LG will reportedly spend nearly $18 billion (20 trillion won) over the next 10 years cutting its carbon footprint 40 percent and developing greener products.

The South Korean company's plan is expected to reduce emissions by 50 million metric tonnes annually by 2020, Reuters reported. The other half of the $18 billion investment will be spent increasing production of energy efficient and clean tech products, such as fuel cells and rechargeable electric vehicle batteries.

By 2020, the company hopes these products will comprise 10 percent of its total revenue.

The emissions target falls in line with South Korea's overarching climate goal of reducing emissions 30 percent by 2020. The country is Asia's fourth-largest polluter. {related_content}By 2020, the company also plans to reduce water consumption by 30 percent.

One of LG's computer monitors recently became the first to earn a sustainable product certification from UL Environment (ULE). ULE also recently validated the energy and water savings of a LG washer and LCD TV.

The company, however, also caught flak from Greenpeace for failing to meet goals of phasing out PVC and brominated flame retardants by the end of last year.

A recent scorecard from Tomorrow's Value Rating placed LG Electronics in sixth place for its sustainability efforts in an evaluation of the information and communication technology sector.

Image CC licensed by Flickr user LGEPR.