The company is the first and only mobile phone manufacturer to have product carbon footprints certified by UK-based Carbon Trust Certification to PAS 2050, the global standard for measuring the greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services over their life cycle. Samsung had previously gained PAS 2050 certification for its Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note smartphones.
Samsung was supported with product carbon footprinting training and knowledge transfer from the Carbon Trust, which assisted the footprint analysis of the certified mobile handsets.
The best selling Galaxy S III – which saw more than 20 million phones shipped in the 100 days after launch - has an even lower carbon footprint than its predecessor, the Galaxy S II. A more efficient charger, the use of fewer raw materials, and a reduction in emissions during its assembly all contributed to reducing the smartphone’s carbon footprint by up to 14%. Carbon footprints are calculated on a country by country basis, and can be determined by the energy mix in each region.
Bill Skeates, Head of Sustainability, Samsung Electronics Europe said: “At Samsung, our philosophy is to ‘design for humans’ and be ‘inspired by nature’. So by design our products are not just smart and easy to use, they also strive to achieve the highest environmental standards. Yes, our customers want to own a great smartphone, but they also want to be responsible consumers, and the Galaxy S III helps them to do both. Measuring the carbon footprint helps us to understand the environmental impact of our mobile phones and identify where we can continue to improve. Samsung aims to calculate the carbon footprint for all of its mobile flagship devices.”
Darran Messem, Managing Director, Certification at the Carbon Trust said: “The number of mobile devices, like smartphones in use worldwide is growing exponentially, so it’s important that they meet key environmental standards. We are very pleased that Samsung is showing industry leadership here. Samsung not only submits its smartphones for independent assessment, but is also taking action to improve the environmental performance of its products.”
A carbon footprint measures the total greenhouse gas emissions caused directly or indirectly by a product.
Three years ago, in 2009, Samsung introduced its Green Management strategy, as part of Samsung’s Planet First initiative. Since then, Samsung has developed innovative solutions for environmentally friendly products. As part of this, Samsung reviews the production, usage and end-of-life disposal of its handsets.