Samsung Electronics has announced its new environmental strategy, a comprehensive effort to join the global movement to tackle climate change. At the heart of the new commitment is achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 by using innovative technologies to implement sustainability throughout its production process, product lifecycle and more — enabling a greener future for all.

In line with this vision, ESG — or environmental, social and corporate governance — is much more than a buzzword at Samsung Electronics, and we believe that having a positive impact on the planet starts with our employees. That’s why we’re highlighting Samsung workers around the world who are leading the way in cultivating a culture of sustainability and social responsibility. We’re breaking down the ins and outs of ESG throughout Samsung and answering your questions on how we’re building a better tomorrow for all.

Next in our new series on how Samsung employees worldwide are building a more sustainable future, we have two women blazing the trail, Francesca Falco and Paula Byrne from the Samsung European Public Affairs Office.

A Day in the Lives of ESG Influencers

There’s more to Brussels than chocolate and waffles. Located in Belgium, Brussels is known for being the unofficial capital of the E.U. due to its long history of hosting several principal E.U. institutions, including the European Commission, Council of the European Union, European Council and European Parliament. Since ESG is subject to increasingly heavy European legislation, the Samsung European Public Affairs office based in Brussels is integral to driving the ESG movement across the company and the continent.

Francesca and Paula work together for Samsung in the Brussels European Public Affairs office, reinforcing Samsung’s ESG strategy. “Our office is in charge of government relations with E.U. institutions,” said Francesca. “This includes building and maintaining strong relationships with the E.U., international organizations and other stakeholders in the areas of sustainability and corporate citizenship.”

The pair monitor and offer guidance on sustainability and corporate responsibility across not only the entire product lifecycle but also Samsung’s corporate activities. From publishing regular reports on environmental impact to collaborating with executives to ensure company-wide transparency and creating an overreaching strategy for Europe, these two women unite people and policy to spearhead a sustainable movement across the entirety of Samsung.

So what’s a day in the life like for these ESG experts?

Francesca and Paula go to work by bicycle. For them, sustainability isn’t just a job — it’s a lifestyle. Fortunately, the Samsung office in Brussels makes living green easy for employees. As the office is located in a walkable neighborhood that is well-served by public transport and easily reached by bike, many employees opt for more green ways to commute. This not only reduces their footprint but also earns them some healthy daily exercise.

Once they’re in the office, Francesca and Paula always greet each other before they start their day. Their daily schedules vary widely — ESG is a broad domain, so their agendas are never quite the same.

“One moment I’m organizing an event for students, the next, I’m reading the European Commission’s latest regulation on eco-design, and a moment later, I’m meeting with other companies to discuss energy efficiency,” said Francesca. “I cover a wide range of topics and tasks, so it never gets boring.”

Building Out a More Sustainable Supply Chain

Above all, Paula believes in the power of partnership — which she brings daily to her role as an Environmental Social Governance Expert for Samsung European Public Affairs.

Paula has been most passionate about her work advising suppliers and customers on safety, health, well-being, good labor practices, human rights and the environment, which has already seen fruitful results. As a global company, Samsung’s supply chain has an enormous reach and footprint. By working with the men and women shaping the future of ESG standards in Europe and around the world, Paula too hopes to shape the future of ESG at Samsung.

Samsung has adopted a thorough and transparent evaluation process and criteria for its new suppliers. “Samsung’s Eco-Partner evaluation system ensures that all materials used for Samsung products do not contain harmful chemicals or materials,” explained Paula. “Through this program, Samsung requests that all partner companies meet environmental criteria and evaluate themselves regularly.”

Samsung strives to build strategic partnerships with the best-performing suppliers based on mutual trust and offers its suppliers a variety of programs to support funding, education and innovation.

According to Paula, these partnerships are a perfect win-win for Samsung and its customers to create sustainable value. She plans to achieve greater results by sharing skills and knowledge, building both Samsung and her clients’ reputations as sustainable companies.

Helping Students Stay Safe, Responsible and Healthy Online

As a Senior Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability Expert at Samsung European Public Affairs, Francesca has an interest in managing the company’s Corporate Citizenship activities in Europe, focusing on education and digital well-being.

Working on such a large scale is certainly impressive, but the personal impact Francesca has on people’s daily lives is what excites her the most. One stand-out example was Samsung’s activities promoting online safety among young people, parents and teachers, which was also Francesca’s first project at the company.

“Every year, Samsung sells millions of technological products which could end up in the hands of young consumers,” said Francesca. “I am proud that as a responsible business, in many European countries, we help create awareness and provide the technical tools minors, parents and caretakers need to use our connected devices safely.”

