Two of the world’s largest engineering firms are among the first wave of South Korean companies to attain Carbon Trust Standard accreditation, after the UK consultancy launched the labelling scheme in the country alongside the Korea Productivity Center (KPC).

Hyundai Engineering and Construction and Samsung Electronics joined S-Oil and Korean Western Power as the first four companies to secure the label, demonstrating that they have recorded their annual carbon emissions and delivered consistent year-on-year reductions.

The move represents the latest international expansion for the Carbon Trust, which has already certified companies under the standard in Belgium, China, Ireland and Italy, as well as the UK, taking the total number of firms carrying the label to more than 600 since the scheme was launched in 2008.

According to the company, organisations carrying the label have to date delivered emission reductions of over 3.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent and £165m in cost savings.

The Carbon Trust now plans to work with KPC, which has been licensed to assess and certify Korean firms in line with the standard’s requirements, to encourage more South Korean companies to obtain the label.

“As the launch of the Carbon Trust Standard in Korea demonstrates, pioneering organisations around the world are starting to recognise the need to verify that they are acting on carbon,” said Carbon Trust chief executive Tom Delay. “Through our partnership with KPC, organisations such as Hyundai, Korean Western Power, Samsung and S-Oil are starting to reap the financial and reputational benefits of carbon reduction and are helping to shape the low carbon future of South Korea.”

Dongsoo Kim, director of the Sustainability Management Center at KPC, predicted the organisation would see “huge demand” for the new label, arguing that “organisations are seeking trusted, independent and internationally recognised certification, as consumers at home and abroad demand action on carbon”.

Sang Beom Park, head of CS Environment Center for Samsung Electronics, said the Carbon Trust Standard provided an independent endorsement of the company’s existing emission reduction efforts.

“In 2009, Samsung Electronics set challenging greenhouse gas reduction targets throughout our Green Management initiative, ‘Planet First’,” he said. “Since then, we are on track to reduce by 50 per cent of financial greenhouse gas emissions intensity from manufacturing facilities by 2013. We are very pleased to have achieved the Carbon Trust Standard Certification thanks to such efforts. Samsung will accelerate the carbon reduction for the protection of the environment.”