Samsung announced on Thursday a comprehensive environmental strategy aimed at achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The company’s Device Experience (DX) division, its consumer electronics division that makes smartphones, TVs and other gadgets, will work to achieve this goal by 2030. Ultimately, Samsung has said it aims to achieve zero carbon emissions. carbon in all of its global operations, including its Device Solutions (DS) division, the semiconductor division of the computer chip company, by 2050.
By achieving carbon neutrality from direct and indirect sources, Samsung said it will reduce its carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 17 million tons, the amount emitted in 2021.
The South Korean tech giant said it will spend 7 trillion won on its environmental initiatives by 2030, not including the costs of expanding the use of renewable energy. Some of these initiatives include reducing process gas emissions, conserving water, collecting electronic waste, and reducing pollutants, the company said.
Samsung joins the RE100 collective
Samsung will introduce processing plants into its semiconductor production lines, or factories, by 2030 to significantly reduce process gases. Water withdrawal levels from factories in 2030 will also be maintained at 2021 levels, Samsung said. The chip division will also apply new technologies that remove pollutants from the air and water during production and treat them before they are released so they have no impact on the environment starting in 2040.
Meanwhile, the South Korean tech giant also announced that it has joined RE100, a global initiative to produce 100% renewable energy. As part of this commitment, within five years, it will meet the electricity needs of all markets in which it operates outside Korea with renewable sources by entering into energy purchase agreements, purchasing energy certificates and participating in green pricing programs.
Samsung has set specific target dates for each region in its plan: 2022 for Southwest Asia and Vietnam, 2025 for Central and Latin America, and 2027 for Southeast Asia, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States. .
The company has already matched energy use to renewable energy in the US, China and Europe and will look to expand energy purchase agreements for renewable energy in these three markets, Samsung said.
Products that consume less
The South Korean tech giant said it also plans to make its products more energy efficient and use less electricity. It expects to reduce energy consumption levels by an average of 30% in 2030 compared to 2019 in the main products of seven categories: smartphones, refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, monitors and PCs.
It is also currently developing new ultra-low-power memory chips that will significantly reduce power consumption levels in data centers and mobile devices by 2025 compared to memory chips currently on the market.
Samsung will also set medium- and long-term reduction targets for its value chain for its products. The company said it will also increase its efforts to improve the resource circularity of its products throughout their life cycle, from sourcing raw materials to recycling and disposal.
New circular economy laboratory
It has created a new laboratory called the Circular Economy Lab, a unit that will conduct research on technologies related to recycling and resource extraction. Another research laboratory, within Samsung’s advanced research unit, the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, called the Carbon Capture Research Institute, established last September, will develop carbon capture and utilization technologies for industrial semiconductor sites al to transform stored carbon into habitual resources. These technologies will be applied starting in 2030.
Likewise, a system will be in place by 2030 that will facilitate the reuse of minerals extracted from collected used batteries, Samsung said. Furthermore, by 2030, 50% of the plastic used in its products will incorporate recycled resin, while by 2050, 100% of its plastic will incorporate it. Samsung already has such a program in place for its cell phones that reuse discarded fishing nets.
In terms of accountability, Samsung will have organizations overseen by works councils which will include third party experts. A board chaired by the CEO and a sustainability committee composed of external directors will monitor the progress of the objectives.
Source: ZDNet.com
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