product environment performance

SAMSUNG Electronics makes an effort to develop environment-friendly product that minimizing an impact to environment through whole process from getting raw materials, production, transportation, usage and end-of-life disposal by adding 'environment' on function, price, quality, design that were the essence for product development.

For this process, we takes a responsibility for whole process through LCA and recycle evaluation and by operating recycling center for dealing with an efficient treatment of the waste product.

• policy & principle
• regional compliance
• voluntary programs
• recycling statistics
• recycling in Korea

regional compliance

Europe

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, announced in the EU in February 2003, requires manufacturers to undertake responsibility for taking back and recycling their own products at the end of their life cycles, starting in August 2005. Products put on the market after August 13, 2005 are to bear the Recycle symbol, and producers will be obliged to provide information on environmentally safe recycling to the government authorities, consumers and recycling companies.
SAMSUNG Electronics is making significant efforts to save the environment and comply with the WEEE directive by joining or establishing the recycling schemes for each country. SAMSUNG Electronics is a member of the European Recycling Platform (ERP), a consortium established by major electronics companies (Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Gillette, and Electrolux). In the countries, not covered by ERP service, the Company is joining a monopolistic recycling consortium to fulfill recycling obligations.
The WEEE directive sets the recovery target for waste electronics (65% for IT and audio-video products), which will go into effect in January 2007. To comply, SAMSUNG Electronics is applying its eco-design program to all products, using it as a means to evaluate the existing recovery ratio and to identify areas for improvement. The Company will continue to work with European research institutions to develop the best recycling technology for mobile phones, LCD panels and other items.

Japan

The Consumer Electronics Recycle Law was enacted in Japan from April 2001, making the recycling practice mandatory for refrigerators, washing machines, TVs, and air conditioners. In response, SAMSUNG Electronics joined RKC, a home appliance recycling ticket center. The Company has actively involved in the recycling of consumer electronics by joining the A Group, a recycling alliance with GE, Toshiba and others. In 2003, the Company managed to recover at least 60% of the raw materials in more than 22,000 discarded TVs, refrigerators and washing machines and increased the total figure to some 26,000 units in 2004.
Furthermore, a joint recycling program was launched with Mitsubishi Electric and others in October 2003 to recycle PCs, and over 300 end-of-life PCs were retrieved and recycled in 2004.

North America

California adopted and implemented the United States' first recycling law of electronic equipments, called the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 (SB 20/50) which requires waste monitors and TVs to be taken back and recycled in an environmentally safe way from January 2005. In 2006, Maine and Maryland legislated and started electronic recycling regulations as well. SAMSUNG Electronics America (SEA) is complying with requirements of these regulations in order to fulfill its environmental responsibilities such as eco-design of products, and take back and recycling for waste of electronic equipment. SEA expects that the take back and recycling of such equipment will start from 2nd half of 2008 in the state of Washington. SEA completed it's registration in January 2007 and it is diligently working to develop a take back and recycling system with the state government of Washington and other manufacturers.

At December 31st, 2006, SEA concluded its membership with Electronics Manufacturer Coalition for Responsible Recycling (EMCRR) which supports the advanced recycling fee (ARF) solution for the recycling system in the US. In line with SAMSUNG Electronics' global recycling policy, SEA views that the Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) is the preferable approach for waste of electronics equipment recycling in the US, and SEA will continue to work through industry associations such as EIA and CEA in the US in order to develop reasonable solution for IPR.

In Canada, Alberta's Designated Material Recycling and Management Regulation was started in October of 2004. Saskatchewan and British Columbia are scheduled to go into effect in February 2007 and June 2007, respectively. SAMSUNG Electronics Canada (SECA) is committed to comply with regulations set forth within Canada, and actively works with other industry members as a member company of Electronics Product Stewardship Canada (EPSC) and provincial government officials to develop take back and recycling systems across provinces in Canada for waste of electronics products.

China

The Chinese government is expected to announce its “Management Regulations on Recycling and Disposal of Waste and Used Household Electrical Appliances” in 2005 that conforms to the WEEE regulations of the EU. SAMSUNG Electronics is going to establish a complete waste electronics take back and recycling system to comply with the new law and to be an industry trendsetter in environmental management. For example, SAMSUNG joined local electronics makers in announcing “environmental friendly mobile phone management” (October 2003), a program organized by the State Environmental Protection Administration of China (SEPA). The Company is also managing to ban or reduce the use of hazardous substances in its mobile phones and is encouraging consumers to participate in various environmental activities.

Regional take-back schemes and contacts for legal compliance