Gangnam-Gu(District) Office

The Problem

South Korea is ranked No. 10 in energy consumption, No. 9 in greenhouse gas emissions, and No. 1 in greenhouse gas emission growth in the world. Therefore, it appears that our nation will be included in Annex I of countries in 2013.

In particular, Gangnam-gu which consists of office buildings (76.4%), residences including apartments (19.8%), and public and government buildings (3.2%) has adopted the carbon mileage system for efficient energy management.

Solution and Key Benefits

 What is the initiative about? (the solution)
Qualitative Result
First, CO2 emissions have been numerically measured. The data on electricity, gas and water consumption in houses, companies, schools and public and government buildings are converted into numerical values that express greenhouse gas emission reduction levels. Second, a carbon mileage incentive was used to encourage more people and organizations to participate in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Third, a continuous participation in energy saving has been promoted. In the past, a campaign used to be carried out to induce voluntary participation from local citizens. Now, a carbon mileage system makes it possible to keep performing energy saving activities.

Quantitative Result
As of 2009, among approximately 220,000 households, 120,000 households (almost one in every two households) have joined the carbon mileage program. According to an analysis on the achievements from the second half of last year to the first half of this year, 11,937 (for the second half of 2008) and 18,358 (for the first half of 2009) tons of greenhouse gas were reduced. The reduction is worth about KRW 15.3 billion in terms of utility charges. Regarding the achievement during the first half of 2009, 1 point (KRW 500) was given to each member for every 10kg reduction of greenhouse gas. Furthermore, a KRW 30 million reward has been granted to 20 top organizations in terms of greenhouse gas emission reduction.

Actors and Stakeholders

 Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
A carbon mileage system is a fruit of the energy-saving policy that has been consistently promoted by the Local Economy Division of the Urban Economic Planning Bureau of Gangnam-gu Office since 2007. The carbon mileage system was born in April 2008 and put into practice in November. The system was developed by a professional outsourcing company which has already engaged in the development of the system of the Seoul municipal government with compatibility reasons. Because this system needs energy consumption-related data, cooperation with KEPCO, city gas providers and water supply offices has been essential. Citizens, companies, schools and public organizations have actively participated in the energy-saving policy and have earned mileage in return.

(a) Strategies

 Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
 a.      What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The goal of the carbon mileage system is ‘saving energy.’ It is important to encourage people and organizations to keep participating in the program and make ‘saving energy’ a part of their lives. To induce continuous participation, the carbon mileage program has been operated in a membership system. To further facilitate the program, a MOU to practice energy-saving has been signed with women’s groups. In addition, the program has been actively advertised through a community administrative network. Furthermore, a workshop regarding the success stories of energy-saving has been held. The members of the carbon mileage program can check their energy-saving levels through the Internet and receive an incentive for their achievements.

(b) Implementation

 b.      What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
Gangnam-gu promoted energy-saving projects, such as e-Energy Household Ledger and e-Energy Saving Project, from 2006 to 2008. In April 2008, the conventional energy-saving project was converted into a carbon mileage program. An automated system for the carbon mileage program was developed in September and put into practice in November. To set the legal grounds to grant an incentive for the carbon mileage, an energy-related basic ordinance was enacted. In December 2008, the district authority reserved KRW 1 billion for an Energy Saving Fund. On March 18, 2009, it earned a patent with ‘Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Remote Monitoring System and Method.’ In May 2009, the carbon mileage reward was granted depending on the achievements

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

 c.      What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
To operate a carbon mileage program, it is essential to acquire data on energy consumption. The biggest obstacle was to obtain useful energy consumption data from energy providers. By its nature, energy consumption data has the possibility of leaking personal information. Therefore, Gangnam-gu Office has set a procedure to obtain consent on the use of personal information from those who participate in the carbon mileage program and has continued to convince related government agencies. In the case of an apartment (20 households or more), the related government agencies did not have individual data on electricity and water consumption by household. Therefore, the district authority had to contact the independent company which has managed the data.

(d) Use of Resources

 d.      What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
In the beginning, an energy-saving policy was promoted by the Local Economy Division of the Urban Economic Planning Bureau of Gangnam-gu Office. After a one-year preparation and testing period, the carbon mileage system was put into practice in November 2008. An operating program was developed by an outsourcing company, and a database was established in cooperation with KEPCO, city gas providers and water supply offices. In the case of an apartment (20 households or more) in which the related government agencies didn’t have individual data on electricity and water consumption by household, the district contacted the independent company which has managed the data.

In terms of budget, Gangnam-gu spent a total of KRW 59 million: KRW 30 million for the development of an operating program, KRW 9 million for an update of the system (collection of data by household in an apartment), and KRW 20 million for system improvement.

Before the carbon mileage program was put into practice, the related laws were amended in October 2008 in order to set the legal grounds for operation of the program. Furthermore, professional software has been developed for proper management and operation of the program, and a data inter-working function with related government agencies has been implemented.

Sustainability and Transferability

  Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
A carbon mileage system is a membership program on the energy-saving policy. It encourages clients to keep participating in the program by allowing them to monitor their participation and receive an incentive payment for results in the cyberspace. These bilateral system and incentive payment method could be applied to any fields in which energy-saving policy and clients’ participation are critical.
Online Completion Civil Administration Service

Lessons Learned

 What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
A carbon mileage system has been successful because of a membership program, performance disclosure through the online system and incentive program. Instead of the conventional energy-saving campaign on an occasional basis, profit has been returned through the full and fair disclosure of achievements, which has in turn attracted active and continued participation from users.
Online Completion Civil Administration Service

Contact Information

Institution Name:   Gangnam-Gu(District) Office
Institution Type:   Public Organization  
Contact Person:   Minjeong Kim
Title:   Computerization & Information Division  
Telephone/ Fax:   82-2-2104-1435
Institution's / Project's Website:   82-2-2104-2417
E-mail:   kmjggu2000@daum.net  
Address:   426, hakdong-ro, gangnam-gu, seoul, south korea
Postal Code:   135-705
City:   Seoul
State/Province:  
Country:  

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