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South Korea officially adopted the RE100 initiative this year. On September 2, 2020, during the Green New Deal policy meeting, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy announced support measures for implementing RE100 in Korea. The ministry has established the necessary framework through legal revisions and system setup to support the program's implementation. The K-RE100 campaign encourages broader corporate participation by lowering the standards and offering more support than the global RE100.

While global RE100 recommends participation from companies with an annual electricity consumption of over 100 GWh, the K-RE100 allows all industrial and general electricity consumers in Korea to participate after registering with the Energy Agency, regardless of their electricity consumption. Eligible renewable energy sources under this program include solar, wind, hydro, ocean, geothermal, and biomass energy, similar to the global RE100.

The K-RE100 allows participation without a declaration of 100% renewable energy usage. However, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy recommends that participating companies adopt the same goal as the global RE100 campaign, aiming for 100% renewable energy usage by 2050. The Energy Agency verifies the renewable energy usage data submitted by companies and issues a "Renewable Energy Usage Certificate (REC)." Participants who receive this certificate can use it to comply with the global RE100 initiative, among other purposes.

The government actively supports the Korean-style RE100, and the Ministry of Environment has provided specific guidelines on energy sources, reduction measures, and methods. Companies using renewable energy can be recognized for their greenhouse gas reduction efforts, and if their renewable energy usage exceeds 20%, they are eligible for RE100 labeling. Additionally, the government is considering supporting CSR* activities for high-performing companies. Other support measures under consideration include green certification, preferential treatment in public procurement, and inclusion in public institution management evaluations.

CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility) refers to activities undertaken by companies that go beyond profit-seeking to ensure they comply with laws and ethics, appropriately address stakeholder demands, and contribute positively to society.

Globally, companies such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, BMW, and General Motors are steadily increasing their use of renewable energy for electricity consumption. Recently, large domestic corporations have been under pressure from these global companies to expand their renewable energy usage. These international companies, which participate in the RE100 initiative, demand that their suppliers and service providers adopt renewable energy.

In particular, a growing trend of explicitly requiring renewable energy usage in contracts and partnerships increases the demand for domestic companies to participate in the global RE100 initiative.

Currently, 278 companies worldwide are part of RE100, with 30 already sourcing 100% of their electricity from renewable energy. The average target year for achieving 100% renewable energy among RE100 participants is 2028, with the majority sourcing renewable energy from wind and solar power.