- Sustainability Strategy and Goals
- Progress vs. Target Tracker
- Key Sustainability Innovations and Technologies
- Measurable Impacts
- Challenges and Areas for Improvement
- Future Plans and Long-Term Goals
- Comparisons to Industry Competitors
- Consumer Electronics ESG Metrics (Latest Available Data)
- What to Watch: 12 to 18 Month Indicators
Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest consumer electronics manufacturer with $205 billion in revenue in 2024, published its 2025 Sustainability Report in June 2025, covering calendar year 2024 performance across its Device eXperience (DX) Division, encompassing smartphones, TVs, home appliances, and monitors, and Device Solutions (DS) Division, encompassing semiconductors and displays. The report is governed by Samsung’s New Environmental Strategy, announced in September 2022, which sets differentiated net zero timelines for each division: DX Division by 2030 and enterprise-wide including DS Division by 2050, reflecting the higher energy and process gas intensity of semiconductor manufacturing. Samsung holds the highest Platinum certification from the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) for all Korean manufacturing sites, and all DS Division global sites received UL Solutions’ Platinum Zero Waste-to-Landfill certification in 2024, both of which are the highest certifications in their respective categories globally.
Source
https://www.samsung.com/global/sustainability/media/pdf/Samsung_Electronics_Sustainability_Report_2025_ENG.pdf
https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-electronics-releases-2025-sustainability-report
https://tracenable.com/company/samsung-electronics/ghg-emissions
Sustainability Strategy and Goals
Samsung’s New Environmental Strategy rests on three pillars: pursuing net zero carbon emissions, maximizing resource circularity, and addressing environmental challenges through technological innovation. DX Division targets 100% renewable energy by 2027 and Scope 1 and 2 net zero by 2030, while the DS Division, constrained by process gas emissions from semiconductor fabrication, targets net zero Scope 1 and 2 by 2050 with an intermediate goal of 100% company-wide renewable electricity also by 2030. The Galaxy for the Planet initiative, launched in 2021 specifically for the mobile business unit, achieved all four of its 2025 goals on schedule, including eliminating all single-use plastics from mobile packaging, and Samsung announced the expanded 2030 phase of the initiative in February 2026, extending to water stewardship and biodiversity.
Net Zero and Carbon Emissions
Samsung Electronics’ total operational GHG footprint (Scope 1 and 2) reached 19,736,000 tCO2e in 2024, a 7.83% increase from 2023, driven by expanded semiconductor fabrication capacity and rising AI-related manufacturing demand in the DS Division. Scope 1 alone reached 4,725,000 tCO2e in 2024, reflecting the scale of process gas emissions from the DS Division’s global fab network. Total carbon footprint including Scope 3 reached 125,348,000 tCO2e in 2024, a 0.06% increase from 2023, with Scope 3 accounting for 105,612,000 tCO2e, of which 80.46% originates from downstream activities, primarily the use of sold products.
The DX Division recorded a renewable energy transition rate of 93.4% as of end of 2024, achieving 100% renewable energy at all major global manufacturing sites in the U.S., Europe, China, Vietnam, India, and Brazil. The DS Division reached only 24.8% renewable energy in 2024, constrained by the energy intensity of semiconductor fabrication in South Korea, where grid renewable energy access remains limited. Total renewable energy consumed company-wide reached 10,069 GWh, representing a 31.4% blended transition rate.
- Total Scope 1 and 2 in 2024: 19,736,000 tCO2e; up 7.83% from 2023
- Scope 1 in 2024: 4,725,000 tCO2e; Scope 1 emissions intensity: 23.04 tCO2e per million USD, above industry median of 1.6
- Total Scope 3 in 2024: 105,612,000 tCO2e; 14 of 15 GHG Protocol categories disclosed
- Downstream Scope 3 (use of sold products and end-of-life): 80.46% of total Scope 3
- Total carbon footprint 2024: 125,348,000 tCO2e; up 0.06% from 2023
- DX Division renewable energy: 93.4% in 2024; 100% at all major overseas sites
- DS Division renewable energy: 24.8% in 2024; net zero target for DS is 2050
- Total renewable energy consumed: 10,069 GWh; 31.4% blended company-wide transition rate
- DX Division net zero Scope 1 and 2 target: 2030; company-wide (DX + DS) net zero target: 2050
- Product energy efficiency improvement: 31.5% average reduction in major product categories vs 2019 baseline
Water Stewardship
Samsung’s water stewardship programme is among the most formally certified in the global electronics industry, with all Korean manufacturing sites holding AWS Platinum certification, the highest level, which verifies stable water management systems, water quality hygiene, water resource conservation, and biodiversity impact at the site level. In 2024, Samsung implemented 23 water replenishment projects across six countries, returning 1.35 million tonnes of water annually to local communities, and achieved 100% water replenishment by Korean facilities’ water usage standards. Through the Galaxy for the Planet 2030 phase announced in February 2026, Samsung set a new goal to return 110% of water consumed in mobile production to the environment, extending the replenishment commitment from Korean operations to its global mobile manufacturing footprint.
