Samsung published its 2024 Sustainability Report earlier today, detailing all its recent efforts on the path to reaching net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050, diversifying its workforce, and increasing device security.
It's been nearly two years since September 2022, when the company revealed its New Environmental Strategy and plans to achieve net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050.
According to the GHG Protocol (Greenhouse Gas Protocol), Scope 1 emissions concern direct emissions from the company, and Scope 2 emissions are indirect ones from heat, cooling, electricity, and steam purchased by the company.
While Samsung aims for net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050 company-wide, the Device eXperience (DX) division has a more ambitious goal of reaching the finish line by 2030.
What has Samsung done in 2023?
In today's Sustainability Report, Samsung reveals that its DX division achieved 93.4% renewable energy conversion in 2023.
Furthermore, last year, the DX division expanded its e-waste recovery and recycling programs to more than 70 countries, and the company managed to incorporate recycled resin in 25% of the plastic parts it manufactured.
The Galaxy S24 series used more recycled plastics than previous models and became the company's first to use recycled rare earth elements.
In 2023, the Device Solutions division did its part to help the conglomerate get closer to its net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions goals by 2050. The DS arm installed new process gas treatment facilities and more liquid natural gas waste heat recovery systems.
The DS Division also signed power purchase agreements in Korea to supply renewable energy from a 60-megawatt solar power plant.
All in all, in 2023, Samsung DS decreased its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 11.6% compared to the year before.
Another notable Samsung achievement in 2023 was obtaining Platinum certification from the Alliance for Water Stewardship for facilities in Giheung, Hwaesong, Pyeontaek, and Xi'an.
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Furthermore, in line with the company's Global Human Rights Principles, Samsung says it wants to double the baseline number of women executives by 2030. The first female Samsung executive to be promoted to the President rank was Lee Young-hee. She became the President of the Global Marketing Center for Samsung DX in 2022.
And last year, the company opened Stellar Forest — a subsidiary standard workplace to create sustainable jobs for people with developmental disabilities.
As for maintaining the privacy and security of its customers, Samsung underlined that, in recent years, it integrated the Samsung Knox platform into home appliances — not just mobile devices and TVs. Furthermore, it expanded the firmware support period of select mobile devices — like the Galaxy S24 — to seven years of OS and security updates.
