SOUTH KOREA: The world’s largest semiconductor and mobile maker, Samsung Electronics, announced on Thursday that it will invest more than 7 trillion won ($5.02 billion) by 2030 as part of extensive environmental programs aimed at making the business carbon neutral by 2050.
According to Kim Soo-jin, head of Samsung’s ESG strategy group, the tech giant will use the funds for research and development of technology to filter out greenhouse gases and capture the carbon dioxide produced during chip production. The goal is to make its device business carbon neutral by 2030. Additionally, it intends to increase the recycling of materials like plastic and lithium.
Following in the footsteps of international competitors like Apple and Intel, Samsung announced that it had joined a group of the multinational firm named that are dedicated to using only renewable energy.
Although South Korea has a sizable heavy industry sector, including shipbuilding and steel production, researchers think it will be difficult for the nation to attain net zero emissions by 2050.
According to data from the industry ministry, the nation generates more than 60% of its electricity from coal and gas and only 6% from renewable sources.
Stable and affordable energy is essential for the competitiveness of South Korean firms like Samsung’s chip factories. Still, critics claim that renewable energy development has been moving too slowly to date to satisfy these standards.
According to Samsung Electronics, its devices businesses, which include mobile, accounted for 10% of the 17.4 million tonnes of greenhouse emissions the company emitted in 2021, while the chips and components businesses accounted for 15.6 million, or 90%.
Furthermore, of the company’s 164 million tonnes of water in 2021, 144 million tonnes came from Samsung’s semiconductor and component division. Despite increased chip output, it wants to maintain water withdrawal from sources at 2021 levels.
In addition to its net zero emissions and water ambitions, Samsung wants to improve the recycling of resources like lithium and cobalt used in their devices. By 2030, it hopes to collect electronic waste in around 180 countries.
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