Toronto, Ontario — Hyundai has been forced to end its deal with Indonesian aluminum supplier PT Adaro Minerals after millions of K-pop fans signed a climate campaign.
Campaigners against the deal said the automaker would use metal smelted with greenhouse-gas-heavy coal-fired energy.
Hyundai had originally signed the agreement with the company in 2022 to reduce its carbon footprint by using more sustainable and recyclable materials, like aluminum, in its vehicles.
However, using coal to smelt the materials triggered a campaign by a climate activist group, Kpop4Planet. Thousands of fans joined the call to ditch the deal, forcing Hyundai to back down in the face of a potential public relations disaster.
Hyundai Motors says it is ending its non-binding memorandum of understanding with Adaro at the end of 2023.
Kpop4Planet told Reuters that the campaign “is the victory of thousands of K-pop fans who genuinely care about the climate crisis, especially in Indonesia,” adding that it is monitoring Hyundai’s sourcing of materials for manufacturing.