- AWS Platinum certification: all Korean manufacturing sites, plus the Xi’an, China fab; highest level for water management systems
- 23 water replenishment projects in 2024 across six countries; 1.35 million tonnes of water returned annually to communities
- 100% water replenishment achieved for Korean facilities’ water usage in 2024
- New 2030 goal: return 110% of water consumed in mobile production to the environment globally
- Agricultural water reuse projects in five Korean regions: Wando, Shinan, Pyeongtaek, Andong, and Changnyeong
- Jangheung Dam Artificial Wetland Creation MOU signed November 2024 with Ministry of Environment and K-water
Regenerative Agriculture
Samsung does not operate a direct agricultural supply chain. Its nearest programmatic contribution to regenerative land-use outcomes is the Samsung Public Welfare Forest programme in Yan’an, China, where the DS Division’s Xi’an SCS site is co-creating 600,000 square meters of new forest with the Shanxi Provincial Government over three years from 2024 to 2026, planting 200,000 square meters annually. This initiative restores degraded or agricultural land to forest cover, contributing to carbon reduction and desertification prevention in a region directly adjacent to Samsung’s manufacturing operations. The Cobalt for Development project, co-launched with BMW Group and BASF in 2019, promotes responsible artisanal mining practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including community development and land management co-benefits.
- Samsung Public Welfare Forest, Yan’an, China: 600,000 square meters of new forest over three years (2024 to 2026); 200,000 square meters planted annually
- Cobalt for Development project: co-launched with BMW Group and BASF in 2019; responsible mining community development in DRC
- No standalone corporate regenerative agriculture programme with dedicated funding or acreage targets published
Deforestation and Biodiversity
Samsung’s biodiversity commitment intensified significantly with the Galaxy for the Planet 2030 expansion, where Samsung set a new goal to conserve ecosystems equivalent to the footprint of its global mobile operations, focusing on protecting and restoring natural environments in ways that strengthen biodiversity and ecological resilience. The DS Division has applied TNFD-recommended analysis tools, including ENCORE and WWF-RFS, to its five domestic Korean sites to assess business impacts and dependencies on nature, identifying two physical biodiversity risks rated medium or higher and developing mitigation strategies. The DS Division has established natural green spaces and forests within domestic sites totalling 1.67 million square meters, mapped against South Korea’s Ministry of Environment land cover classification.
- Galaxy for the Planet 2030: new biodiversity goal to conserve ecosystems equivalent to the footprint of Samsung’s global mobile operations
- TNFD analysis (ENCORE and WWF-RFS tools): applied to all five Korean DS Division domestic sites; two medium-or-higher biodiversity risks identified
- Natural green areas within Korean DS Division domestic sites: 1.67 million square meters
- One Company, One River campaign: river ecosystem conservation activities ongoing
- Marine ecosystem preservation in the Sohwang sand dune area: active site-adjacent programme
Packaging and Circular Economy
Samsung achieved all four Galaxy for the Planet 2025 sustainability goals on schedule, including eliminating single-use plastics from all mobile packaging and incorporating recycled materials into all new mobile products. The Galaxy S25 series, launched in January 2025, is packaged entirely in 100% recycled paper, with no single-use plastics, and became the first Galaxy device to incorporate recycled cobalt, recovered through Samsung’s new Circular Battery Supply Chain. As of 2024, Samsung had incorporated recycled content into 31% of plastic parts across all its DX Division products, with a cumulative total of 768,811 tonnes of recycled plastic used since 2009.
The DS Division’s Korean semiconductor sites recycled 99.0% of their waste in 2024, and all DS Division global manufacturing sites received UL Solutions’ Platinum Zero Waste-to-Landfill certification, the highest available level. All 18 DX Division global manufacturing sites are validated at UL Platinum Zero Waste-to-Landfill level. For the 2030 phase, Samsung targets recycled plastic in 50% of plastic parts in DX products and at least one recycled material in every module of every mobile product.
