SK Rent-a-Car announced on the 15th that it has received official certification from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for a net reduction of 1,921 tons of CO₂-eq (carbon dioxide equivalent) under an “External Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Project” (external project under the Emissions Trading Scheme) based on real driving data from passenger electric vehicles. This is the first such case in the domestic rental car industry and the largest-scale project to prove reduction effects using real driving data.

This project was jointly promoted by SK Rent-a-Car and SK Telecom in September 2023 and passed reviews by both the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (the government’s lead ministry for carbon reduction policy) in December 2025. Through this, the reduction effect based on SK Rent-a-Car’s electric vehicle operation data has been officially recognized at the national level.

The “External Project under the Emissions Trading Scheme” is a system that allows private entities that are not obligated greenhouse gas emitters to voluntarily reduce emissions, obtain government certification for their performance, and use it as offset credits (a scheme that converts reduction performance into tradable carbon credits).

The verification covered 12 major electric vehicle models, including Hyundai GV60, Kia EV6 and EV9, IONIQ 5 and 6, and Tesla Model 3 and Model Y. SK Rent-a-Car collected real-time driving data such as mileage, battery consumption, and charging records via its independently developed vehicle management solution “Smart Link,” and calculated the reduction effect based on efficiency analysis derived from this data.

In the verification process, strict conditions were applied to enhance the reliability of the reduction performance. Vehicles rented to companies subject to greenhouse gas emission regulations or to public institutions were excluded from the reduction performance, and the reduction amount for vehicles that received government electric vehicle subsidies was also excluded from calculations to avoid double counting.

As a result, the expected emissions from internal combustion engine vehicles during operation were calculated at 12,477 tons of CO₂-eq per year, while the actual driving emissions of electric vehicles were 10,178 tons of CO₂-eq. After baseline adjustments, a net reduction of 1,921 tons of CO₂-eq was officially certified by the government. Of the total reduction performance, 81.6% was allocated to SK Rent-a-Car and 18.4% to SK Telecom.

Based on this achievement, SK Rent-a-Car plans to continue implementing multi-year greenhouse gas reduction projects. It also announced plans to expand into forms of social contribution, such as returning the reduction benefits to electric vehicle customers or donating an amount equivalent to the value of the reductions to local communities.

Lee Jung-hwan, CEO of SK Rent-a-Car, said, “It is highly significant that the reduction effect based on actual driving data has been officially recognized by the government. We will enhance our electric vehicle operation capabilities and Smart Link technology to simultaneously strengthen our data-based business and eco-friendly business.”

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