At Samsung’s Unpacked event, the company held its annual new device showcase, but it also made a commitment to eliminate all plastic from its smartphone packaging by 2025.
This commitment, made as part of Samsung’s new sustainable development platform called Galaxy for the Planet, aims to reduce the waste created during the lifecycle of Samsung smartphones.
The pledge sets out various sustainability goals that Samsung hopes to achieve by 2025. According to this timeline, in addition to moving away from plastic packaging, Samsung plans to incorporate recycled materials into all of its new smartphones, eliminate waste and reduce the standby power consumption of its smartphone chargers to less than 0.005 W when a device is fully charged.
Renewable energy and recycling of old devices
“We believe that everyone has a role to play in providing innovative solutions that protect the planet for generations to come. Samsung realizes that its efforts must match its size, influence and the breadth of the Galaxy ecosystem around the world, ”said TM Roh, president of Samsung Mobile Communications Business.
“Galaxy for the Planet is an important step in our journey towards creating a more sustainable world, and we will do so with the openness, transparency and collaboration that drives everything we do. “
Other sustainability measures introduced by Samsung in recent months include the launch of a recycling program for old Galaxy devices, a new tool that helps people manage the energy they use, not to mention l’engagement to use only renewable energy sources for its activities in Brazil and Mexico by 2025.
Currently, Samsung’s operations in China, Europe and the United States are already fully powered by renewable energy sources.
Ambitions also renewed for LG
In its annual sustainability report published in June, Samsung indicates that its greenhouse gas emissions increased by 5% compared to the previous year, which represents 14.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. carbon. With this increase in emissions, Samsung failed to meet its 2020 emissions target, which would have represented a 70% reduction in emissions produced in 2008.
According to Greenpeace, Samsung currently uses fossil fuels to meet 82% of its electricity needs. “Given the scale of Samsung’s business and its impact across the Korean and Vietnamese economies as a whole, as well as its commitment to pursuing renewable energy targets in other markets, the company has the power to make great strides in Korea and Vietnam by facilitating access to renewable energy in those two countries, ”Greenpeace said in June.
Samsung’s latest promise was followed by LG’s, which also took a sustainability commitment the same day. LG on Wednesday pledged to set emissions targets in line with science targets. This commitment brings LG’s emissions targets in line with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, LG said.
Two years ago, LG also pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030, which means cutting production-stage carbon emissions to half of what it emitted in 2017 from by 2030. Last month, LG said it was on track to achieve a 95% waste recycling rate at its production sites and to switch to the exclusive use of electric or hydrogen cars for its operations. professionals by 2030.
If we compare the two South Korean tech giants, while Samsung’s greenhouse gas emissions increased in 2020, LG reduced its emissions by 12% last year compared to 2019, producing around 1 , 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Source : ZDNet.com
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