- Galaxy for the Planet 2025: all four goals achieved on schedule: eliminated single-use plastics in mobile packaging, incorporated recycled materials in all new mobile products, achieved zero waste to landfill at all mobile manufacturing sites, and reduced standby power
- Galaxy S25 packaging: 100% recycled paper; zero single-use plastics; first Galaxy device with recycled cobalt from Circular Battery Supply Chain
- 10 types of recycled materials incorporated in Galaxy products: including ocean-bound plastic from fishing nets, recycled glass, and recycled aluminium
- Recycled content in DX Division plastic parts: 31% in 2024; cumulative 768,811 tonnes since 2009
- DS Division waste recycling rate: 99.0% at Korean semiconductor sites in 2024
- UL Platinum Zero Waste-to-Landfill: all 18 DX Division global sites and all DS Division global sites
- 2030 targets: recycled plastic in 50% of DX Division plastic parts; at least one recycled material in every mobile product module
- 2050 target: 100% recycled plastic in all DX Division plastic parts
- E-waste collection programmes active in approximately 80 countries
Human Rights and Responsible Sourcing
Samsung’s responsible minerals programme covers tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold, cobalt, nickel, lithium, manganese, graphite, and mica, applying OECD Due Diligence Guidance for conflict-affected and high-risk areas across all of these minerals. Samsung is a founding participant in the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) and the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals (EPRM), and launched the Cobalt for Development project with BMW Group and BASF in 2019 to promote responsible artisanal cobalt mining in the DRC. The KnowTheChain 2025 ICT Sector Scorecard identified two allegations of forced labour in Samsung’s supply chains related to Uyghur forced labour, which Samsung denied.
- Responsible minerals programme covers 10 minerals including cobalt, lithium, nickel, and conflict minerals (3TG)
- OECD Due Diligence Guidance applied across all covered minerals and all supply chain tiers
- RMI and EPRM membership: active participation in conflict-free smelter certification standards
- Cobalt for Development project (2019): BMW Group, BASF, and GIZ collaboration for responsible artisanal cobalt mining in DRC
- KnowTheChain 2025: two Uyghur forced labour supply chain allegations identified; denied by Samsung
- Supplier environmental and social audits conducted through Samsung’s supplier partnership programme
Nutrition and Health
Samsung does not operate in the food or nutrition sector. Its most direct contribution to population health outcomes is through its Galaxy Watch health monitoring platform, which provides continuous heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep, and irregular heart rhythm detection for hundreds of millions of users globally. Its most materially significant health and safety programme is the comprehensive occupational health monitoring system for employees at DS Division semiconductor fabrication facilities, where workers are exposed to chemical agents used in chip manufacturing processes. Samsung monitors worker health longitudinally across all domestic and international DS Division sites.
Community and Social Impact
Samsung’s most distinctive community investment in FY2024 is the Samsung Innovation Campus programme, which provides AI, coding, and digital skills training to young people in over 50 countries, reaching more than 1 million participants since inception. In Korea, Samsung operates the Creative Lab programme to support employee entrepreneurship, and funds Samsung Medical Center, Samsung Welfare Foundation, and Samsung Cultural Foundation as pillars of its social infrastructure. The 23 water replenishment projects implemented in 2024 across six countries directly benefit rural communities, agricultural water users, and downstream ecosystems in regions surrounding Samsung’s manufacturing sites.
- Samsung Innovation Campus: AI, coding, and digital skills training in 50+ countries; 1 million+ participants since inception
- Water replenishment projects: 23 projects in 2024 across six countries; 1.35 million tonnes returned to communities annually
- Cobalt for Development: community development in artisanal mining regions of the DRC since 2019
- Green spaces within domestic DS Division sites: 1.67 million square meters of natural areas established
Governance and Transparency
Samsung’s 2025 Sustainability Report covers calendar year 2024 and is published annually in June. The report covers 14 of 15 GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories, consistent with the prior year, and is externally assured by third-party auditors. Samsung has been listed on the DJSI World index for 20 consecutive years as of 2024, received an MSCI ESG rating of AA in 2025, and obtained ISS ESG Prime status, placing it in the top tier for governance quality in the technology hardware sector. The two-division net zero structure, DX by 2030 and DS by 2050, creates a 20-year gap in accountability that reflects the technical reality of semiconductor process gas emissions, but means that the largest emissions-intensive division will operate without a net zero date for another 25 years.
