Green Initiatives
Sustainability Statement
CIS Abroad is dedicated to promoting and enacting sustainability initiatives. We believe that by doing our part in educating our participants and employees on green measures we can help keep the Earth around us clean. Therefore, we are delighted to announce that CIS Abroad has formed a sustainability committee known as “Green Flags.” We are joining many other organizations in the education abroad field who are working to prioritize sustainability and climate action in our operations and programming abroad. Learn more about it here!
Sustainability built in Local Life
Local life activities have been carefully selected so that students are not only learning about local culture, but supporting local, sustainable businesses. With any activity that requires transportation, local staff think of the best way to transport students with the local environment in mind.
South Korea has committed itself to becoming more sustainable and green in recent years. Below are some ways you can practice sustainability in South Korea.
Living Green
Recycling
South Korea has created an emphasis on recycling within the country. With its huge population that continues to grow, the importance of recycling is greatly emphasized. While you are in South Korea, you may notice that trash is handled differently than in your own home country. Buying trash bags is a bit different as these must be bought from convenience stores or markets. They will be labeled trash or food waste and will specify the district in which the trash will be collected.
It is important to separate your trash and recycling accordingly while in South Korea to comply with the rules according to the initiative set in place. Food waste and types of recycling (hard plastic, soft plastic, aluminum, glass, and cardboard) are all sorted separately. Outside of Gonzaga you can sort your trash according to the labeled bins. Failure to sort trash could result in a fine.
Re-useable Bags
In South Korea, plastic and paper bags for shopping are not given for free and must be purchased at an additional fee. This is meant to cut down on plastic waste. When shopping, it is important to remember to carry reusable bags with you to carry your purchases home.
Air Conditioning and Heating
Air Conditioning in South Korea may also be different compared to your home country. Air conditioning in your dormitory, classrooms, and public buildings is not always readily available, or not used. This is to cut down on power usage. Air conditioning systems will not run continuously like you may be used to. Instead, they will usually run on a set timer and can only be set to a certain temperature. It is highly recommended that you do not keep the air conditioning running at all times, but use it only when necessary. It is also important to remember to power it off when not in the room if it does not turn off automatically.
In the colder months, most places in South Korea use floor "ondol" heating rather than central heating. This means your floor will heat up to heat the room. These floor heating systems use less power but may take a while to turn on and re-heat the room after being off for a few hours. In winter months, some restaurants and cafes will transition into floor seating so you can enjoy the heated floors.
In the summer months, South Korea can get extremely hot and humid. To combat this, packing a hand fan, either a rechargeable or hand-wave fan, will help you beat the heat. Similarly, many Korean people carry hot packs in the winter to put in coat pockets. These can be bought as single-use hot packs or rechargeable hot packs.