Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced the 2022 sustainability initiatives that will accelerate the development of eco-conscious home appliances. With these measures, Samsung is acting against environmental issues through innovative products and services that can be used in everyday life.

“At CES 2022, we outlined how Samsung will contribute in tackling some of the world’s most pressing environmental and sustainability issues,” said Hyesoon Yang, Executive Vice President and Head of Customer Experience of the Digital Appliances Business at Samsung Electronics. “Collaborations to combat microplastic pollution; helping consumers reduce their energy consumption; cutting back on waste by using recycled plastic; and adapting eco-conscious packaging, these are some of the activities we are working on to develop various tangible solutions for environmental problems and a sustainable future.”

Technology to reduce pollution

In a newly announced collaboration, Samsung is coming together with American clothing company Patagonia. As unveiled at CES 2022, this collaboration will promote environmental sustainability by addressing the issue of microplastics and its impact on the ocean environment. Patagonia CPO Vincent Stanley shared his thoughts during Samsung’s keynote speech on the significance of this collaboration and the direction it will take, calling it an example of how companies can “help turn the tide of climate change and restore nature to health.”

Patagonia is well-known for its commitment to innovative materials that lessen harm to the planet. The clothing company continues to help Samsung in multiple ways, including product testing, sharing its research, and facilitating an introduction to the NGO Ocean Wise. Samsung has been researching features designed to help overcome the negative impacts of microplastics.

Also, the Bespoke Water Purifier was recently certified by NSF International in the U.S. for its ability to filter out particles that measure as little as 0.5 to 1 micrometer, which include microplastics. This makes Samsung one of the first manufacturers of water purifiers to receive this certification.

Saving more energy and encouraging more eco-conscious energy use

To contribute to better energy usage and to support sustainable living, Samsung has also partnered with Q CELLS to establish a new Zero Energy Home Integration[1] feature for SmartThings Energy. This feature provides production and storage data from solar panels and energy storage systems to help users establish energy self-sufficiency.

SmartThings Energy monitors power usage of consumers’ connected devices and recommends energy saving methods based on their usage patterns. Partnering with Wattbuy in the U.S. and Uswitch in the U.K., SmartThings Energy allows users to switch over to the most cost-efficient energy provider in their area.

Ramping up use of recycled plastic

Samsung will also increase the amount of recycled plastic that is used in its home appliances. To this end, it will expand the use of recycled plastic from the interior components of its appliances to the exterior elements as well.

Samsung is set to raise its goal for recycled plastic utilization in its home appliances from five percent in 2021 to 30 percent in 2024. This is an increase from 25,000 tons of recycled plastic in 2021 to 158,000 tons in 2024.[2]

In addition, Samsung has also developed a new type of polypropylene recycled plastic for its washing machine tubs. Using discarded polypropylene and polyethylene from items such as used lunchboxes and facial mask straps, the company has created a new type of recycled resin that is more resistant to external shocks.

More sustainable packaging

Samsung is also expanding its use of eco-packaging to encompass a larger lineup of products, including home appliances such as vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens, air purifiers and more. This will enable consumers to repurpose the boxes their products came in.

The expansion was first launched in Korea in 2021 and will be introduced to global markets in 2022.

For more information about Samsung’s eco-conscious initiatives, please visit Samsung.com.

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[1] Available from the first half of 2022 in the U.K., the second half of 2022 in Germany and 2023 in the U.S.

[2] Based on weight of final components

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today unveiled its vision for the future, “Together for tomorrow,” during a pre-show keynote event at CES 2022. Keynote speaker Jong-Hee (JH) Han, Vice Chairman, CEO and Head of DX (Device eXperience) Division at Samsung, highlighted the company’s efforts to usher in a new age of togetherness, with customizable experiences that reflect consumers’ evolving lifestyles, and innovations that mark progress for both society and the planet.

The company’s “Together for tomorrow” vision is one that empowers everyone to create positive change and drives collaborations that address some of the planet’s most pressing challenges. The keynote illustrated how Samsung plans to make its vision a reality by introducing a range of sustainability initiatives, purposeful partnerships, and customizable and connected technologies.

