Korea Industrial Complex Corp. pushes MRV platform to help exporters clear EU carbon barrier

Korea Industrial Complex Corp. held a forum Thursday at its Seoul regional headquarters to discuss how export companies can respond to global environmental regulations, the state agency announced Friday.

MRV refers to the process of measuring, reporting and verifying carbon emissions at the product level. The industrial complex MRV platform, which the agency launched in June, calculates a product's carbon footprint using energy and greenhouse gas data collected from factories, and supports life-cycle assessment and third-party verification.

The forum came as the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism began full implementation this year and the Digital Product Passport regime moves closer to adoption, increasing the burden on exporters to manage carbon data. Supply chain management — which now requires tracking and verifying emissions not just within a company but across its suppliers — has emerged as a new trade barrier, prompting the agency to expand its response infrastructure.

Participants said carbon compliance can no longer be treated as each company's individual problem. Even when a finished-goods manufacturer manages its own emissions, it cannot accurately calculate product-level carbon output without data from the suppliers providing raw materials and components.

About 20 people attended the forum, including representatives from 11 major export companies — among them SungEel HiTech and Hyundai Sungwoo Casting — as well as officials from platform operators including Korea Testing Laboratory, Chemtopia and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Participants shared cases in which the MRV platform had been used to build a supply chain life-cycle assessment verification system connecting manufacturers with their suppliers.

Demand for carbon data from overseas buyers is rising fast. A survey of 300 export companies conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Korea Industrial Complex Corp. from April to June found that 99.3 percent of respondents had already been asked by foreign buyers to submit carbon emissions data, or expected to be asked in the future. The finding signals that carbon management is spreading beyond ESG compliance at large conglomerates and becoming a practical requirement for maintaining export relationships.

The readiness of small and midsize suppliers remains a key concern. Companies at the forum said that without connecting the entire supply chain, there are limits to how effectively global regulations can be addressed, and they flagged a shortage of qualified personnel and the need for ongoing education and follow-up support as regulations evolve.

"In the new trade environment shaped by global carbon regulations, strong solidarity among suppliers is a powerful source of export competitiveness," Korea Industrial Complex Corp. Chairman Lee Sang-hoon said. "We will work to expand our infrastructure support programs so that every company in the supply chain — including suppliers that face heavy upfront costs — can manage carbon emissions together."