to deal with the 4.3 million Galaxy Note 7
devices produced and recalled worldwide following battery faults. This major win
comes after nearly five months of campaigning and global protests addressing the
environmental impact of the recall.
“People around the world signed
petitions, emailed Samsung’s CEO, demonstrated in cities around the world, and
finally Samsung has listened. This is major win for everyone that took action,
and a step towards shifting the way we produce and dispose of electronics,” said
Jude Lee, Global Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia.
precedes the launch on 29 March in New York of the Galaxy S8, the first Samsung
phone to be released since the Note 7 incident. The phone will be the first test
to see how the company will apply these commitments to proceeding models. In a
public statement released on its website, Samsung committed to:
The IT giant also claimed it will be joining a new research conducted by
the European Union aimed at developing a new environmentally friendly technology
to recycle smartphones.
Electronics production, including smartphones, is
incredibly energy and resource intensive, according to a Greenpeace USA report
published in February 2017 on the impacts of smartphone production since 2007.
According to a United Nations report in 2014, e-waste volumes from small IT
products, such as mobile phones and personal computers are predicted to rise
globally to 50 million metric tons or more every year in 2017. This represents a
massive waste of resources, and a source of contamination from hazardous
chemicals.
“While we welcome this news, Samsung must share as soon as
possible more detailed timelines on when it will implement its promises, as well
as how it intends to change its production system to make sure this never
happens again,” said Lee.
“The average smartphone in the US is used for
about two years, and added to growing piles of e-waste around the world. This is
simply not sustainable. Samsung and other IT companies such as Apple should
manufacture phones that are easy to repair, refurbish, and upgrade,” said
Lee.
Greenpeace Spain activists crashed Samsung press conference at the
Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last February, asking the company to reuse,
recycle and rethink the way the phones are produced.
Greenpeace East Asia
will further push the tech sector in the coming month to rethink its impact on
the planet. The Galaxy S8 and best selling models from 14 top IT companies’ will
be scored to inform customers on how repairable the phones
are.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Photos and video can be
found
here[1] Samsung press
statement can be found
here.
[2]
According to calculations by Oeko-Institut, a research and consultancy
institution based in Germany, 4.3 million smartphones contain more than 20
metric tonnes of Cobalt, approximately more than 1 tonne of tungsten, 1 tonne of
silver, 100 kilograms of gold and between 20 and 60 kilograms of palladium. More
information on calculations and methodology by the Oeko-Institut available
here.
[3]
Greenpeace USA’s report From Smart to Senseless: The Global Impact of Ten Years
of Smartphones can be found
here.
[4]
United Nations University, 2015, “The Global E-waste Monitor –
2014”
Media contacts:
Maria Elena De Matteo, Global
Communications Strategist, Greenpeace East Asia, ph:
+852-55749984,
mariaelen...@greenpeace.orgGreenpeace
International Press Desk,
+31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours),
pressd...@greenpeace.org
--
Tristan Tremschnig
Communications Hub Manager | Asia
Pacific