[Samsung New Environmental Strategy] "Achieving Company-wide Carbon Neutrality by 2050 with Innovative Technology"

Samsung Announces New Environmental Management Strategy After 30 Years
Commits to Developing Innovative Technologies Like 'Ultra-Low Power Semiconductors'
"Company-Wide Goals: DX by 2030 and DS by 2050"

Samsung Electronics announced its "New Environmental Management Strategy" on the 15th. The company decided to mobilize all its capabilities to shift its management paradigm to "environment." This is the first company-wide declaration of environmental management in 30 years since the "Samsung Environmental Declaration" in 1992. The photo shows Han Jong-hee, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics' Device Experience (DX) division, delivering the keynote speech titled "Together for the Future" at CES 2022 in Las Vegas, USA, last January. (Photo by Samsung Electronics)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Samsung Electronics has declared its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. To this end, the company pledged to mobilize all its capabilities to develop innovative technologies for ultra-low power semiconductors and products. This signifies a thorough shift in its management paradigm to focus on the 'environment.'

On the 15th, Samsung Electronics announced a 'New Environmental Management Strategy' outlining plans to achieve carbon neutrality across the entire company, including DX (Device Experience) and DS (Semiconductor) divisions. This is the first time in 30 years that Samsung Electronics has released a company-wide environmental management roadmap.

The goal is to complete carbon neutrality in the DX sector by 2030 and across the entire company, including DS, by 2050. The plan is to perfectly control not only direct carbon emissions from product manufacturing and fuel use at business sites (Scope 1) but also indirect carbon emissions caused by electricity and heat generated during energy production (Scope 2). Samsung Electronics emitted approximately 17 million tons of carbon last year, and it must reduce emissions by this amount to achieve its target.

To achieve Scope 1 goals, Samsung Electronics plans to develop new technologies by 2030, such as improving process gas treatment efficiency. For Scope 2, the company has decided to join the global campaign 'RE100 (Renewable Electricity).' RE100 is a campaign to supply all electricity at business sites with renewable energy (energy derived from nature such as solar power, excluding new energies like hydrogen) by 2050.

On the 2nd (local time), the exhibition hall installed with the phrase "Everyday Sustainability" at IFA 2022, Europe's largest electronics exhibition held in Berlin, Germany. In Europe, the term sustainability is used more often than ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), highlighting Samsung Electronics' intense efforts toward eco-friendliness in Europe. (Photo by Samsung Electronics)

Samsung Electronics clearly stated its intention to strengthen cooperation with industry peers and civil society, considering that Korea's renewable energy supply is lower and costs are higher than in other countries. According to Samsung Electronics, the share of renewable energy in Korea's total energy generation is 7.5%, only a quarter of the 30% average among OECD countries. The cost of solar power generation in Korea is traded at 116 KRW per kWh, more than twice as expensive as in the United States (48 KRW) and China (42 KRW).

Han Jong-hee, Vice Chairman and Head of Samsung Electronics' DX Division, said, "Overcoming the climate crisis and establishing a circular economy is the greatest challenge of our time, requiring participation from companies, governments, and citizens alike." He emphasized, "Samsung Electronics will play a catalytic role in accelerating the establishment of an eco-friendly ecosystem across the entire value chain (supply chain) through innovative technologies and products."

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