When it comes to Samsung’s approach to online safety, Francesca explained that we must prepare people with digital skills, provide knowledge and tools to use technology thoughtfully and safely and protect users from harmful content or behavior. As part of Samsung’s Better Internet for Kids Youth Pledge, Francesca mobilized several European subsidiaries to work together and organize workshops to involve youth in Samsung’s discussions on age-appropriate design and online safety features.

Francesca even had the chance to present Samsung’s efforts at the 2020 Safer Internet Forum and later, to European institutions and stakeholders — demonstrating the wide reach of her efforts.

“This type of activity, which goes beyond legal compliance, shows that Samsung is putting in genuine efforts to make a better future,” said Francesca. “Now that Samsung has announced its new environmental strategy, we look forward to supporting our headquarters’ climate and circular economy efforts with regional initiatives.”

Growing a Green Company Culture

Francesca and Paula strive to be eco-conscious whether they’re at home or in the office. For instance, both Francesca and Paula try to promote more sustainable choices as part of their office culture, such as reducing paper and plastic use and organizing recycling more efficiently.

Their entire office even got on board, installing a water filtration system for drinking water — in doing so, eliminating the use of plastic bottles — and replacing the coffee capsule machine with a bean-to-cup coffee machine.

After all, when it comes to making changes that protect the planet, Francesca believes it all comes down to mindset.

“The main obstacle to real change is the feeling that individual choices have no or limited impact. This is far from true,” said Francesca. “Our choice of how we get to work, what we eat, how we hold meetings and how many business trips we take can inspire those around us and create a wave of change.”

“We have one planet, and the mistreatment of it affects us all,” added Paula. “It is important to drive employees and consumers to make better choices for the environment. Environmental harm is closely connected to people, our work, our health and the general well-being and stability in our communities.”

Green Is Gold

Over the years, sustainability has gone from a “good to have” to a “must have.” From an individual to a company-wide level, there is a much bigger awareness of the need for ESG in business. This passion starts from its employees and drives positive change at Samsung at all levels: from design and manufacturing to sales and communication.

“It is crucial that my employer is a responsible corporate citizen because I want to work for a company that shares my values and matches my lifestyle choices,” said Francesca. “I love using my knowledge and skills to make a positive impact on the world, and I take great pride in knowing that with Samsung, I contributed to the launch and deployment of environmental and educational activities.”

“Technology can really be used for the good of the planet, profit and people,” added Paula. “Working for a company that considers the care of our planet as a key target is smart and can remain in business for future generations.

Companies have an important role in protecting the ecosystem and preserving natural resources for future generations. At Samsung, we strive to be the most socially responsible workplace we can be and to integrate sustainability into daily life for our employees.

No matter what country you live in, if something happens to our world, it affects everyone and everything living on Earth. That’s why it’s so important to take care of our planet — we only get one.

At Samsung Electronics, we want to lead by example and create a company culture that is not only dedicated to pushing the boundaries of technology, but also to preserving our planet.

At a time when the climate crisis is top of mind, environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) is especially relevant to Samsung’s sustainability goals. Samsung is dedicated to numerous projects making our world a greener place, such as repurposing discarded fishing nets for use in Galaxy devices.

Samsung Newsroom is kicking off a new series highlighting how Samsung employees worldwide are building a more sustainable future. Jenni Chun’s journey is the first of many to showcase how we’re building a better, brighter world through ESG.

# A Day in the Life of Jenni Chun

Meet Jenni Chun, the Head of Regulatory and Environmental Affairs at Samsung Electronics America (SEA). As part of Samsung America’s Quality Assurance Lab, located half an hour away from SEA’s North American Headquarters in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, Jenni and her team take pride in activities that help tell Samsung’s sustainability story. So what is a day at Samsung like for Jenni?

“I get that question a lot, and I always tell people that no day ever repeats itself,” said Jenni. “My team and I manage such a wide range of topics, and the priorities may change in a moment, which is part of what makes this job so exciting.”

In her role, Jenni analyzes and connects each of Samsung’s products to different regulations and environmental issues, covering everything from air cleaners and dryers to tablets and packaging regulations. Whether her team is auditing, benchmarking or resolving issues related to standards and certifications, she oversees all environmental activities to make each day at Samsung more eco-conscious. No matter what she’s doing, however, Jenni usually collaborates with others to make her vision of sustainability a reality.

“I work closely with our research and development teams to ideate new projects or ideas that could become the next generation of technology while also ensuring a more sustainable future,” said Jenni. “We collaborate to influence at every level, as well as amplify all of our sustainability efforts to consumers.”

Her department has a wide reach — from working with the U.S. Public Affairs team to ensure that Samsung is well-represented in government and trade association communications, to product and brand teams to ideate how the company can reduce its environmental footprint, to Global CS Center’s work to make a global impact, Jenni works hard every day to see how the planet can benefit from Samsung’s vision for a brighter tomorrow.

