Samsung Electronics Wins Two Awards at US Environmental Protection Agency's 'Green Awards'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Soyeon] Samsung Electronics received an award at the '2019 SMM Awards' hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in recognition of its eco-friendly new technologies and recycling activities.

Established in 2014 to encourage continuous resource management activities by companies, the 'SMM Awards' are given to companies voluntarily participating in recycling programs in the United States.

The awards are divided into the 'Champion Awards' category, which honors products, programs, and new technologies leading eco-friendly activities, and the 'Tier Awards' category, which evaluates recycling activities. Samsung Electronics won awards in both categories.

In the 'Champion Awards' category, Samsung Electronics received the New Technology Award for contributing to the circular economy through the reuse of used mobile phones and for its environmentally considerate technology recognized for utilizing various functions of Galaxy smartphones.

The 'Galaxy Upcycling' project, which won the New Technology Award, converts unused used mobile phones into Internet of Things (IoT) devices that contribute to the environment and society.

Since 2017, this project has supported the development of eye examination devices for patients at risk of blindness in collaboration with domestic medical staff, enabling the production of simple eye examination devices at 10% of the cost of commercially available devices.

Last year, a total of 90 eye examination devices were distributed in Vietnam, allowing approximately 14,000 local residents to receive early eye examinations.

Additionally, Samsung Electronics was selected for the sixth consecutive year for the highest award in the 'Tier Awards' category, the 'Gold Tier,' which is given to outstanding companies in electronic waste collection.

The 'Gold Tier' is awarded to companies with a transaction ratio of 96% or higher with recycling companies that have obtained third-party certification.

Samsung Electronics contracts 100% with recycling companies certified under the third-party electronic waste certification management program 'eSteward' and actively participates in the company's voluntary collection program 'eCycling.'

On the 4th, ahead of the opening of 'CES 2020,' a free electronic waste collection event was held in the northern area of Las Vegas, USA. This event has been held annually since 2018.

Meanwhile, 'The Serif TV Eco Package' received the 'CES Innovation Award' for improving resource use efficiency by enabling the upcycling of discarded packaging boxes into small furniture through design innovation.

The 'Eco Package' is made of corrugated cardboard, allowing consumers to cut and assemble the product box themselves to reuse it as a small table or bookshelf.

The method for making small home appliance furniture using this package, which will be applied to 'The Serif' TV package in the first half of this year, can be found by scanning the QR code displayed on the package.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.