“I’m excited for you to be a part of our vision to see how innovation can create positive change, [and] to join us and work together for tomorrow,” said Han. ”These developments will make sustainability part of your product experience, enabling you to live a more sustainable life.”

Building a Sustainable Future

At its core, Samsung’s vision for the future is built on what the company calls “everyday sustainability.” It is a concept that inspires Samsung to put sustainability at the heart of everything it does. The company has been realizing its vision by adopting new, low-impact product manufacturing practices, footprint-reducing packaging and a more sustainable customer experience, and by responsibly disposing of products at the end of their lifecycles.

Samsung’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions throughout the production cycle have also earned recognition from the Carbon Trust, the world’s leading authority on carbon footprint. Last year, the company’s Carbon Trust-certified memory chips helped reduce carbon emissions by nearly 700,000 tons.

Samsung’s efforts in this area extend well beyond semiconductors and include expanding the use of recycled materials. To introduce everyday sustainability to more products, Samsung’s Visual Display Business plans to use 30 times more recycled plastics than it did in 2021. The company also revealed plans to expand its use of recycled materials to include all mobile products and home appliances over the next three years.

In 2021, all of Samsung’s TV boxes included recycled materials. For this year, the company revealed that it will be expanding the use of recycled materials to include the boxes’ interior packaging as well. Now, recycled materials will be incorporated into Styrofoam, box holders and plastic bags. The company also announced the global expansion of its award-winning Eco-Packaging program. The expansion of the program, which transforms cardboard boxes into cat houses, side tables, and other useful furniture items, will include packaging for home appliances such as vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens and more.

Samsung is also building sustainability into the ways that customers experience its products. Such experiences will be integral to empowering people to reduce their carbon footprint and make positive changes together for a better tomorrow. As an example, the company introduced notable enhancements to its first-of-its-kind SolarCell Remote, which can help eliminate battery waste with a built-in solar panel that can be charged during both day and night.

The enhanced SolarCell Remote gets electricity from radio frequencies in devices like Wi-Fi routers[1]. “What’s more, it will be included in more Samsung products – like new Samsung TVs and home appliances – with the goal of eliminating the equivalent of more than 200 million batteries from landfills[2]. When you line them up, it is the distance from right here, Las Vegas, to Korea,” said Han.

In addition, by 2025, Samsung plans to make all of its TVs and phone chargers operate on near zero standby power, so that the products will consume almost no energy when not being used.

E-waste is another big challenge for the electronics industry, which is why Samsung has collected more than five million tons of e-waste since 2009. For mobile products, last year, Samsung launched Galaxy for the Planet, a sustainability platform that was created to bring about tangible climate action and minimize devices’ environmental footprints throughout their lifecycles.

“These are important steps,” said Han, “but we cannot achieve our goals alone. We believe open innovation and collaboration are keys to fighting climate change and protecting our environment.” With this in mind, Samsung announced that its eco-conscious technologies like the SolarCell Remote will be made open source, so that others can utilize them for their new devices too.

Samsung’s decision to make such technologies openly available reflects a commitment to innovation – and to everyday sustainability – that transcends industries. The collaboration with Patagonia that Samsung announced at the keynote demonstrates the type of innovation that can result when companies – even those from entirely different industries – come together to address environmental issues. The innovative solution that the companies are designing will help fight plastic pollution by enabling Samsung washing machines to minimize microplastics from entering waterways through laundry cycles.

“This is a serious problem, and not one we can solve on our own,” said Vincent Stanley, Director of Philosophy at Patagonia. Commending the hard work and dedication of Samsung engineers, Stanley described the working relationship as “a perfect example of the kind of collaboration we all need to help turn the tide of climate change and restore nature to health.”

“We are thrilled about this collaboration, but our work won’t stop there,” added Han. “We will continue to explore new partnerships and collaborations, aiming to address the challenges facing our planet.”

