Throughout Samsung’s history, we have made it our mission to devote our talent and technology in creating innovative products and services that contribute to the betterment of global society. As a global leader in technology, we also have a responsibility to leverage our innovations, skill and knowledge to bridge the widening digital divide and give more youths the opportunity to reap the benefits of digitalization.

Within the Southeast Asia and Oceania (SEAO) region, we are seeing rapid growth in the digital economy. This is fueled by factors such as increasing mobile penetration and social media usage, a booming e-commerce market, strong government push towards digitalization, and importantly, a population of young digital natives.

Youths are the future drivers for the region, both as consumers and innovators. As we celebrate Samsung Electronics’ 54^th anniversary globally on November 1^st, we remain committed to empowering our youth to meet the demands of the ever-evolving world, while at the same time, uplifting communities across the SEAO region.

Global programs with local impact

In the spirit of co-prosperity, we are committed to doing our part as a socially and environmentally responsible corporate citizen in the communities that we are in, and as champions of innovation, we continually push ourselves to do better in inspiring the next generation through technology. This year, we are excited to see Solve for Tomorrow (SFT), our global flagship STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) -based student competition, expand to more markets in SEAO, including Indonesia and the Philippines. SFT is also making headway in the Pacific Islands, with Samoa and Tonga kick-starting local editions for the very first time in August this year.

More than 500 students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, participated in a SFT workshop in June 2023.

The 2023 edition of SFT is still ongoing in several SEAO markets, but we are already seeing massive momentum in the region, with projects covering creative solutions to address real-life challenges in a variety of themes including environment and sustainability, learning and education, wellness, and healthcare, and more. Beyond the technical competition element, our young participants also receive training in soft skills required for the future workforce, including the 4Cs of 21^st Century Skills – Communication, Collaboration, Critical thinking, and Creativity.

We estimate that over 110,000 students and over 1,000 schools are benefiting from this program so far this year, through the competition, online and offline workshops, and other SFT-related activities.

For the 2021 edition of Solve for Tomorrow in Australia, students were encouraged to create fun videos that presented social issues of personal relevance while highlighting STEM-based solutions. Tasmania-based Meg Phillips emerged as the overall winner, driven by her passion for animal conservation, with an RFID-based system to warn animals of approaching cars, with the aim of reducing wildlife casualties, as well as to keep drivers safe.

Recently, Samsung New Zealand announced its SFT 2023 winners. I am especially heartened by the winning submissions that are the embodiment of why we continue to dedicate our efforts for communities through this program. For example, 12-year old Thomas Costar’s hydro turbine mechanism that helps to generate electricity through household drainage systems – the scientific approach that he took is a great example of perseverance and design thinking.

Samsung Innovation Campus participants in Cambodia working diligently under the guidance of mentors.

Beyond encouraging innovative thinking with SFT, we also want to empower the next generation with practical skills needed for success in an increasingly digital world. This is where Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC) comes into play. Through SIC, we want to help youth develop real-world skills in the areas of AI, IoT, big data, and coding through formalized training programs, alongside other activities like Innovation Hackathons and IoT Bootcamps.

Since first launching in Indonesia and Vietnam in 2019, we continue to ramp up our work in SEAO. This year, we are excited to add Cambodia and Laos to the program roster. To date, we estimate that over 8,000 students are participating in the program from 135 schools across Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, along with significant interest from a number of national universities too. We are encouraged by the incredibly positive feedback received from students on how the SIC program has helped change their perspectives towards data science, as well as helping them better navigate their education journey.

We are immensely appreciative and humbled by all the cooperation, support, and the sharing of information and learnings from the various governmental agencies and educational organizations who have graciously partnered with us on this journey. These partnerships ensure that the local editions are tailored for the unique education needs of each community, enhancing the learning experience for students, and amplify the program’s impact across the region by increasing awareness of it and supporting its rollout in the markets.

There is no doubt that having passion for education played a significant role in the remarkable success that we have achieved in the spirit of co-creation with initiatives like SFT and SIC.

As an added plus, the activation of programs like SFT and SIC created more opportunities for Samsung to further contribute to local communities and education. For example, this year in Indonesia, we signed two agreements, one is with the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Republic Indonesia to roll out the ‘Samsung Digital for Indonesia’ program in support of the local smart madrasah program, and the other one with the Institute of Technology Bandung for developing digital technology on sustainable environmental conservation.

Looking to the next 54 years and beyond

At Samsung, we passionately believe that doing good is in fact, good business. We are committed to ongoing community engagements and impactful contributions, to continue growing with the SEAO region. At the same time, we look forward to working together with future generations of innovators, encouraging them to be bold and push the boundaries of innovation to shape a brighter future – not just for the next 54 years, but for generations to come.

