Outlining the performance of the company’s sustainability activities in 2021, this report includes major activities under its five sustainability pillars — Environment, Our Employees, Sustainable Supply Chain, Empowering Communities and Digital Responsibility. In particular, it highlights the following significant outcomes: stronger sustainability governance within the Board of Directors, expanded sustainability activities in the business units, joining the UN Global Compact and the placing of the Sustainability Council under the direct supervision of the CEO in 2022.

During 2021, Samsung Electronics put sustainability first while managing its business interests and significantly strengthened its sustainability governance to ensure this principle continues to be applied to all parts of its organization. To strengthen the Board of Directors’ supervision of sustainable activities in 2021, the Governance Committee, which had formerly been under the remit of the Board of Directors, was expanded to the Sustainability Committee in July 2021. The Sustainability Council, an executive-level consultative body, was placed under the leadership of the CEO earlier in 2022.

Samsung Electronics is making efforts to offer sustainable products to its customers. As part of these efforts, it has rolled out eco-conscious innovations including smartphones and monitors that incorporate materials recycled from discarded fishing nets and ocean-bound plastics and new, low-power semiconductors. It has also developed AI-based SmartThings Energy, a service that helps conserve energy by using a power saving mode that smart home appliances come equipped with, and SolarCell Remote Controls, which can be charged by sunlight or indoor lighting.

In addition, the company increased its renewable energy use by 31%, compared to 2020, by continuously expanding the use of renewable energy across its business premises worldwide. It also plans to achieve 100% renewable energy in its business premises in Latin America and Southwest Asia by 2025, a goal which has already been reached in the U.S., Europe and China.

The company is also expanding its cooperation with its stakeholders in relation to sustainability. In March 2022, the company joined the UN Global Compact, a specialized organization under the United Nations that was established in 2000 with the aim of promoting the sustainable growth of companies and society at large. It is also developing a washing machine that reduces the impact of microplastics in collaboration with Patagonia.

Finally, Samsung Electronics is carrying out numerous Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities that focus on education with the aim of fostering the technological capabilities of future generations, Creative Lab (C-Lab) projects that contribute to the vitality and diversity of the Korean startup ecosystem and the Future Technology Cultivation Initiative, which supports creative and innovative Research & Development (R&D) in the areas of basic science, novel materials and information and communications technology (ICT). One example of particular note is a team led by professors at POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) supported by the Future Technology Cultivation Initiative. The team’s achievements were published in Nature.

The full text of the 2022 Samsung Electronics Sustainability Report can be downloaded here.

For more stories about Samsung’s sustainability initiatives, visit here.

The newly established Sustainability Committee will continue the roles of the Governance Committee, including practicing corporate social responsibilities and enhancing shareholder value. In addition, the Committee will deal with a broader range of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) issues, including climate change, circular economy, labor and human rights, diversity and inclusion, supply chain, and ethical management, thus setting the direction for and monitoring the progress of the company’s sustainable management.

The Sustainability Committee consists entirely of independent directors to ensure its independence. It will receive reports on the main issues discussed at the Sustainability Council, a company-wide consultative body.

Over the years, Samsung has been strengthening its corporate-wide system for the management of sustainability issues by introducing a Sustainability Management Office under each business unit and elevating the Corporate Sustainability Center to report directly to the CEO. With the latest addition of the Sustainability Committee, the company has now connected sustainable management to span from business units to the Board of Directors.

The company is committed to further strengthening the independence and diversity of its Board of Directors, which will spearhead efforts to enhance sustainability going forward.

▲ The cover of Samsung Electronics’ 2021 Sustainability Report

On June 28, Samsung Electronics released the 2021 edition of its Sustainability Report.

Covering the corporate sustainability efforts in 2020, the report includes highlights in each of the following areas: Board of Directors’ independence and transparency; stronger compliance and ethical management; sustainability governance; sustainability in the pandemic era; sustainability achievements by business unit. Detailed activities are presented under the five sustainability pillars of Environment, Our Employees, Empowering Communities, Digital Responsibility and Sustainable Supply Chain.

In this year’s report, the company highlights the new voices of both internal and external stakeholders such as MZ generation employees and NGOs, on top of the message by the Chair of the Board and top management on its unwavering commitment to corporate sustainability.

Following the separation of the Chair and the CEO within its Board of Directors in 2018, Samsung Electronics appointed its first-ever independent director as Chair of the Board in 2020.

For stronger compliance and ethical management, the company elevated its Compliance team to directly report to the CEO, and to ensure the independence and authority of Chief Compliance Officer. The company also expanded a reporting system in which an outside stakeholder can anonymously report a legal violation. The Samsung Compliance Committee, an independent entity separate from Samsung Electronics was also established to strictly monitor compliance risks.

The sustainability governance was also further enhanced. In 2020, the Sustainability Council started to be led by the Head of Corporate Management Office. Furthermore, the Corporate Sustainability Center in charge of sustainability strategies and stakeholder engagement was promoted as a direct organization under the CEO. In addition, Sustainability Management Offices were newly established in business units to strengthen execution of sustainability strategies. Since 2021, sustainability KPIs have been added into the performance evaluation and compensation of executives, encouraging them to consider sustainability management in all parts of the business.

