Following Apple, Samsung gets vilified for not decarbonizing enough،
Following in Apple’s footsteps, Samsung is now also frowned upon on the subject of “decarbonization”.
There is a new report from Greenpeace that Samsung Display and Samsung Semiconductor are not doing what it takes to further decarbonize their supply chains. According to its rating system, Samsung Display (which supplies display panels to almost all popular smartphone brands in the world) received a C- rating in 2022.
This is an improvement from the D+ grade achieved in 2021, but some say progress has been slow. This subsidiary of Samsung Electronics also manufactures QD-OLED and Micro LED panels for laptops, monitors and televisions. It ranked behind LG Display in the new Greenpeace report (via SamMobile).
No improvement was seen in Samsung Semiconductor’s report, which received a D+ rating for 2021 and 2022. Samsung lags behind all of its major competitors (including Intel, SK Hynix, and TSMC). According to the same Greenpeace report, the semiconductor industry would emit around 86 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2030.
While Samsung has committed to becoming carbon neutral and using 100% renewable energy by 2050, it has not extended this commitment to its supply chain. Overall, Greenpeace’s report takes into account decarbonization efforts by 11 major names that supply electronic components to major brands, including Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung.
Greenpeace said in a statement: “It is encouraging to see that electronics manufacturers are finally recognizing the need for climate action, but progress has been uneven and too slow. The level of ambition from electronics manufacturers is still far from enough to ensure that the average global temperature increase remains below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
And Apple?
Remember the Wonderlust event organized by Apple on September 12? The one where the Cupertino giant unveiled the iPhone 15 range and lots of other cool stuff. In it, a brief episode with Mother Earth was presented – this is how Apple showed what has been done recently for greener and less polluting technology. At the same event, Apple announced two carbon-neutral Apple Watch options for the Series 9 and Ultra 2.
It turns out that this little sketch didn’t convince the people at BEUC, the European consumer organization.
Monique Goyens, director general of BEUC, said carbon neutrality claims are “scientifically inaccurate and misleading to consumers”. The EU is also considering banning “carbon neutrality” claims. Indeed, in Apple’s press release it is admitted that the claim for the two Apple Watch models is based on the use of offset credits. According to the message, emissions from materials, electricity and transportation have been reduced. According to Apple, the small amount of remaining emissions are offset by high-quality carbon credits.
It appears that the “small amount” of emissions remaining is between 7 and 12 kg per watch.
