■ The environmental question is not a problem belonging to only one country or one race but a problem of the entire planet. ■ Nobody can now deny that mankind has an uncertain future if we consistently damage our environment. Many developed countries are already hard at work in solving this crisis. However, in the aspect of environmental consciousness, Korea could not yet be regarded as being in the level of other developed countries but it can be said that public awareness of the importance of the environment has just begun to spread in this country. ■ Korea has inflicted much damage on the environment as it prioritized economic advancements. Presently, the international opinion indicates that “Korea has overlooked the environment problem considering its economic growth scale,” and for such a reason the country is still looked down upon as an underdeveloped country in terms of how the country manages the environment. Therefore, it is very urgent that we now have to lead in starting even by small positive changes in implementing policies to correct this. ■ Environment mark system: The environment mark is assigned to products that produce relatively minimal pollutants or enable the saving of resources in the manufacturing and consumption processes. The mark provides consumers with accurate environment information and leads companies to develop and manufacture environment-friendly products as a response to consumer preferences. ■ Preferred purchase system: “Preferred Purchase System of Governmental and Public Institutes” has been implemented since 1995. By requiring the government and public institution purchase and use environment marked products, it promotes the production and consumption of environment-friendly products and pushes the implementation of sustainable manufacturing and consumption system.