Samsung has been focusing a lot on reducing its environmental footprint over the past decade. Thanks to its efforts, the company has become the first brand in nine years to win the EPA's (Environmental Protection Agency) prestigious and rare ENERGY STAR Corporate Commitment Award.
The South Korean firm has been working with EPA for a long time and has taken a multi-faceted approach to address the climate change crisis. Samsung has made various changes to its designing, manufacturing, distribution, repairing, and recycling processes over the years to reach this stage. This year, Samsung has 303 ENERGY STAR-rated devices, including all of its Galaxy tablets, front-load washers and dishwashers, 86% of its refrigerators, 78% of its top-load washers, and 54% of its dryers.
The company is no longer bundling chargers and earphones in the box of its flagship phones. Moreover, the chargers it sells are made using PCM (Post-Consumer Materials). Samsung's lifestyle TV range—The Frame, The Serif, and The Sero—comes with eco-friendly packaging that can be upcycled and turned into creative pieces that can be used for home decoration and storage. The innovative packaging design recently helped the company win a few iF Design awards.
Samsung uses 100% renewable energy to power its plants in China, Europe, and the US. The company is now among the top in EPA’s Green Power Partnership program. Moreover, Samsung has partnered with EPA to improve the new ENERGY STAR Tenant Space program for energy management improvements by tenants in a leased building space. Samsung 837 (New York City), the Samsung Solutions Center (Washington DC), Samsung's customer contact center in Simpsonville (South Carolina), and Samsung locations in Plano (Texas) are ENERGY STAR or Tenant Space certified.
The company has received eight Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence awards from EPA since 2013. The company says that winning these awards has made it realize that it needs to push forward in the future and set a benchmark for others in the industry.
KS Choi, President and CEO, Samsung Electronics North America, said, “Samsung is committed to helping mitigate climate change through our products, practices, and operations, especially in the area of energy efficiency. We are extremely honored to receive this rare and prestigious award and commit to continuing to raise the bar on energy efficiency as an important part of tackling climate change.”