Empowering Users with Customized Experiences

In addition to describing steps it is taking to advance everyday sustainability, Samsung outlined various ways it is advancing technology to cater to consumers’ diverse needs. Understanding that each person is unique and wants to customize their devices to suit their lifestyle, Samsung strives to find ways to help people redefine their relationships with everyday technologies. This people-first approach to innovation is a key pillar of the company’s “Together for tomorrow” vision.

The platforms and screens that Samsung unveiled at the event reflect the ‘Screens Everywhere, Screens for All’ era that Han alluded to at CES 2020. The Freestyle is a lightweight and portable screen that gives you a cinema-quality like experience no matter where you are. Featuring AI-enabled sound, built-in streaming apps and a host of useful Smart TV accessibility features, The Freestyle can be set up virtually anywhere and projects up to 100 inches.

The Samsung Gaming Hub, meanwhile, offers an all-in-one platform for discovering and playing cloud and console games, and is set to launch on the company’s 2022 Smart TVs and monitors. Lastly, The Odyssey Ark is a 55-inch, flexible and curved gaming screen that takes immersion to the next level with a multi-view experience that allows users to play games, video chat with friends, and watch gaming videos at the same time.

To introduce more tailored product experiences to consumers’ homes, Samsung announced the rollout of even more customization options for its Bespoke lineup of home appliances. This includes new Bespoke options for Samsung’s Family Hub and French 3-Door and 4-Door refrigerators, alongside dishwashers, ranges, and over-the-range microwaves. Samsung is also introducing new products like the Bespoke Jet vacuum and Bespoke Washer and Dryer, expanding the lineup to every room in the home to offer consumers more ways to customize their space to suit their style and needs.

Samsung is constantly exploring ways to harness customization to help users get more out of their devices. The #YouMake Project represents the culmination of those efforts empowering consumers to choose and customize products based on what matters most to them, so they can enjoy a more personalized experience across their devices. Announced at the keynote, the initiative expands Samsung’s Bespoke vision beyond home appliances and brings it to life in the company’s smartphones and large-screen devices.

Ushering in an Era of Seamless Connectivity

Building a better future together for tomorrow requires more than building customization and sustainability into the core of Samsung’s products—it also requires seamless connectivity. During the keynote, Samsung demonstrated its commitment to ushering in an era of truly seamless connected experiences by highlighting its collaborations with partners as well as its next-gen products.

Unveiled for the first time at CES, the all-new Samsung Home Hub takes connected home experiences to the next level with a SmartThings service that integrates with AI-connected appliances to simplify home management. Samsung Home Hub combines six SmartThings services into one convenient device that gives users complete control over their smart home and makes it easier to manage household chores.

To enable different types of smart devices to work better with each other, Samsung announced plans to make SmartThings Hub a built-in feature of its 2022 TVs, Smart Monitors and Family Hub refrigerators. Doing so will help make connected living experiences more accessible and seamless for everyone.

Pointing to the need to offer consumers the best smart home experience regardless of brand, Samsung also announced its role as a founding member of the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA), which brings together various smart home appliance manufacturers. The organization aims to foster greater interoperability between devices across brands to give consumers more choice, and to enhance the security and safety of products and services.

“As a global coalition of smart home appliance manufacturers, HCA members share a belief that connected ecosystems and digital technology will allow us to further develop product experiences that are elegant, hyper-personalized, and truly smart for our consumers,” said Katherine Shin, Vice President of Customer Experience at Trane Technologies. “The HCA invites any global manufacturers with a similar vision for efficiency, interoperability and innovation to come and build with us.”

Samsung’s keynote underlined a deep commitment to corporate social responsibility that continues to characterize its approach to innovation. That commitment is not only realized in the company’s technologies, but also in its dedication towards programs that empower the next generation to bring about the changes they want to see in the world. By nurturing young people’s development and building skills for the workplaces of tomorrow, programs like Solve for Tomorrow and Samsung Innovation Campus are turning dreams into action.

“Today, I’m honored to share that Samsung’s programs to empower the next generation have now reached more than 21 million people since 2012,” said Han. “This is the better tomorrow we all seek: enabling people to reach beyond their dreams, a planet protected so others can experience its wonders, [and] innovation as the spark for change.”

