Coway conducts research on water and air, carrying both heavy responsibility and pride that our business helps provide the fundamental elements of life. With the Environment Analysis Center playing a central role, Coway has established a database of global water and air quality. Based on this database, we can provide clean water and air anytime, anywhere and under any circumstances. We have created the World Water Map using our own data from collecting and analyzing water from over 40 countries worldwide. This enables us to respond to different geographical or environmental conditions affecting water quality.
In dealing with rising concerns over micro dust and differing air quality in different spaces, Coway conducts IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) field tests, where we visit our customers’ actual living space and analyze air quality so that they can enjoy clean air anywhere. The IAQ field test is an important research activity where we study the indoor air quality of where we actually spend time, as opposed to the controlled environment of a laboratory. The 16 air quality index—developed from over 100 million data items on air quality we collected from approximately 1,300 households—enables us to measure the effect of pollutants on health and provide our customers with optimum customized filters. Moreover, we provide care solutions by diagnosing and analyzing indoor and outdoor air quality based on the data collected.
Since 2013, Coway has worked in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment. Through this project, approximately 200 small water purifiers capable of removing uranium, nitric nitrogen, and colon bacillus in underground water were distributed. Regular inspection of water quality and water purifier performance tests were also conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment.
Coway has continued to cooperate with government agencies to enhance the local community’s water welfare. In 2015, Coway signed an agreement with the Ministry of Environment to provide water purifiers to 500 households in agricultural region with polluted underground water and has carried out technical support and research for improving the quality of underground water. In 2016, vulnerable households were selected, and we provided an additional 150 water purifiers. Coway will continue to lead the way in making efforts to solve drinking water problems in the community.
Coway is striving to improve the welfare of water supply areas in Chungcheongnam-do. Representatively, about 600 water purifiers equipped with reverse osmosis filters will be distributed to vulnerable groups by 2020. Furthermore, we will be provide with free 5-year regular maintenance services.
As a member of the global community, Coway participates in solving global water issues by providing rainwater supply devices in overseas communities with a poor water environment due to polluted water resources and water shortage, continuing the Cambodia well-digging project, and supporting water-purifying facilities.
Coway provides rainwater supply devices in regions with low water access in Malaysia for sustainable water supply. For this pilot project, undertaken in 2016 jointly with a local company in Malaysia, one village comprising 17 households and 73 families was selected. By providing a rainwater harvesting and purifying device in this village, Coway was able to provide water for 327 people. In 2017, we plan to continue our value-sharing efforts overseas by increasing the number of beneficiaries through medium and long-term planning and supporting continuous monitoring.
Since 2006, Coway has built 1,000 pump wells in Cambodia, providing over 50,000 of its people in 14 states with clean and safe water through a 10-year-long well-digging project. In addition, Coway works in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for the maintenance of the wells, aiming to fundamentally improve the water environment in Cambodia and help its people access safe drinking water. Coway will continue to share with the world the value of clean water through its global philanthropic activities based on trust and sincerity.
BUSINESS STORY
During the last ten years, Coway has built 1,000 wells through its “Happy Well Project” in Cambodia, where the water environment is poor and water shortage is a severe problem. Not stopping there, we have begun a new project, as part of our “Hanppyum (handspan) Sharing” project, which will provide support for installing and operating water-purifying facilities in Cambodia for a dependable and sustainable water supply. Based on the field survey we conducted in cooperation with the global NGO World Vision, we provided support for the installation and operation of water-purifying facilities in the Sangkum Thmey district, where there is no water supply system. The drinking water business that is operated using the water-purifying facilities installed is a social business directly run by the local community. The business makes continuous profit, helping the local people’s self-support. In addition, purified water from the facilities is provided for free to four elementary schools in the region, protecting children from waterborne diseases such as dengue fever, typhoid, and dysentery.
Water produced from the water-purifying facilities is regularly inspected by an ISO-certified industrial research center in Cambodia, while World Vision Cambodia makes various efforts to bring about fundamental changes in water management by carrying out awareness-raising activities among local people for managing clean and safe drinking water. Through our support of water-purifying facilities in Cambodia, 1,234 households and 5,496 people including children in Sangkum Thmey are now able to access clean water.
