Samsung, the South Korean electronics behemoth, has been pounding the sustainability beat for the past few years, with repercussions that reverberate across its ecosystem. The company has been working for a greener world than before, with buzzwords like “corporate citizenship” and a strong push for environmentally friendly supply chains, resources, and manufacturing.
The company’s latest stunt, as part of its Galaxy for the Planet program, is recycling abandoned fishing nets to help do its part, following up on its upcycling programs, rejection of plastic packaging, and a myriad of other initiatives. On Wednesday, Samsung will unveil new Galaxy devices, but the company wanted to give us an early peek at how these new materials will be used in its products. The corporation emphasizes that it is enhancing its efficiency in removing single-use plastics and expanding its usage of more environmentally friendly products. Recycled materials (particularly, post-consumer recycled materials) and recycled paper fall within this category.
The company is focusing on the 640,000 tons of fishing nets that are abandoned each year in order to assure a resoundingly beneficial impact. In an effort to clean up the oceans a little, the firm has pledged to collect and recycle at least some of these nets. Marine creatures that would otherwise become entangled in discarded nets will find the watery landscapes a little more pleasant as a result of this process.
Samsung notes in its 2021 report that it has already accomplished a lot: reducing its use of plastics by 20% by redesigning certain types of packaging, adding power-saving features to its products, collecting nearly 5 million tons of e-waste, and ensuring that 95 percent of manufacturing waste is recycled. In the United States, Europe, and China, the corporation also runs entirely on renewable energy. The company has also been working toward certifications (such as the Carbon Trust Standard) for CO2, water, and non-recyclable material reduction.
The business emphasizes its commitment to combating plastic pollution in the oceans in ways that will benefit the environment and “all Galaxy users’ lives.” If you have a non-Galaxy phone, your life can probably stay pretty much the same as it was before. Apart from the joking, and as someone who has spent more than a few days in scuba gear trying to clean up nets and other trash from reefs, I think it’s a good move by the electronics behemoth.
It remains to be seen whether this will have a discernible environmental impact. Samsung didn’t say how many of the 640,000 tons of fishing nets they want to remove from the water, but it’s heartening that the talk and steps are still going on. Hopefully, Samsung and other prominent manufacturers can continue to out-green each other, ensuring that the earth does not burn to a crisp before we find more complete climate solutions along the road. I’ll take the bait: A for a fin-tastic attempt in keeping your buddies close and our anemones close, Samsung. We’d have some real traction on our hands if we could also get folks to update their phones every three years rather than every 18 months.
