Asiana supports UNESCO World Heritage sites with solar lighting

As part of its global corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, multi-awarded Korean carrier Asiana Airlines (OZ) has initiated its solar street lighting project for UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Vietnam.  Asiana embarked on the project in cooperation with the Korean National Commission and installed 40 solar powered street lamps across the Hoi An Riverside Square in Da Nang.

Compared to the original incandescent lamps used in the historic town, the new solar powered street lamps will significantly lower carbon emissions in the area.  The environment-friendly installation is seen to be equivalent to planting 82 pine trees.

Guests led by Sam Koo Park, Kumho Asiana Chairman and CEO (5th from L, center) and Young-Doo Yoon, Asiana Airlines President and CEO (3rd from L) together with officials and guests from the Vietnam government and Korean embassy applaud the new solar street lighting for the UNESCO site.

“The solar streetlamp project is very important to us.  It is a classic example of public-private partnership and environment-friendly corporate social responsibility,” said Young-Doo Yoon, Asiana Airlines President and CEO.

At the lighting ceremony, Sam Koo Park, Kumho Asiana Chairman and CEO, was presented with a plaque of appreciation recognizing the company’s efforts in UNESCO Heritage site preservation in Vietnam.  The Kumho Asiana Group includes Asiana Airlines, Kumho Tires, Kumho E&C and Kumho Buslines, all of which participate in global CSR activities for the company.

            In February 2012, Asiana became the first Korean company to sign an agreement with UNESCO for the preservation of World Heritage Sites.  Asiana has specifically looked into solar powered lighting projects for underdeveloped countries with weak electronic infrastructure.  The lighting projects also help to oversee tourist safety in these sites.

Aside from Hoi An Ancient Town, Asiana also put up lighting for My Son Sanctuary in Vietnam.  Hoi An Town has been preserved by UNESCO for being a central port of Southeast Asian fishing and trading dating back to the 15th to 19th century.  My Son Sanctuary is acclaimed in Vietnam for the ruins of its tower-temples attesting to Hinduism’s influence.  The ruins date back to the 4th to 13th century at the time of the Champa Kingdom.

Prior to the Hoi An Town and My Son Sanctuary lighting projects, Asiana Airlines installed 50 solar-powered lights near Angkor Wat, one of the world’s most important archeological sites in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

In the Philippines, Asiana has completed its Self-Sustaining Village Project for the Aeta tribe in Pampanga.  Through the Asiana Welfare Corps, in cooperation with the Korea International Cooperation Agency, the airline brought in corn and sweet potato farming techniques, and goat stockbreeding technologies as a new means of livelihood.   Asiana also built public sanitation facilities and child welfare institutions, as well as new homes for the village residents.