Sustainability : Samsung announces new sustainability commitment
One of the world’s largest consumer electronics brands has pledged to adopt a more sustainable approach to its business operation.
Samsung intends to forego the use of plastic packaging for its mobile applications by 2025, opting to incorporate environmentally sustainable materials for its packaging needs instead.
The South Korean consumer electronics producer plans to introduce several other eco-conscious initiatives over the same time span.
The increased use of recycled materials in its new mobile offerings, the reduction of standby energy consumption for its smartphone chargers to below 0,005W as well as the total diversion of e-waste generated at mobile worksites from landfill are the main commitments made by Samsung.
These initiatives to minimize the environmental impact of manufacturing come as part of ‘Galaxy for the Planet’, Samsung’s bespoke mobile sustainability platform.
TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics, said: “We believe that everyone has a role to play in providing innovative solutions that protect the planet for generations to come. Samsung understands our efforts need to match our scale, our influence and the magnitude of the entire Galaxy ecosystem around the world.”
In the past, Samsung initiated sustainable business practices in the form of its Galaxy-Upcycling program, which saw the conversion of smartphones into medical devices capable of screening eye diseases in Vietnam. Other initiatives include the use of a solar powered remote control for its new TV innovations, developed to reduce battery waste, as well as its use of automation in household appliances such as washers and dryers, intended to cut down on energy consumption and water use.
In its annual sustainability report, published this past June 2021, Samsung disclosed to having failed to meet its 70% emissions reductions target for 2020. In the same report, the electronics giant did point out, however, that all its operations at local worksites in China, Europe and the US were fully powered by renewable energy.
Greenpeace contradicted that this did not change the fact that Samsung relies on fossil fuels for 82% of its power needs, with the worksites in China, Europe and the US comprising less than 20% of the company’s total energy output.
For the imminent future, Samsung has pledged to use only renewable energy sources for its Brazilian and Mexican market.