South Korean manufacturing giant Samsung Electronic has announced it is to spend $4.3bn on ‘greening up’ its products and production processes.
The firm wants to cut greenhouse emissions from its manufacturing plants by 50 per cent while cutting 84 million tons of indirect carbon emissions from its products by 2013.
The company’s vice chairman and CEO, Yoon-Woo Lee, said the intiative, dubbed ‘PlanetFirst’, is aimed at making Samsung Electronics a “truly green enterprise that places eco-management at the very heart of our business decision-making and growth.”
He said the initiative will encompass all of the company’s global operations and that suppliers and partners will be included in the considerations too. All of the company’s products, including televisions, refrigerators, ovens and air conditioners, are to exceed global eco-mark standards. The efficiency of the goods in operation, as well as while on standby, is to be addressed and $2.5bn of the cash pot is to be allocated to this effect.
The remaining $1.8bn will be spent on energy efficiency measures and reducing the use of halogenated gasses at manufacturing plants.
Samsung Electronics employs over 160,000 people across 161 countries worldwide.