More than ever, sustainability is at the forefront of conversations and actions by governments, organizations, and consumers alike. Without a doubt, addressing the ongoing climate crisis and establishing a circular economy are among some of the biggest, most pressing challenges of our time.

At Samsung Electronics, we are taking active steps to make a difference to environmental sustainability today and for future generations. With the unique size and complexity of our business, we believe that our size and scale mean that our ongoing investments in environmental health have an opportunity to make significant impact.

Hence in September 2022, we announced our new global environmental strategy to tackle climate change holistically as an organization.

Focusing on the outcomes and as a careful reflection of the complexity of our business, our new approach to the environment encompasses everything from commitments to achieving enterprise-wide net zero emissions by 2050, expanding use of renewable energy, and strategic investments in new sustainable technologies, to create a better, healthier planet for all.

This new strategy builds on Samsung Electronics’ existing efforts around climate change, significantly expanding the scope of both programs and investments to come. A helpful summary can be found in the infographic here.

Samsung Electronics has also joined the RE100, a global corporate renewable energy initiative, and plans to run all operations outside of Korea as well as the Device eXperience (DX) Division on renewable energy within five years. Here in Southeast Asia and Oceania (SEAO), we are on track to achieve the goal for matching electricity use with renewable energy by 2027.

Under the new strategy, we are planning to enhance resource circularity of our electronics products across the entire product lifecycle. The Galaxy Z Fold4 and Flip4 have already been designed to incorporate plastics recycled from discarded fishing nets, and we plan to expand this to more products. We will also implement low-power technologies in major models of seven consumer electronics products – smartphones, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, TVs, monitors and PCs – to reduce energy consumption.

Additionally, we are planning to expand the scope of our e-waste collection system from around 50 countries today to more than 180 countries by 2030. At the same time, we plan to collect a cumulative 10 million tons of electronic waste between 2009 and 2030, one of the highest targets industry-wide.

Sustainability involves everyone

This is an all-hands-on-deck effort that cuts across the entire business, including right here for us in SEAO.

Eco-conscious practices have been put in place at our Samsung Services Centers across the region, with the integrated global customer service system implemented at most of the Samsung Service Centers in the region as we make strides towards going paper-free. Customer documents relating to product repairs, service records, and receipts are now shared electronically via message or email.

In addition, customers in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam are now receiving the mobile phones they have sent in for services and repairs packed in eco-friendly materials. For example in Australia, customers can expect an eco-friendly packaging made from 96% recyclable materials that can be repurposed into a mobile and table stand.

Reducing E-waste

E-waste ‘Eco Boxes’ are also available in over 180 Samsung Service Centers in SEAO currently, such as major cities like Auckland, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Sydney, allowing customers to conveniently dispose of their old mobile phones and recycle them in a proper way.

To reduce e-waste, customers can also choose to replace only the defective parts of their product instead of replacing assembly modules through Eco Repair.

In New Zealand, we partnered with technology recycling firm Computer Recycling to reuse the gold, silver, and other metal components in discarded devices and appliances such as smartphones, TVs and refrigerators. These include old electronics collected from Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific islands such as Fiji, Samoa, and Tahiti, which are then sent for recycling in Auckland. The initiative has been well received and Samsung New Zealand is currently looking to bolster recycling capacities over the next two years.

In Singapore, we launched the ‘Go Green, Go Galaxy’ campaign in September, offering additional discounts off the purchase of Samsung Galaxy Watch5 series devices and the Galaxy Buds2 Pro for consumers who chose to recycle their old smartwatch and old wireless earbuds at our in-store e-waste bins.  Our e-waste operator partner, Alba, collected these old devices for proper treatment and recycling, channeling back the raw materials recovered from these products into production where appropriate.

Continued public education on the importance of sustainability is critical for the future – especially among the youths in our region. We do this through our regular youth outreach efforts, including Solve for Tomorrow, our annual student competition focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic (STEM) skills.

Many innovative creations surrounding sustainability have emerged from Solve for Tomorrow. For instance, the Team Eco Warriors student team from Hanoi, Vietnam (pictured below) won the High School Category for Solve for Tomorrow last year. Their original mask-recycling machine seeks to mitigate waste created from the widespread use of face masks during the pandemic by melting and remoulding plastic masks into plastic pots.

Taking action to create a better planet for all

At Samsung, we take our environmental responsibilities extremely seriously. While we recognize that one company’s strategy will not be a solve-all solution, Samsung is making this bold bet to ensure it plays an active role in the protection of the planet for our younger and future generations.

In the upcoming year, we can look forward to seeing real, tangible changes to our operations as we roll-out our bold environmental actions and targets across markets in the region. Working with our employees, customers, and industry and government partners, we are optimistic about the changes we are making to enable a better world and to make sustainability a part of our consumers’ everyday lives here in Southeast Asia and Oceania and beyond.