[Bespoke Home Life] ③ Creating More Sustainable Product Lifecycles for Bespoke Appliances, Their Users and the Planet

Part Three of this series focuses on Samsung Electronics’ 2022 vision for sustainability throughout every aspect of the product’s lifecycle. This includes from production and delivery to product use and disposal, as well as the company’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the energy usage of its products.

By offering durable, flexible and sustainable Bespoke products that come with extended component warranties, Samsung is empowering their users to enjoy their appliances for longer, as well as allowing them to practice sustainability in their everyday lives through the reduction of energy usage and costs.

Production and Delivery That Puts the Planet First

Due to the increasing importance of protecting the environment, Samsung incorporates sustainability right from the earliest stages of product manufacturing and production.

For example, thanks to efforts taken within Samsung’s factories, Bespoke users can rest assured that measures are being taken to reduce the production waste of their appliances. Samsung is striving to prevent soil contamination by minimizing waste materials, including glass fragments generated during production, and by also recycling liquid waste materials to create reusable fuels. Samsung’s Korean DA plant achieved an industrial waste recycling rate of 93% in 2019, which then increased to 98% in 2021, and Samsung will continue to increase the recycling rate going forward.

When it comes to the delivery stage of a Bespoke product’s lifecycle, Samsung is prioritizing the reduction of dependency on natural resources by expanding the use of eco-packaging. Users can repurpose this packaging across its lineup of products, including vacuum cleaners, air purifiers and more. The company is also reducing the use of printed manuals in its packaging and providing users instead with improved QR code usability for its manuals so that installing a Bespoke appliance is as eco-conscious as it is convenient.

▲ Online Manual with Integrated

Energy Innovations for More Sustainable Product Use

The eco-conscious Bespoke experience does not end with product delivery. Thanks to extensive efforts to enhance the energy efficiency of appliances to reduce energy usage as well as greenhouse gas emissions, Samsung’s users can rest assured that their product experiences are sustainable, too.

Bespoke refrigerators reduce energy consumption by 67%¹ and Bespoke washing machines by 53%² thanks to such innovative technologies as the Digital Invertor Compressor and Ecobubble^™ technology. In recognition of these efforts, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded 100% of Samsung washers and dishwashers, as well as 91% of refrigerators, with their Energy Star certification.³

As well as being able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Bespoke users are also able to be more mindful of their energy usage. Samsung’s expanded SmartThings Energy service makes it more convenient than ever to monitor, manage and control the energy usage of a smart home with intelligent functions such as turning off unused devices when the user is out of the house.

To further encourage sustainable product use habits, Samsung is now offering an extended 20-year warranty period for core components in refrigerators and washing machines, such as the Digital Inverter Compressor and Digital Invertor Motor⁴ respectively, in selected markets. Samsung knows that products that last longer do not need to be replaced as often, and products such as the Bespoke refrigerator, with its replaceable panels and modular lineup, help users bolster the durability of their appliances even as their aesthetic or household size changes.

Along with these energy-saving and long-lasting initiatives, Samsung is also innovating to ensure that their appliances do not pollute. Through a collaboration with renowned active wear brand Patagonia, Samsung is developing a specialized washer based on Ecobubble^™ technology that reduces the release of microplastics, particles that are highly damaging to the world’s oceans. This washer will be available in Korea this year and in the global market in the near future.

▲ 20-year Warranty

Developing Circular Economies for Eco-Conscious Disposal Practices

In order to help users dispose of their end-of-life products in a sustainable way, Samsung has developed a range of services and initiatives to provide them with peace of mind when it comes to the final stage of a product’s lifecycle.

In over 50 countries, users are able to dispose of their appliances free of charge. Samsung will then transport them to recycling centers to reuse the appliances’ materials in new products, promoting a circular product economy while minimizing waste for the good of the environment.

Samsung is also working with innovative building company Project Etopia in the U.K. to create a Zero Energy Home pilot, a self-sustaining home that utilizes data from appliances, solar panels and energy storage systems to allow users to live carbon-free. For example, within a Zero Energy Home, SmartThings Energy can not only track users’ energy usage and production, but also reduce their carbon footprint. For example, Samsung’s Eco Heating System (EHS) uses surplus solar energy generated in collaboration with Q-Cells, allowing users to pre-heat their homes and lower appliance energy consumption when the energy storage system is low.

▲ Zero Energy Home

Across all the products available in the Bespoke Home 2022 lineup, Samsung is empowering their users to enjoy more time with their appliances and grant the planet more time through more sustainable initiatives implemented across every phase of its products’ lifecycles. It is Samsung’s belief that it is only by first addressing sustainability at home that we can start to see true change for the planet.

As part of the company’s ongoing sustainability efforts, Samsung will continue to innovate to develop products that not only improve the lives of their users, but also the health of the planet. To learn more about Bespoke appliances, visit Samsung.com

¹ The electric energy consumption of Samsung’s refrigerators (Bottom Mounted Freezer type) has been reduced by around 67% in 2020 compared to the year 2000 (the Bottom Mounted Freezer type refrigerator’s first launch date in Europe). The comparative models used to calculate electric energy consumption per net liter capacity (based on the EU Energy Label) are SL39SP3/XEU sold in 2000 and RB37R5**R** in 2020.

² The electric energy consumption of Samsung’s Washing Machine (Drum type) has been reduced by around 53% in 2020 compared to the year 2011 (as per the application of a revised energy regulation in Europe). The comparative models used to calculate electric energy consumption (based on EEI from the EU Energy Report) are WF0704L7W sold in 2011 and WW12R640U0M in 2020.

³ The Energy Star certification applies to current Samsung devices sold in the U.S..

⁴ The 20-year component warranty is available for refrigerators in the European region and washing machines sold in Europe and made in the U.S..