For more information, including images and videos of the products Samsung is announcing at CES 2022, please visit news.samsung.com/ca/ces-2022.

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[1] For radio frequency harvesting, a physical proximity of SolarCell Remote to a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi router is required.

[2] Estimate is based on expected sales volume and average usage period of related products.

Samsung Electronics today announced that it had reaffirmed its position as a top-five brand in Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2021. Interbrand, a global consulting firm, evaluates businesses’ brand value based on a comprehensive analysis of multiple factors including financial performance, brand influence on purchase and brand competitiveness.

According to the Best Global Brands list announced by Interbrand on October 20 (local time), Samsung ranked fifth with a brand value of USD 74.6 billion, a 20% increase compared to last year. On the back of its strong financial performance —which has recovered to reach pre-pandemic levels — the company’s brand value surged by 20% this year, twice the average brand value growth rate among the top 100 brands in 2021.

Since entering the top five for the first time last year, Samsung has maintained its position for two consecutive years with its largest increase in brand value since 2013.

According to Interbrand, major factors that played a critical role in the growth of Samsung include:

• Its transition to a customer-centric management system, highlighted by the establishment of a new CX (customer experience) team dedicated to prioritizing customer experience and values
• Its ongoing efforts for sustainable development, including various campaigns guided by its CSR vision, ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People,’ as well as company-wide initiatives that promote sustainability such as the use of eco-packaging for TVs and the Galaxy Upcycling program
• The launches of innovative products including the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G, Neo QLEDs and the Bespoke lineup of home appliances
• Technology leadership as a solid number one in the Memory market and the launches of innovative System LSI products
• Leading the development of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, automotive and robotics through consistent investment

“It is very encouraging to see Samsung Electronics reach the top five in the world last year and then achieve enormous double-digit growth this year — our biggest leap in brand value since 2013,” said YH Lee, CMO of Samsung Electronics. “We promise to leverage our customer-centric management model to keep listening to our customers. This is how we will repay the massive support we have received from customers around the globe.”

Meanwhile, on October 12, Samsung was also ranked No.1 by Forbes as the World’s Best Employers 2021 for the second consecutive year. As a global organization with employees and businesses around the world, Samsung has once again been chosen as the number one employer.

Each year, Forbes surveys around 150,000 employees from 58 countries working for businesses with operations in multiple nations or regions, and this year asked respondents to rank their satisfaction with their employers’ COVID-19 responses and score their employers on image, economic footprint, talent development, gender equality and social responsibility.

Reference: Samsung Electronics’ growth in brand value (Interbrand):

This June, Samsung is launching a month-long celebration of sustainability initiatives, programs, and innovations to celebrate World Environment Day, a global day of sustainability awareness created by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) that sees participation from people all around the world.

To encourage people to embrace creative and sustainable solutions for World Environment Day this year, Samsung is kicking off its month of celebration with the launch of Small World, a make-it-yourself cardboard collection to give packaging a second life developed in collaboration with artist Papersmith.

Putting a New Spin on Cardboard Packaging

Since 2020, Samsung has been expanding its innovative eco-packaging solution that lets you upcycle your TV product packaging into helpful home décor items. Inspired by this program’s easy-to-use dot matrix design as a fun and simple way to encourage users to act sustainably, Samsung is commencing its month of eco-conscious activity with Small World, a program that provides users with even more creative ways of reusing cardboard boxes.

To bring the Small World program to life, Samsung collaborated with renowned Amsterdam-based paper artist AJ Smith, known as Papersmith, to create an astonishing art piece featuring buildings, animals, and plants built from the product packaging of Samsung TVs, smartphones, and more. What’s more, people around the world, too, can get involved at home through twelve downloadable prints of some of the characters featured in Small World. Along with this do-it-yourself cardboard template collection, users can then share their creations online using the hashtag #ReimagineABetterPlanet.

