Creating a sustainable future is driven by conscious everyday choices and actions, such as bringing your own bag when grocery shopping, printing double-sided documents and taking public transport.

Samsung has always challenged existing notions of what’s possible with technology, including rethinking how the devices we use can be more sustainable.

Ahead of World Earth Day on April 22, discover how Samsung advances everyday sustainability by empowering consumers to lead a greener digital lifestyle. The company’s commitment to putting sustainability at the heart of everything it does has sparked innovative approaches in product design, manufacturing and packaging, and new sustainable experiences that consumers can expect when choosing Samsung products to suit today’s lifestyles.

Rethink Packaging

Packaging for electronic products serve the dual purpose of both protecting the device as well as delivering brand experience. However, packaging is often discarded or stored away when the device is unboxed.

One way to minimise contributing single-use packaging materials to the landfill is simply to reduce the need for them where possible.

An initiative under Galaxy for the Planet, the sustainability platform for Samsung’s Mobile eXperience (MX) Business powered by its scale, innovation and spirit of open collaboration to take tangible climate actions across its business, the new Galaxy A series[1] comes without the charger plug and with reduced packaging that uses sustainably sourced paper.

Samsung has also reduced the total weight of the packaging for the latest flagship Galaxy S22 series by 19% since the Galaxy S21 series, and 56% since the Galaxy S20 series[2]. In addition, Samsung switched to materials made from 100% recycled paper that’s certified by FSC, as well as protective films that use recycled plastic.

Another way to minimise discarded packaging materials is by giving them a new lease of life. Product packaging such as cardboard boxes may be used as storage, or even transformed into fun and functional home furniture.

First introduced in 2020, Samsung’s award-winning Eco-packaging program lets consumers upcycle the thick, corrugated cardboard boxes that used to hold their TVs into furniture such as small tables and shelves. Building instructions can be accessed by scanning QR codes on the outside of the boxes.

At CES 2022, Samsung announced that it plans to use 30 times more recycled plastics than it did in 2021, including expanding the use of recycled materials to include the boxes’ interior packaging of Styrofoam, box holders and plastic bags. Samsung is also expanding the Eco-packaging programme to encompass a larger lineup of products, including home appliances such as vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens, air purifiers and more.

Rethink Recycled Materials

In addition to the sustainable packaging, Samsung also looked inwards for ways to incorporate recycled materials in its devices. The Galaxy A series smartphones[3] use recycled post-consumer materials (PCM) for the side buttons and SIM card trays, while recycled discarded fishing nets made up 20% of the inner cover of the S Pen and the key bracket of the Galaxy S22 series.

Furthermore, every new Galaxy S22 smartphone case is now designed with UL-certified, eco-conscious materials such as recycled post-consumer plastics or bio-based substances.

Having devised the formula for polyamide resins that match Samsung’s high-quality standards for smartphone technology, Samsung is committed to evolving and expanding its use of ocean-bound plastics across all its products. By the end of 2022, Samsung’s use of recycled ocean-bound material could prevent more than 50 tons of discarded fishing nets[4] from entering the world’s oceans.

Samsung also announced at CES that it will also increase the amount of recycled plastic used in its home appliances to include both interior components and exterior elements. One such innovation resulting from Samsung’s sustainability efforts is a new type of polypropylene recycled plastic for Samsung’s washing machine tubs. From discarded items such as used lunch boxes and facial mask straps, Samsung created a new type of recycled resin that is more resistant to external shocks, which extends the lifespan of the material used in these parts.

Rethink Energy Usage  

Sustainability also extends to the ways that users experience Samsung products, which can empower people to reduce their carbon footprint.

Over in the laundry room, Samsung’s flagship AI Ecobubble washing machine uses advanced QuickDrive technology to let you wash clothes more effectively with less energy, time and effort[5]. AI Wash uses the four built-in sensors to determine the optimal amount of water and detergent for your load, letting you save on utility bills and help the environment at the same time.

The first-of-its-kind SolarCell Remote, which is included in new Samsung TVs and home appliances, aims to eliminate more than 200 million batteries from landfills[6] with a built-in solar panel that can be recharged through indoor or outdoor lighting. Notable enhancements made since its inception include getting electricity from radio frequencies emitted by nearby devices like Wi-Fi routers[7].

Samsung has its sights on even greater heights: By 2025, Samsung plans to make all its TVs and phone chargers operate on near zero standby power. This means the products will consume almost no energy when not being used.

[1] Select Galaxy A devices launched in 2022 and more to come.

[2] The smartphone’s packaging was produced in an eco-conscious manner, utilizing 100% recycled paper. All packaging components, including accessories and manuals were made compact to reduce the packaging’s overall volume.

[3] Select Galaxy A devices launched in 2022 and more to come.

[4] Based on internal research

[5]  Tested on WW7000T compared with Samsung WW6500K. Saves 50% time on Cotton (40℃, half load) cycle with washing performance within ±5%. Based on Intertek data.

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

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

In Samsung, we want our fans to purchase from a brand that shares similar fundamentals and values as they do, and with our SolarCell Remote Control and Eco-Packaging, we believe we can provide our customers with a new experience that considers the environment as an important way to express themselves.

When consumers buy a Samsung product, we want them to feel confident that they’re not only experiencing our cutting-edge technology and eco-innovation advances, but we’re also making it easy for them to repair, refurbish and recycle their products as well.

Get Creative With Samsung Eco-Packaging And Save The Environment

In 2020, Samsung Electronics introduced eco-friendly packaging across its Lifestyle TV product portfolio in efforts to reduce the environmental footprint which have won the CES 2020 Innovation Awards for its concept for promoting the efficient use of resources.

Samsung Eco-Packaging is a box specifically designed to be repurposed and recycled. It is made from eco-friendly corrugated cardboard where buyers can upcycle or turn the cardboard into magazine racks, build cat houses, and even shelves and furniture to store household items and electronic devices, including the remote control. This year, our eco-packaging uses 90% less ink than before by minimizing text and graphics plus eliminating all staples. With these efforts, we can decrease the amount of waste and make it easier for recycling centers to process.

The Eco-Packaging are applied to The Serif, The Frame and The Sero and it will be included in a wider range of home appliances in future as part of Samsung’s commitment to eliminate all single-use plastics in mobile packaging by 2025.

Reducing Disposable Battery Waste With Samsung’s Solar Cell Remote Control

Every year, around 15 billion batteries are used worldwide – but only 2% of these end up being recycled. In order to find a way to help mitigate this growing environmental issue, Samsung Electronics has developed the innovative solar cell-powered remote control for its TV products, which is now 88% more efficient than 2020 models.

As part of Samsung’s efforts towards creating eco-conscious products and services across all areas of its business operations, the Samsung TV’s solar cell-powered remote control is powered by lighting instead of conventional disposable batteries and can be recharged using sunlight, indoor lighting or USB.

Watch to learn more about the sustainable – yet high-performing – Samsung’s SolarCell Remote video here.

Samsung new owner can get their hands on the SolarCell Remote Control when they purchase product ranges from Neo QLED, QLED, Crystal UHD, The Frame, The Serif and The Sero in Malaysia.

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.

To explore more about Samsung’s responsible recycling programs and innovative sustainability efforts, please visit https://www.samsung.com/us/explore/sustainability/.