Samsung Electronics ramps up push towards carbon neutrality

Samsung Electronics Launches New ‘Samsung Eco Friends’ accessories. [Courtesy of Samsung Electronics]

September 15 will mark one year since Samsung Electronics Co. unveiled its new environmental management strategy for green business initiatives.

The tech giant has been ramping up its push for carbon neutrality while increasing the use of renewable energy in business by 65 percent on year compared with the previous year.

As reported by industry sources on Wednesday, Samsung Electronics will pour more than 7 trillion won into sustainable initiatives such as reducing process emissions, recycling electronic waste, and preserving water resources, as outlined in the strategy.

The strategy, unveiled last September, aims to achieve companywide carbon neutrality by 2025 to respond to climate change and build an upcycling economy. This represents the company’s next-level commitment to the environment since the 1992 Samsung Environment Declaration, which described responses to environmental issues as vital, not optional.

Under the new strategy, the tech giant’s DX division transitioned to 100 percent renewable energy use in its Vietnam, India, and Brazil operations, as well as in all domestic operations.

Samsung Electronics achieved a renewable energy transition rate of 31 percent in 2022, with its global renewable energy consumption increasing by 65 percent year-on-year to 8,704 gigawatt-hours (GWh).

Samsung Electronics announced plans to shift toward 100 percent renewable energy in all offshore operations by 2027 and replace all business-use vehicles with renewable cars such as electric vehicles (EVs).

The company reduced more carbon emissions last year, with a reduction of 11.6 million metric tons, up 59 percent from 2021.

Samsung Electronics has also committed to reducing direct carbon emissions through the development and expansion of RCS, a comprehensive large-scale disposal facility for process gas, while also enhancing the efficiency of process gas treatment. It has already developed and is using a non-greenhouse gas with a low global warming index to produce specific products.

Through optimizing water reuse in its processes, Samsung Electronics is actively curbing the need for new water extraction. Despite the anticipated over twofold increase in daily water requirements at DS sites by 2030 due to semiconductor line expansion, Samsung Electronics is committed to maximizing water recycling and maintaining usage levels in 2021.

With the aim of using renewable resins in plastic applications by 2050, Samsung Electronics will initially apply carbon capture to chip manufacturing sites after 2030 and widen the scope to partner companies.

Samsung Electronics said its employees came up with some of the initiatives in the new strategy.

One example is in the Suwon plant’s cafeteria, where an artificial intelligence (AI) system was introduced to tackle food waste. This innovative approach originated from an observant employee who noticed the daily disposal of leftovers at the cafeteria exit.

A camera positioned above the cafeteria exit captures images of food plates, and AI is used to detect, analyze, and estimate the leftovers. This innovative approach involves adjusting ingredient quantities for foods with a higher rate of leftovers while increasing the variety of dishes with fewer leftovers. This initiative is anticipated to help achieve a monthly reduction in food waste of approximately 10 percent.

The Eco-bag & Tumbler Collection Campaign donating employees’ unused eco-bags and tumblers to local welfare facilities was also implemented in April.

Samsung Electronics has set up donation boxes for the eco-bags and tumblers, allowing employees to engage in both eco-friendly practices and charitable contributions.