This recognition for Samsung’s sustainability efforts comes right on the heels of the EPA presenting it with a Gold Tier Award in March. It is the highest EPA accolade that honors companies for recycling electronic waste (e-waste). The agency had also presented the firm with the Sustained Excellence Award for its innovation in Sustainable Materials Management (SMM). “Sustainability is core to Samsung’s mission and we have an obligation to help stem the effects of climate change and preserve our planet for future generations,” said Mark Newton, Head of Corporate Sustainability for Samsung Electronics America. “These accolades from the EPA reflect our ongoing efforts to reduce our impact through our efficient ENERGY STAR products, as well as through our reduced energy footprint in the built environment.”
Samsung receives more awards for its sustainability efforts
ENERGY STAR is an EPA program to raise awareness about saving both energy and money. Climate protection is also one of the program’s agendas. To promote the program, the EPA conducts an annual awards function where it honors businesses and organizations for creating energy-efficient products and services. Samsung has been leading the tech industry in sustainability efforts. Every year since 2008, it has collected and recycled 100 million pounds of e-waste in the US alone. The company also uses recycled plastic material in its products to reduce its carbon footprint. The recently launched Galaxy S22 series makes use of discarded fishing nets in some components. The Korean firm also recently announced a self-repair program for Galaxy devices encouraging customers to use recycled products. It is aiming to use 500,000 tons of recycled plastics in its products globally by 2030. Samsung last year introduced SolarCell Remote to reduce battery and plastic waste. It is estimating this change to help reduce 5,840 tons of greenhouse gases over seven years. This initiative will also eliminate more than 200 million AA batteries from landfills. According to Samsung, its product efficiency innovations have also helped reduce 301 million tons of CO2 emissions since 2009. That’s the equivalent of removing more than 65 million cars off the road. The company has also achieved 100 percent renewable energy sources in several of its worksites. No wonder it is collecting one after another for environmental protection.