Technology and Innovation
Samsung’s most significant sustainability technology innovation in 2024 is the large-scale regenerative catalytic system (RCS) for integrated process gas treatment at DS Division semiconductor fabs. Semiconductor fabrication uses powerful process gases including N2O, SF6, NF3, and CF4, which have global warming potentials thousands of times higher than CO2, and the RCS converts these gases into harmless compounds within the fab exhaust stream. Expanding RCS deployment across the DS Division global fab network is the single most impactful lever for reducing the DS Division’s Scope 1 emissions, which dominate its GHG footprint.
The Circular Battery Supply Chain, deployed for the Galaxy S25, creates the first closed-loop cobalt recovery system in the Samsung mobile product line, recovering cobalt from used Galaxy devices and manufacturing process waste to supply battery-grade cobalt back into the production cycle. This system directly reduces the demand for newly-mined cobalt, the most ethically complex and supply-constrained critical mineral in the mobile battery supply chain. Product energy efficiency improvement of 31.5% across seven major product categories vs the 2019 baseline demonstrates that product-level efficiency, rather than operational decarbonization, remains Samsung’s most commercially scalable sustainability lever.
- Regenerative Catalytic Systems (RCS): large-scale deployment at DS Division fabs to neutralise high-GWP process gases (N2O, SF6, NF3, CF4)
- Circular Battery Supply Chain: Galaxy S25 first device to incorporate recycled cobalt from used Galaxy devices and manufacturing waste
- Product energy efficiency: 31.5% improvement across seven major product categories vs 2019 baseline
- Ocean-bound plastic from fishing nets: incorporated into Galaxy devices; 10 types of recycled materials used in Galaxy products
- New PPAs signed at Gumi and Gwangju DS Division sites in South Korea; renewable energy expansion across India, Mexico, Brazil, Vietnam, and China
- AI energy optimisation tools integrated into manufacturing operations
Global Partnerships and Advocacy
Samsung is a RE100 signatory, committing to 100% renewable electricity across its full enterprise by 2050, with the DX Division targeting 100% by 2027. The company is a member of DJSI World, an MSCI ESG AA-rated company, and participates in global frameworks including the CDP, UN Global Compact, RMI, and EPRM. The 2024 public-private MOU with South Korea’s Ministry of Environment and K-water to advance water replenishment and wetland creation is the most significant government-level environmental partnership Samsung has entered in recent years.
Source
https://www.samsung.com/global/sustainability/media/pdf/Samsung_Electronics_Sustainability_Report_2025_ENG.pdf
https://tracenable.com/company/samsung-electronics/ghg-emissions
https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-expands-its-journey-galaxy-for-the-planet-with-new-goals-through-2030
https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-electronics-releases-2025-sustainability-report
https://semiconductor.samsung.com/sustainability/environment/preserving-nature/alliance-for-water-stewardship-certification/
https://news.samsungsemiconductor.com/global/samsung-electronics-water-conservation-efforts-for-world-water-day/
https://www.packaginginsights.com/news/samsung-2025-mobile-packaging.html
Progress vs. Target Tracker
Source
https://tracenable.com/company/samsung-electronics/ghg-emissions
https://www.samsung.com/global/sustainability/media/pdf/Samsung_Electronics_Sustainability_Report_2025_ENG.pdf
https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-expands-its-journey-galaxy-for-the-planet-with-new-goals-through-2030
Key Sustainability Innovations and Technologies
The Regenerative Catalytic System (RCS) is the most consequential emissions reduction technology in Samsung’s sustainability portfolio, addressing the process gas emissions that dominate DS Division Scope 1 GHG output. Semiconductor process gases including N2O, SF6, NF3, and CF4 carry global warming potentials ranging from 4,000 to 23,900 times that of CO2, meaning a small absolute volume of unabated process gas represents an enormous GHG impact. The RCS technology treats these gases within the exhaust stream before release, converting them to harmless nitrogen, oxygen, and fluoride compounds. Scaling RCS deployment across the entire DS Division global fab network is the single most impactful technical intervention available for Samsung to achieve the DS Division 2050 net zero target.