Samsung Electronics strives to incorporate environmental sustainability into everything we do. Our products are thoughtfully designed to minimize the impact on the environment during their entire lifecycle – from planning and manufacturing to consumption and recycling.

Stay tuned for more updates on Small World and more during our month-long celebration of sustainability, and be sure to share your own sustainable creations on social media with the hashtag #ReimagineABetterPlanet.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. shared its vision for the future at the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The company introduced new products at its virtual press conference, showing how it is continuing to innovate by creating solutions that are flexible, intelligently connected, and use AI to make daily life seamless.

“Our world looks different, and many of you have been faced with a new reality–one where, among other things, your home has taken on a greater significance,” said Sebastian Seung, President and Head of Samsung Research, the advanced R&D hub of the company that leads the development of future technologies for Samsung Electronics’ SET (end-products), addressing the company’s efforts to enhance the at-home technology experience. “Our innovations are designed to provide more personal and more intuitive experiences that express your personality. We’re hard at work to bring you next-generation innovation, with AI as the core enabler, for your better tomorrow.”

Creating More Intimate and Personalized User Experiences

As people spent more time at home last year, the tech they wanted became the tech they needed. In relying on that tech, people came to understand the many ways connected solutions could make life easier. TVs came to be vital for entertainment—and sometimes, fitness. Chromebooks became crucial home learning tools. Smart fridges helped with remote shopping and meal prep. Smartphones became indispensable.

Samsung’s continued investments in innovations that adapt to evolving lifestyles enable the company to keep pace with rapid changes. Key innovations unveiled include:

• Samsung Bespoke Refrigerator: Available in Canada later this year, the Bespoke lineup has sleek lines and a contemporary, flat-panel design that blends seamlessly into existing kitchens and various lifestyles. The Samsung Bespoke Refrigerator comes in a column format in two different sizes, allowing for modular configurations that can grow to fit each household’s unique needs. With a variety of types and colours that you can mix and match, Bespoke offers the flexibility to meet your family’s food storage needs, always keeping your food at optimal temperature.
• 110-inch MICRO LED: This new screen features self-lit inorganic LED with a slim and nearly bezel-less Infinity Screen design that seamlessly blends into the living space. The result is a spectacularly immersive viewing experience with astounding picture quality. The 110-inch MICRO LED also adds “4Vue” (Quad View), a four-way viewing option—so you can keep up with multiple sports at once, or stream a tutorial while playing a video game. MICRO LED will be rolled out globally beginning this spring[1].
• Lifestyle TV: Samsung’s cutting-edge lifestyle TV lineup includes The Serif, The Frame, The Sero and The Terrace—a recently launched 4K QLED outdoor TV—as well as Samsung The Premiere, a cinema-like quality 4K laser projector.
• SmartThings Cooking: A new service from Samsung SmartThings is designed to make your culinary journey seamless. An automatic Meal Planner powered by Whisk’s Food AI recommends meals for the whole week, makes shopping lists with the ingredients you need. Recipe instructions can be sent directly to synced Samsung cooking devices to minimize hassles and mistakes[2].
• Samsung Health Smart Trainer on Samsung 2021 TVs: Samsung Health seamlessly transforms the home into a personal gym, and the new Smart Trainer[3] feature tracks and analyzes posture in real time, just like a personal trainer. During and post-workout, Smart Trainer provides feedback on form, helps you count your reps, and estimates calories burned. With video and interactive training via Bixby-enabled voice control, Samsung Health Smart Trainer elevates and personalizes the home workout experience.

Bringing AI and Robots to Daily Life including Housekeeping

Samsung has long been at the forefront of AI and robotics innovation, leveraging its seven global AI research centers to advance technology. By bringing AI to its products, Samsung is creating new home experiences—from washing machines that optimize water usage, detergents, and wash cycles, to TVs with a Quantum AI Processor that can upscale HD content into pristine near-8K resolution[4].