In 2020, Samsung Electronics made various efforts to ensure the safety of its employees, its business partners, and local communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company operated in-house screening clinics in Hwaseong, Suwon and Gumi in Korea, and provided personal hygiene products to its employees. Samsung also provided its business partners that were facing economic challenges with business stabilization funds and logistics expenses, among others. Also, the company has donated Galaxy Tab devices to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency for refugee camp youths in Kenya, whose educational environment has worsened due to COVID-19.

The report also presented the sustainability performance by business unit including Consumer Electronics (CE) division’s Eco-Package and solar cell remote control; the Information Technology & Mobile Communications (IM) division’s Galaxy Upcycling and the Samsung Global Goals Campaign; and the Device Solutions (DS) division’s strides in reducing the energy consumption of products as well as activities aimed at reducing the carbon emissions from manufacturing processes.

Environment-related performance can also be found in the report. In 2018, Samsung committed to source renewable energy for 100% of all worksites in the U.S., China and Europe by 2020. With implemented action plans tailored to each region, the company achieved its renewable energy target for these worksites in 2020.

The company also amended its labor and human rights policies in 2020. It strengthened its Child Labor Prohibition Policy and Migrant Worker Policy. In the Global Code of Conduct, Samsung also guaranteed the right to freedom of association. The report also highlights how the company strived to strengthen its supply chain management and to improve the work environment of suppliers.

For diversity and inclusion, Samsung established its vision, entitled “Be Yourself, We Build a Better Tomorrow” and continued to lead the initiatives through concerted actions with its global employees.

With its vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’, Samsung has been and will continue to operate social contribution activities focusing on youth education and growth for their sustainable development. As described in the report, Samsung launched educational support programs globally to develop the future technological capabilities of youths. Also the company launched C-lab Outside program in Korea that is designed to foster the startup ecosystem.

Samsung has published the Sustainability Report on an annual basis since 2008. The 2021 Sustainability Report was designed in landscape format for better readability and includes enhanced interactive functions that are optimized for viewing on digital devices.

The full text of the 2021 Samsung Electronics Sustainability Report can be downloaded here.

▲ Samsung’s 2021 Sustainability Report covers the company’s activities and achievements in detail.

The cover of Samsung Electronics’ 2020 Sustainability Report

With the release of this year’s report, Samsung Electronics endeavors to offer a measure of hope and assistance amidst the ongoing global health crisis. The company aims to do this by sharing insights it has gained over the past 50 years protecting the safety and wellbeing of employees and partners, and solving challenges for customers and local communities. These efforts, which are covered in detail in the report, include 1) establishing a dedicated team in the early stage of a crisis, and creating a working environment that puts safety first in accordance with the guidelines of various countries’ health authorities, and 2) maintaining a safe supply chain and providing local communities with technical support, technology, know-how and infrastructure.

The report also discusses the outcomes of sustainable management activities across various business units. For example, the report outlines how Samsung’s most recent sustainable initiatives span not just products but also packaging, upcycling, and the processing of materials. In this way, the report makes each business unit’s commitment to and investment in sustainable resource management abundantly clear.

These efforts have led to a number of milestone achievements in 2019 that are outlined in detail in this year’s report.

Last year, Samsung’s renewable energy usage reached 92 percent in the U.S., China and Europe. As the report notes, as remarkable as that figure is, it could soon be eclipsed, as Samsung is on track to reach 100 percent by the end of the year.

Samsung’s total renewable energy usage increased by 14 times compared to 2017, from 229 GWh to 3,220 GWh. And in recognition of their success expanding the use of renewable energy, the United States Environmental Protection Agency presented Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Samsung Austin Semiconductor, LLC, and Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. with the 2019 Green Power Leadership Award for Excellence.

The company also took significant steps toward transitioning to a circular economy, which prioritizes utilizing sustainable materials and minimizes waste. In particular, disposable materials such as plastic and vinyl are gradually being replaced in packaging with sustainable resources like paper. By the end of this year, Samsung plans to replace all paper used in product packaging for its Consumer Electronics and IT & Mobile Communications divisions with sustainably sourced paper.

In addition, the company made significant progress on strengthening education with regard to labor and human rights. Together with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Samsung organized educational sessions for human resource personnel that discussed the ethical recruitment of migrant workers to help protect their human rights. In 2020, the company will launch a newly developed labor and human rights training program in collaboration with Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), a sustainability consulting firm.

Under the principle of demonstrating transparent and responsible business practices, for the first time, Samsung appointed an Independent Director as Chairman of its Board of Directors. This individual will serve as an intermediary between the Board’s Executive Directors and Independent Directors who supervises the company’s management activities more objectively.

The report elaborates on activities related to six key themes – Commitment to the Environment in Our Operations, Product Stewardship, Enabling People, Technology for Good, Investing in Our Employees, and Sustainable Supply Chain. The company has also disclosed the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) index for the first time, and strengthened measures for disclosing information based on the guidelines of the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), which were first revealed last year.

Interested readers can also explore how Samsung has implemented sustainability management activities centered on ESG (the environment, society and governance) to contribute to the recent trend of companies fulfilling their social responsibilities.

Samsung Electronics’ 2020 Sustainability Report can be downloaded here.

Samsung’s 2020 Sustainability Report covers the company’s main business activities and achievements in extensive detail.

The report also makes it easy to catch up on important activities related to specific themes.

¹ Corporate sustainability management refers to business activities in which a company pursues sustainability in addition to profit by fulfilling its social, economic and environmental responsibilities. As calls for corporations to take on greater social responsibility began to grow across the globe in the 2000s, corporate sustainability management emerged as a paradigm that was essential for corporate survival.