The Circular Battery Supply Chain, deployed at scale for Galaxy S25, is the most commercially significant closed-loop materials innovation in the Samsung mobile product line. By recovering cobalt from end-of-life Galaxy devices and manufacturing process scrap and returning it to battery-grade cobalt for new production, Samsung creates the first internal cobalt recycling system in the global smartphone industry at commercial scale. Cobalt is the most geopolitically sensitive, supply-constrained, and human rights-exposed critical mineral in lithium-ion batteries, making cobalt recovery a direct response to the most material responsible sourcing risk in Samsung’s value chain.
The ocean-bound plastic fishing net recovery programme, which incorporates recycled plastic from discarded fishing nets into Galaxy product components, addresses both marine plastic pollution and the demand for virgin petroleum-based plastic simultaneously. Samsung has incorporated 10 types of recycled materials into Galaxy products including ocean-bound plastic, recycled glass, recycled aluminium, and recycled cobalt, with all materials verified under ISO 14021 by third parties.
- RCS process gas treatment: converts high-GWP gases (4,000 to 23,900 times CO2e) in DS Division fab exhaust to harmless compounds
- Circular Battery Supply Chain: cobalt recovery from used Galaxy devices and manufacturing scrap; first closed-loop cobalt system in commercial smartphone production
- Ocean-bound plastic: recycled from discarded fishing nets; incorporated into Galaxy exterior and interior components
- 10 types of recycled materials in Galaxy products: ISO 14021 third-party verified
- Galaxy S25: 100% recycled paper packaging; recycled cobalt battery; 2025 ReMA Design for Recycling Award winner
- Product energy efficiency: 31.5% improvement in seven major categories vs 2019; exceeds 2030 target six years early
Source
https://www.samsung.com/global/sustainability/media/pdf/Samsung_Electronics_Sustainability_Report_2025_ENG.pdf
https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-electronics-releases-2025-sustainability-report
https://news.samsung.com/in/samsung-galaxy-s25-receives-2025-rema-design-for-recycling-award
https://www.packaginginsights.com/news/samsung-2025-mobile-packaging.html
Measurable Impacts
Samsung’s strongest sustainability delivery in 2024 is concentrated in the DX Division and mobile product lines. The 93.4% DX Division renewable energy transition rate, 100% renewable energy at all major overseas manufacturing sites, and all-four Galaxy for the Planet 2025 goal achievements demonstrate a consistent, well-governed environmental programme delivering against pre-stated commitments. The 31.5% product energy efficiency improvement against a 2019 baseline, exceeding the 2030 target of 30% six years ahead of schedule, reflects the compounding benefit of progressive technology generation improvements across refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, TVs, monitors, PCs, and smartphones.
The DS Division presents a material contrast. With Scope 1 and 2 growing 7.83% in 2024 and the DS Division at only 24.8% renewable energy against a company-wide 100% target for 2030, the semiconductor business is the dominant source of absolute GHG growth in the Samsung enterprise. Total carbon footprint of 125,348,000 tCO2e in 2024, virtually flat from 2023, reflects the counterbalancing of DX progress against DS growth.
- Total Scope 1 and 2 GHG: 19,736,000 tCO2e in 2024; up 7.83% from 2023
- DX Division renewable energy: 93.4% in 2024
- DS Division renewable energy: 24.8% in 2024
- Total Scope 3: 105,612,000 tCO2e; 14 of 15 categories disclosed
- Product energy efficiency: 31.5% improvement vs 2019; exceeds 30% target for 2030
- Cumulative recycled plastic in DX products: 768,811 tonnes since 2009
- DS Korean semiconductor sites: 99.0% waste recycling rate
- Water replenishment: 23 projects in 2024; 1.35 million tonnes returned annually
- All four Galaxy for the Planet 2025 goals: achieved on schedule
- DJSI World: listed for 20 consecutive years
Source
https://tracenable.com/company/samsung-electronics/ghg-emissions
https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-electronics-releases-2025-sustainability-report
https://www.samsung.com/global/sustainability/media/pdf/Samsung_Electronics_Sustainability_Report_2025_ENG.pdf
Challenges and Areas for Improvement
The DS Division’s 2050 net zero target, a 20-year gap behind the DX Division’s 2030 target, reflects genuine technical constraints but creates a structural sustainability accountability problem of extraordinary scale. In 2024, DS Division-related emissions are the primary driver of the 7.83% operational GHG increase, with DS Division renewable energy at only 24.8% against a company-wide 2030 target of 100%, meaning the largest and most emissions-intensive division of Samsung will require a near-tenfold increase in renewable electricity sourcing in six years. South Korea’s energy market, where the DS Division’s primary fab sites are concentrated, has historically limited access to corporate renewable energy procurement, and the new PPAs signed at the Gumi and Gwangju sites in 2024 represent the first domestic Korean renewable energy procurement for DS operations.
