Samsung celebrates Earth Day
Samsung Electronics employees conduct a collection campaign for used mobile phones at a Samsung Electronics service center in Sao Paulo, Brazil, April 17. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
The Samsung Electronics logo / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
By Baek Byung-yeul
Samsung Electronics conducted various eco-friendly campaigns around the world to raise awareness of the importance of environmental protection on the occasion of April 22 Earth Day, according to the company Sunday.
To celebrate Earth Day, which was created in 1970 to help preserve our planet's environment, Samsung Electronics said it is organizing a campaign with employees and consumers to collect used mobile phones at its business sites in Korea from April 17 to May 12.
In addition to Samsung Electronics, 10 affiliates have joined the campaign, including Samsung Display, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung SDS, Samsung C&T, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Samsung Biologics.
“The campaign, which began in 2015, is held annually on the occasion of Earth Day to raise awareness of environmental protection and resource recycling. Over the past eight years, 64,330 mobile phones have been collected, with 12,675 phones collected in 2022 alone,” the company said.
Not only in Korea but also in 37 other countries such as the United States and India. The company's service center launched the used mobile phone collection campaign to be proactive in addressing environmental issues.
In Kazakhstan, Samsung installed used mobile phone collection boxes at eight universities across the country. The company also gave lectures to students at Almaty Technological University on proper waste electronics disposal and resource utilization to raise their awareness of resource recollection and reuse.
In 16 countries with insufficient waste collection infrastructure such as Chile and Egypt, Samsung is building used product collection systems as well. The company is also offering trade-in programs in major regions such as Latin America and the Middle East for the better use of resources.
To join the movement to tackle climate change, Samsung already announced its New Environmental Strategy in 2022 to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To that end, the company will develop less-energy-consuming semiconductors and IT gadgets and convert 100 percent of its electricity supply to renewable sources by 2050.