Samsung Electronics vervangt kunststof verpakkingen door duurzame materialen

In het kader van het duurzaamheidsbeleid van het bedrijf, wil Samsung verpakkingen beperken en vervangen door milieuvriendelijke materialen

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. kondigde vandaag aan dat het bedrijf dit jaar stappen zal ondernemen om plastic verpakkingsmaterialen te vervangen door papier en andere milieuvriendelijke alternatieven.

Vanaf de eerste helft van 2019 zullen de verpakkingen die momenteel worden gebruikt voor de producten en accessoires van Samsung – van mobiele telefoons en tablets tot huishoudelijke apparaten – worden vervangen door milieuvriendelijke materialen zoals gerecyclede of op bio-gebaseerde kunststoffen en papier.

Om de verpakking van producten te vernieuwen, heeft Samsung Electronics een taskforce gevormd die zich bezighoudt met ontwerp en ontwikkeling, inkoop, marketing en kwaliteitscontrole voor innovatieve verpakkingsideeën.

For mobile phone, tablet and wearable products, Samsung will replace the plastic used for holder trays with pulp molds, and bags wrapping accessories with eco-friendly materials. Samsung will also alter the phone charger design, swapping the glossy exterior with a matte finish and eliminating plastic protection films, reducing the use of plastics.

The plastic bags used to protect the surface of home appliances such as TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners and washing machines as well as other kitchen appliances will also be replaced with bags containing recycled materials and bioplastics, which are respectively made from plastic wastes and non-fossil fuel materials like starch or sugar cane.

Regarding paper, Samsung will only use fiber materials certified by global environmental organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council, Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Scheme and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative for packaging and manuals by 2020.

“Samsung Electronics is stepping up in addressing society’s environmental issues such as resource depletion and plastic wastes,” said Gyeong-bin Jeon, head of Samsung’s Global Customer Satisfaction Center. “We are committed to recycling resources and minimizing pollution coming from our products. We will adopt more environmentally sustainable materials even if it means an increase in cost.”

Under the company’s circular economy policy, Samsung Electronics has set a mid-term implementation plan to only use paper packaging materials certified by forestry initiatives by next year. By 2030, Samsung aims to use 500 thousand tons of recycled plastics and collect 7.5 million tons of discarded products (both cumulative from 2009).