Samsung has not published an absolute Scope 3 reduction target, making the total carbon footprint of 125,348,000 tCO2e subject to no formal accountability framework beyond the product energy efficiency intensity metric. With downstream product use accounting for 80.46% of Scope 3, the absence of a downstream Scope 3 absolute target means that 84.8 million tCO2e of emissions from sold products in customer use are governed only by product efficiency improvement rather than by a commitment to reduce the absolute quantity of those emissions. The KnowTheChain 2025 ICT Scorecard identified two Uyghur forced labour allegations in Samsung’s supply chains, with the company denying them, but the allegations represent a reputational and governance risk that Samsung’s formal responsible minerals and human rights due diligence programme has not yet visibly resolved.
The 20-year gap between the DX and DS Division net zero timelines creates a commercially and reputationally anomalous position in which Samsung, as the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, is committing to continue emitting Scope 1 and 2 GHG from its most energy-intensive business until 2050, 25 years from today. Peers including TSMC and SK Hynix are also operating under late 2050 timelines for semiconductor net zero, but the disclosure gap between Samsung’s DX showcase programme and DS Division climate trajectory creates an internal credibility tension in sustainability reporting.
- DS Division renewable energy: 24.8% in 2024 vs company-wide 100% target for 2030; 75.2pp gap
- Total Scope 1 and 2 growing: up 7.83% in 2024, driven by DS Division expansion
- No absolute Scope 3 reduction target published; downstream product use at 84.8 million tCO2e unbound
- DS Division net zero target: 2050, a 20-year lag behind DX Division (2030) and most technology company peers
- Uyghur forced labour allegations in supply chain: identified in KnowTheChain 2025 ICT Scorecard; denied by Samsung
- Scope 1 emissions intensity of 23.04 tCO2e per million USD: above industry median of 1.6, indicating lower carbon efficiency than most peers
- No standalone 2030 Scope 3 absolute reduction target covering purchased goods or upstream supply chain
Source
https://tracenable.com/company/samsung-electronics/ghg-emissions
https://www.samsung.com/global/sustainability/media/pdf/Samsung_Electronics_Sustainability_Report_2025_ENG.pdf
https://www.business-humanrights.org/documents/41895/2025_KTC_ICT_Scorecard_Samsung.pdf
Future Plans and Long-Term Goals
By 2027, the DX Division targets 100% renewable energy across all global manufacturing sites. By 2030, Samsung targets 100% company-wide renewable electricity, DX Division net zero Scope 1 and 2, 50% recycled plastic in DX Division product plastic parts, at least one recycled material in every module of every mobile product, and return of 110% of mobile production water consumption to the environment. By 2050, the DS Division targets net zero Scope 1 and 2, and Samsung targets 100% recycled plastic in all DX product plastic parts. The Galaxy for the Planet 2030 expansion, announced in February 2026, confirms that Samsung is broadening its mobile sustainability framework beyond product-level metrics to encompass operational water stewardship and biodiversity conservation around its global manufacturing sites.
The RCS process gas treatment technology roadmap for the DS Division represents the most critical engineering investment between now and 2050 for achieving the DS net zero target. Expanding the Circular Battery Supply Chain from cobalt to lithium, nickel, and manganese is the stated next phase of Samsung’s circular minerals strategy, which would progressively reduce dependence on virgin mining for all critical battery materials. The TNFD-based biodiversity risk management programme, applied to Korean DS Division sites in 2024, is being expanded to international sites as part of the 2030 Galaxy for the Planet biodiversity commitments.