The major technologies featured during Samsung’s press conference include the following:

• Samsung Bot Care[5]: The latest development in Samsung’s growing robotics lineup, Samsung Bot Care is designed use AI to recognize and respond to your behaviour. It will be able to act as both a robotic assistant and companion, helping to take care of the details in your life. It will also learn your schedule and habits and send you reminders to help guide you throughout your busy day.
• Samsung Bot Handy[6]: Also in development, Samsung Bot Handy will rely on advanced AI to recognize and pick up objects of varying sizes, shapes and weights, becoming an extension of you and helping you with work around the house. Samsung Bot Handy will be able to tell the difference between the material composition of various objects, utilizing the appropriate amount of force to grab and move around household items and objects, working as your trusted partner to help with house chores like cleaning up messy rooms or sorting out the dishes after a meal.

Looking to the future, Samsung is also developing other tangible applications of AI technologies for daily life. Samsung is continuing to build on its Samsung Bot Retail, which would guide users outside the home in retail environments, and GEMS, Samsung’s health-focused exoskeleton as a mobility aide. These innovations allow robots and robotic devices to co-exist with humans, enhancing their lives and catering to a variety of lifestyles and different environments.

Technology for a Better Future

Samsung closed its CES 2021 press conference by sharing more on the brand’s vision for how technology can enable progress and create a better tomorrow for all. Samsung believes that there is no single all-encompassing solution; a sustainable future requires investments across a broad spectrum. That’s why Samsung is focused on three key areas that are poised to benefit the most from technological innovation: sustainability, education, and accessibility.

“At Samsung, we are always looking for ways to build a better, more sustainable future,” said Sandeep Rana, Senior Manager, Environmental Sustainability Specialist at Samsung, who shared Samsung’s sustainability message at the press conference. “With a focus on the environment, people and society, we will continue to provide our consumers with responsible tools and technologies to address our challenges today and enable a better future for all.”

As part of its commitment to creating a circular economy, Samsung is developing programs and packaging solutions that promote a sustainable product lifecycle—from beginning to end:

• Galaxy Upcycling at Home: At the CES event, Samsung announced an update to its Galaxy Upcycling program called Galaxy Upcycling at Home. The new program reimagines the lifecycle of an older Galaxy phone and offers consumers options on how they might be able to repurpose their device to create a variety of convenient IoT tools.

• TV Eco Packaging: In addition, Samsung announced that its eco-packaging would expand to QLED, UHD TV, monitor, and audio products in 2021. As part of an ongoing commitment to eco-consciousness, Samsung is creating products and solutions with sustainability at the core. For example, Samsung’s new Solar Cell Remote Control—made in part with recycled plastic—can be charged via solar, indoor lighting or USB, reducing battery waste.

Believing that future generations will play a critical role in building a sustainable future, Samsung has also prioritized technology education through Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, which encourages young people to creatively use technology to solve community challenges.

Samsung also highlighted at the CES event how it is making its products even more inclusive and accessible for all. The SeeColours application is designed to help those with colour vision deficiencies (CVD) to adjust the settings on their 2021 QLED TVs for a better viewing experience, and the Sign Language Zoom feature on TVs ensures that everyone, regardless of ability, can easily enjoy cutting-edge technology.

Lastly, understanding how challenging it can be to strike a balance between our digital and analog lives, Samsung presented the Digital Wellbeing feature, designed to help people take control and manage their digital time—so they can use technology to better their lives and empower themselves.

For more information, images or video on the products Samsung announced at CES 2021, please visit http://news.samsung.com.

Disclaimer: All functionality, features, specifications, and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation. Availability of the above-mentioned products, services, and features may vary by region.           

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[1] Availability of MICRO LED TV will vary by region.

[2] Available on Android and iOS devices. A Wi-Fi connection and a Samsung account are required.

[3] Specific features available may vary by region and product.

[4] 8K AI Upscaling enhances content to near-8K picture quality. Based on laboratory testing. Viewing experience may vary according to types of content and format.

[5] Samsung Bot Care is not currently available for sale. The described functions and technical capabilities have been demonstrated in test settings.

[6] Samsung Bot Handy is not currently available for sale. The described functions and technical capabilities have been demonstrated in test settings.