# Living the Green Mindset

Whether she’s working for Samsung, volunteering for her community, or at home raising her child, Jenni wants to integrate sustainability into everything she does.

For Jenni, there is so much to learn and improve when looking at other countries’ public awareness and environmental practices. Of course, with a global company like Samsung, it is much easier to make an impact working with others than trying to do it alone.

“I’m grateful that my job can contribute to making an impact at a global scale with a company that genuinely cares for the environment,” said Jenni. “We have support from our leaders to make environmental sustainability a top priority.”

Jenni is someone who wants to bring her whole self to work, values and all. So what’s the best way to implement a green mindset at work? Jenni highlights the importance of leading and educating by example, especially when it comes to environmental sustainability.

“I always try to integrate environmental sustainability into conversations with my team because our colleagues are also our consumers,” said Jenni. “It is important to patiently explain, educate and build awareness.”

# The Gold Standard for Sustainability

When it comes to working at Samsung, Jenni is constantly looking to tell the next sustainability story that reduces the company’s environmental impact. According to Jenni, Samsung is a leader in innovation, not only within the technology of its products, but also in how the company practices sustainability. For instance, Jenni spoke highly of Samsung’s various ESG initiatives, like “Samsung Gives Week of Service,” where she was able to plant pollinator flowers with her son and help support the bees.

“I love that it’s a sustainability project where we’re able to speak to others and get the word out about sustainable topics,” said Jenni. “What better way is there to create ambassadors for environmental sustainability than by doing activities like this with our children?”

Beyond participating in internal company initiatives, Jenni has also been recognized for her award-winning work for the company. For instance, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) annually presents a Sustainability Materials Management (SMM) Award recognizing excellence in e-waste collection throughout the United States. Jenni has led the Samsung team to win this Gold-Tier award for the past eight consecutive years since the beginning, as Samsung collects and recycles an average of 100 million pounds of e-waste per year, an accumulation of over 1.1 billion pounds in the United States.

Over the years, Jenni and her team have also contributed to Samsung earning multiple U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR Emerging Technology Awards. She even worked with the EPA to set new criteria for refrigerators, using advanced adaptive compressors and induction cooktops to make them more energy efficient.

“In the long-term, we are looking for new ways that technology can positively impact our consumers and our planet,” said Jenni. “We wanted to be sure that consumers are benefitting from seamless Samsung technology, lowered costs and minimizing their environmental footprint with more sustainable options.”

# ESG From the Inside Out

For Jenni, sustainability is at the heart of her work at Samsung. So, Samsung Newsroom wanted to know how she spent World Environment Day, a holiday known for encouraging worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment.

For Jenni, she chose to spend time with her family, especially with her son, in the outdoors and appreciate nature up close. During the pandemic, she noticed that many people were spending more in the great outdoors. She, too, wanted to spend time enjoying the environment that her job and her free time focused on defending.

“I took my son to an aquarium, where he not only fell in love with ocean animals, but also learned about environmental issues,” said Jenni. “He discovered that plastic wastes are harmful to marine life, and since then, reducing plastic waste has become a big focus in our household.”

And not to worry — for readers at home, Jenni has her own eco-conscious tips for your everyday life. She recommends that we each change a product or behavior to reduce the use of plastic. This could include avoiding takeout with plastic containers, using reusable grocery bags or switching to hygiene goods made with environmentally friendly packaging.

“It can sometimes be uncomfortable to make a change, but making small, everyday changes can help make a big difference,” said Jenni. “I encourage everyone to make one change today, such as a behavior or product that would reduce your individual environmental footprint.”

In her personal life, Jenni certainly practices what she preaches, living an eco-conscious lifestyle both inside and outside of work. For instance, Jenni does a lot of career mentorship and speaks about sustainability practitioners at Columbia University. As a graduate from the university’s Sustainability Management Program, she has been invited to several career forums to discuss what a sustainability-focused job looks like, especially in the private sector and for large technologies companies, like Samsung.

# Our Planet, Our Future

On this renowned day for environmental action, it is important to remember that a healthy ecosystem can begin at our workplace. Now more than ever, companies must work to improve the quality of our lives, protect our ecosystem and preserve natural resources for future generations. Samsung is doing its part to become a socially responsible place to work by integrating environmental sustainability into every level of the business. We only have one planet Earth, and it’s up to us to care for it.

Jenni Chun is an excellent example of a woman using her passion for educating others on the importance of environmental sustainability to create a greener future for the next generation. From mentoring and providing career advice in her personal time to working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to raise the standard to minimize electronic waste, Jenni is an advocate for positive environmental change.

Learn more about Samsung Electronics’ sustainability initiatives here, and stay tuned for more Samsung employees who are helping to save the planet, one workday at a time.