Source
https://www.samsung.com/global/sustainability/media/pdf/Samsung_Electronics_Sustainability_Report_2025_ENG.pdf
https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-expands-its-journey-galaxy-for-the-planet-with-new-goals-through-2030
https://www.samsung.com/global/sustainability/planet/circular-economy/
Comparisons to Industry Competitors
Apple, LG Electronics, and Sony are Samsung’s most relevant consumer electronics sustainability peers. Apple targets Scope 1, 2, and 3 net zero across its full value chain by 2030, twenty years ahead of Samsung’s enterprise-wide 2050 target, and achieved 100% renewable electricity across all Apple-operated facilities in 2023, compared to Samsung’s 31.4% blended rate and 93.4% DX-only rate in 2024. LG Electronics reported total Scope 1 and 2 of 910,000 tCO2e in 2024, an order of magnitude below Samsung’s 19,736,000 tCO2e, though LG does not operate semiconductor fabrication facilities, which dominate Samsung’s Scope 1 profile. LG’s SBTi-validated targets delivered a 54.6% Scope 1 and 2 reduction from the 2017 baseline by 2024, near LG’s 2030 target of a 54.6% reduction, placing LG ahead of pace on operational decarbonization.
Sony reported total GHG emissions of approximately 10 million tCO2e in FY2024, lower than Samsung primarily due to the absence of semiconductor fabrication in Sony’s business mix, and targets net zero Scope 1 and 2 by FY2030 with a long-term Scope 3 commitment through its Road to Zero vision. Samsung’s product energy efficiency improvement of 31.5% vs 2019 baseline is comparable to LG’s 19.4% Scope 3 product carbon emission reduction vs 2020, with Samsung achieving a larger improvement from an earlier baseline. On circular economy, Samsung’s Galaxy for the Planet programme and ocean-bound plastic recycling, with 10 types of recycled materials in products and 768,811 cumulative tonnes of recycled plastic since 2009, leads the consumer electronics sector in the diversity and volume of recycled material integration.
Consumer Electronics ESG Metrics (Latest Available Data)
Source
https://tracenable.com/company/samsung-electronics/ghg-emissions
https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-expands-its-journey-galaxy-for-the-planet-with-new-goals-through-2030
https://www.lg.com/content/dam/lge/global/sustainability/pdf/2024-2025_LGE_Sustainability_Report_English.pdf
https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/csr/library/reports/SustainabilityReport2025_E.pdf
What to Watch: 12 to 18 Month Indicators
DS Division Renewable Energy Procurement Acceleration in South Korea
The DS Division’s 24.8% renewable energy rate in 2024 against a company-wide 100% target for 2030 creates the most consequential sustainability timeline risk in Samsung’s portfolio. The new PPAs signed at the Gumi and Gwangju sites in 2024 represent the first domestic Korean renewable energy procurement for the DS Division, but they cover a small fraction of total DS electricity demand. The next 12 to 18 months will reveal whether Samsung can secure additional large-scale Korean renewable PPAs, participate in third-party renewable energy certificate markets at sufficient scale, or conclude government-facilitated renewable energy supply agreements to close the 75.2 percentage point gap between the DS Division’s current 24.8% rate and the 100% target for 2030. If no major new renewable energy agreements for Korean DS facilities are disclosed in the next annual report, the company-wide 100% renewable electricity target for 2030 should be reclassified from at-risk to missed.
Galaxy for the Planet 2030 Goals: First Annual Progress Metrics
The Galaxy for the Planet 2030 goals, announced in February 2026, include three new commitments on circularity (at least one recycled material in every mobile product module), water stewardship (110% water replenishment from mobile production), and biodiversity (ecosystem conservation equivalent to global mobile operations footprint). These goals were announced without specific interim milestones, baseline figures, or measurement methodologies for the biodiversity target. The FY2025 Sustainability Report, expected June 2026, will be the first annual report to disclose progress against the 2030 phase, providing the initial baseline data and methodology transparency against which the new commitments can be assessed. The biodiversity indicator, given its methodological novelty and the absence of any established corporate standard for measuring ecosystem conservation equivalence to operational footprint, will be the most important governance test of the 2030 programme’s credibility.
Scope 3 Absolute Target Publication
Samsung’s total Scope 3 footprint of 105,612,000 tCO2e in 2024 with no absolute reduction target represents the most significant governance gap in its climate framework. With downstream product use accounting for 84.8 million tCO2e and product energy efficiency improvement already exceeding the 2030 30% intensity target, Samsung has the technical foundation to calculate and commit to an absolute downstream Scope 3 reduction trajectory. The 12 to 18-month indicator is whether Samsung’s 2026 sustainability disclosure introduces an absolute Scope 3 target, either expressed as an absolute tCO2e reduction or a science-based value chain target under the SBTi FLAG or Value Chain Standard. Peers including Apple have embedded Scope 3 within their 2030 full value chain net zero commitment. Samsung’s continued absence of an absolute Scope 3 target is the clearest single indicator of whether its sustainability governance is operating at a scope commensurate with its status as the world’s largest consumer electronics manufacturer.
