Samsung Display Announces 'Environmental Management Strategy' to Achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2050

Joining RE100... Minimizing Scope 1 & 2
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Choi Joo-sun, President and CEO of Samsung Display. (Photo by Samsung Display)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Samsung Display announced its "Environmental Management Strategy" on the 13th, aiming to achieve carbon neutrality (net zero carbon emissions) by 2050.

To realize this strategy, Samsung Display recently joined RE100 and stated that it will promote the use of renewable energy power at its domestic and overseas business sites by 2050. RE100 is a campaign to make 100% of the energy used at business sites renewable by 2050.

By 2040, the company plans to strive to achieve environmental management strategy tasks such as resource recycling, water conservation, and development of eco-friendly materials. Choi Ju-seon, CEO of Samsung Display, said, "We are facing a serious climate crisis to the extent that the first principle of corporate management must change to 'Earth,'" adding, "Samsung Display will actively participate in overcoming the greatest challenge of humanity, the climate crisis, through continuous carbon reduction efforts, establishing a circular economy ecosystem within the display industry, and developing low-power eco-friendly technologies."

They plan to increase the efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) to create a low-power display production system. Technologies such as "Eco Square OLED," which internalizes the polarizer function to increase panel luminance and reduce power consumption by up to 52%, will be developed.

Ultimately, they aim to achieve net zero carbon emissions directly and indirectly (Scope 1 and 2) by 2050.

First, they will continue investing to minimize carbon emissions directly released during production (Scope 1). Specifically, this includes ▲reducing electricity, process gas, and fuel usage ▲expanding process gas reduction facilities ▲investing in the development of low GWP (Global Warming Potential) alternative gases.

Additionally, to reduce indirect carbon emissions from electricity use (Scope 2), they joined RE100 last month. As part of the campaign implementation, they plan to introduce renewable energy power to all business sites by 2050. In this regard, the transition to renewable energy at the China business site was completed in 2020. By the end of the year, they plan to promote the introduction of renewable energy power at all overseas business sites, including those in Vietnam and India. They will also participate in the "2030 Zero-Emission Vehicle Transition," which converts company vehicles to electric or hydrogen vehicles by 2030.

They will maximize recycling of irreplaceable resources such as sand and water. They will promote recycling of process materials and development of resource-circulating materials. They plan to expand the "circular economy ecosystem" within the display industry. The goal is to develop an eco-friendly economic model that pursues sustainability through resource saving and recycling.

To realize the circular economy, they plan to establish a system that considers resource recycling from the early stages of production such as design. They will also collaborate with companies in other fields to expand the "circular economy ecosystem" by recycling substrate glass and carrier glass (glass used for panel attachment in flexible OLED manufacturing processes), which are key process materials, into building materials and glass fiber raw materials (used in ship structures and automotive interiors). They will develop and expand the use of shared containers that can be reused regardless of model for plastic containers used to transport panels, which were previously discarded after use for specific products, and plan to replace them with eco-friendly material containers in the future.

They will also increase investments related to water protection, an irreplaceable resource. Samsung Display plans to reduce annual water usage through 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) activities by improving manufacturing processes and utility infrastructure, and to increase water reuse rates by expanding investments in advanced water treatment facilities.

To achieve carbon neutrality, Samsung Display has formed a "Carbon Neutral Task Force (TF)" to establish and implement detailed roadmaps for each task. Through the "Sustainability Council," they will monitor the progress of various environmental management initiatives.

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