas.

“Thanks to the active participation of the companies that signed the “Agreement on the Creation of the Factory Forest Project”, the project exceeded the target for last year. We will continue to encourage more business sites to participate in the creation of factory forests,” a Gyeonggi Province official said.

Gyeonggi Province has 19,045 business sites that discharge air pollutants, and is home to about 30% of all air pollutant-emitting businesses in the country. The particulate matter (PM10) emitted annually from these sites amounts to 1,417 tons.

The leaves of pine, cedar, nut pine, and fir trees planted around the business sites absorb particulate matter while their branches and stems preventing it from falling to the ground. Overall, they contribute to an average reduction of 25.6% of PM10 and 40.9% of PM2.5.