Source
https://www.samsung.com/global/sustainability/media/pdf/Samsung_Electronics_Sustainability_Report_2025_ENG.pdf
https://tracenable.com/company/samsung-electronics/ghg-emissions
https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-expands-its-journey-galaxy-for-the-planet-with-new-goals-through-2030
https://www.samsung.com/global/sustainability/planet/environmental-strategy/
Samsung’s FY2024 sustainability record demonstrates a company operating as two structurally different sustainability entities within a single corporate boundary. The DX Division, running at 93.4% renewable energy, having achieved all four Galaxy for the Planet 2025 goals on schedule, launched a Circular Battery Supply Chain, eliminated single-use plastics from all mobile packaging, and improved product energy efficiency by 31.5% vs 2019, is one of the most comprehensively performing consumer electronics sustainability programmes globally. The water stewardship programme, with AWS Platinum certification across all Korean and the Xi’an sites, 23 global water replenishment projects returning 1.35 million tonnes annually, and the new 110% replenishment target for mobile operations by 2030, is the most formally certified and community-engaged water programme in the consumer electronics sector.
The DS Division is the unresolved core of Samsung’s sustainability challenge. At 24.8% renewable energy, 7.83% operational GHG growth in 2024, and a 2050 net zero target reflecting the genuine technical constraints of semiconductor process gas emissions, the DS Division is operating on a decarbonization timeline that is 20 to 25 years behind its DX peer and most technology sector benchmarks. The compounding effect of AI-driven semiconductor demand growth on DS Division energy consumption and emissions creates a structural risk that the 2024 GHG increase will continue and accelerate, making the DS Division an expanding rather than contracting liability within the Samsung enterprise carbon footprint. The absence of an absolute Scope 3 target for a company with 105,612,000 tCO2e in Scope 3 emissions, 80.46% of which is downstream product use, is the governance gap that most clearly limits Samsung’s sustainability credibility at the enterprise level.
Three strategic takeaways for practitioners benchmarking or replicating Samsung’s approach:
- Galaxy for the Planet’s goal architecture is the strongest model in the consumer electronics sector for structuring product-level sustainability commitments. Its four-goal, four-year structure with specific, measurable targets at the product and manufacturing level, rather than portfolio-wide intensity metrics, created a governance framework where public accountability was directly tied to specific product design and operational outcomes. Practitioners designing sustainability programmes for product-centric businesses should adopt this discipline: specific product categories, specific material and packaging outcomes, and specific manufacturing site certifications, rather than enterprise-average percentages that can mask product-level underperformance.
- The Circular Battery Supply Chain is the most commercially replicable closed-loop materials model in the smartphone sector. By designing a cobalt recovery pathway from end-of-life devices and manufacturing scrap back into new battery production, Samsung demonstrates that primary critical mineral demand can be partially displaced by internal recycled supply within the same company’s product lifecycle. Practitioners advising electronics OEMs on circular economy strategy should evaluate which critical minerals in their own battery and component supply chains carry the highest combination of supply risk, human rights exposure, and chemical recovery potential, and design closed-loop recovery pathways starting with those minerals rather than attempting enterprise-wide materials circularity simultaneously.
- Differentiated net zero timelines for business divisions with structurally different emissions profiles are more credible than a single enterprise net zero date that averages across very different technical realities. Samsung’s DX 2030 and DS 2050 structure is transparent about the genuine constraint that semiconductor process gas abatement technology creates for the DS Division timeline. For practitioners advising diversified manufacturers with business units at very different stages of decarbonization feasibility, this differentiated target architecture is more defensible and more useful for supplier engagement and capital allocation planning than a single enterprise net zero date that implicitly assumes all divisions will decarbonize at the same pace.
Source
https://www.samsung.com/global/sustainability/media/pdf/Samsung_Electronics_Sustainability_Report_2025_ENG.pdf
https://tracenable.com/company/samsung-electronics/ghg-emissions
https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-expands-its-journey-galaxy-for-the-planet-with-new-goals-through-2030
https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-electronics-releases-2025-sustainability-report
https://news.samsungsemiconductor.com/global/samsung-electronics-water-conservation-efforts-for-world-water-day/
