SAMSUNG ELECTRO-MECHANICS

Samsung Electro-Mechanics is striving to improve its waste recycling rate by setting a goal of “Achieving 95% waste recycling rate in 2025” in 2019. We proactively respond to waste issues by conducting quarterly on-site inspections and identifying changes in laws and regulations. We comply with internal waste discharge inspections and separate discharge of waste for incineration to improve resource circulation. For waste that is difficult to recycle, we hold a monthly company-wide council to explore and improve recycling methods and conduct annual education and promotion activities to raise employee awareness of resource recycling.

Waste Monitoring and Management Process

Samsung Electro-Mechanics monitors the entire waste process from generation to disposal. We establish an annual management plan and manage waste by categorizing it by type, and thoroughly manage waste through outsourced treatment companies. When new processes are introduced or existing processes are modified, we carry out a prior environmental assessment with regard to waste. In addition, for general waste generated in offices, we operate five-tiered collection containers to separate waste by material. For designated waste, we use special sealed collection containers to strengthen disposal management. To prevent spills during transportation, we limit the discharge time to the specified time, and we visit waste management companies at least once a year to strengthen coexistence and competence with our business partners.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics is engaged in various activities to reduce the amount of waste generated and increase the recycling rate.

Improving waste disposal methods

Samsung Electro-Mechanics strives to upgrade its waste treatment process to increase the recycling of incineration and landfill waste at its business sites and manages waste through segmentation. Waste alkali and waste acid are recycled and used as wastewater treatment chemicals at domestic business sites, and construction waste is used as road aggregates and cement at overseas business sites.

Reducing the use of disposable products

Samsung Electro-Mechanics has replaced plastic packaging containers and PET beverages used in in-house restaurants, in-house cafes, and the “Himnae” bar with paper containers and canned beverages, and plastic takeout bags with reusable eco-bags to achieve “zero disposable products”. In addition, since 2020, Samsung Electro-Mechanics has signed an agreement with Suwon City Hall to collect milk cartons generated in-house through the “Miracle Routine, a small habit that saves me and saves the world” campaign. The used milk cartons are collected separately and exchanged for toilet paper rolls, which are then donated to the socially disadvantaged every year.

Efficient use of resources

Samsung Electro-Mechanics strives to optimize the space of packaging boxes by standardizing the dimensions of packaging materials to reduce transportation volume and reduce waste disposal. This applies not only to products for customers, but also to materials and products between raw material business partners and overseas corporations. In addition, packaging materials used by overseas production corporations are localized in principle to reduce logistics costs associated with the transportation of packaging materials.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics aims to achieve Zero Waste to Landfill Certification for all of its business sites by 2025, based on its strategy of “reducing environmental impact by minimizing landfill by improving waste recycling rates”. Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWTL) certification is awarded by UL Solutions, a global safety science company, as Platinum (100%), Gold (99~95%) or Silver (94~90%) depending on the percentage of waste generated at a business site that is recovered as a resource and is used as an indicator to verify a company’s resource circulation performance. To achieve Zero Waste to Landfill certification, we operate monthly and quarterly company-wide consultation groups to review our performance and strive to improve non-recycled waste.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics has set a goal of “Achieving a water reuse rate of 36.7% by 2030” and a plan to improve the water reuse rate. We are increasing the amount of water reuse by recycling concentrated water, wash water, and effluent discharged as wastewater, and investing in the improvement of water treatment facilities. We also analyze water-related risks and strive to maintain water quality standards. In addition, we have water storage that can be used for more than 12 hours so that we can take immediate action in the event of a water outage, and we take measures such as redundant supply sources. We keep track of the status of water resources at our sites through a systematic monitoring system, and if we find issues that need improvement through analysis, we report them to management and take immediate action to improve them.

Activities to Reduce Water Consumption

Recognizing that water is an essential resource for product manufacturing and business operations, Samsung Electro-Mechanics is continuously working to efficiently manage water resources and improve water reuse rates. In particular, we are expanding water reuse facilities at domestic and overseas business sites to increase water reuse rates in the product manufacturing process.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics monitors wastewater at its manufacturing sites from the time it is generated until it is discharged after final treatment, and regularly conducts its own analysis to ensure stable water quality of the treated water. If necessary, we analyze the water quality through an external organization and manage the concentration of water pollutants within an average of 30% of the legal standard. In addition, we proactively address relevant regulations by regularly monitoring laws and regulations, applying new technologies and investing in facilities to improve the efficiency of wastewater treatment, and discharging treated water into rivers near our sites to prevent local ecological rivers from drying up.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics continuously improves the efficiency of air pollutant treatment by installing and operating optimized prevention facilities to improve air quality and minimize environmental impact at our business sites. Specifically, we operate a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO) for high-concentration, difficult-to-treat pollutants, meeting standards within an average of 30% of the legal standards. In addition, we conduct preliminary environmental assessments in accordance with factory expansion plans, and install and operate prevention facilities appropriate to the characteristics of pollutant emissions. The air pollution prevention facility operates a monitoring system to check the real-time operating status and immediately improve any problems. In addition, we have signed a voluntary agreement on fine dust to establish our own improvement plan and actively participate in the government’s environmental protection policy through activities to reduce the amount of fine dust generated, such as air emissions, inspection of prevention facilities, and optimization of operation rate.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics is committed to providing a safe and pleasant work environment through thorough management of hazardous chemicals and highly toxic substances. We are licensed to handle hazardous chemicals as required by the Chemical Substances Control Act for domestic business sites, and all chemicals we purchase are checked for legal violations through the Chemical Management System (CMS) prior to purchase. We regularly review the harmfulness of hazardous substances through the quarterly Substitute Substance Committee to limit their use, and strive to eliminate risks by establishing and implementing measures to eliminate or replace high-risk substances used at business sites with safer substances. We provide training to hazardous chemical handlers and workers on the management methods and hazards of the chemicals they handle, and fulfill our reporting obligations to administrative agencies and the comprehensive chemical information system for coexistence with the local community.

Chemical substance control process

Samsung Electro-Mechanics conducts preliminary safety evaluations for chemicals handled through its chemical management system. All chemicals can be used after safety evaluation approval, and highly hazardous chemicals are managed as restricted substances to manage chemicals by risk level. We also operate a Regulated Substance Review Committee to protect the health of employees in relation to the hazards and risks of chemicals. The committee conducts chemical risk assessment of CMR (Carcinogenic, Mutagenic, Reproductive toxicity) substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic to reproductive cells, and show reproductive toxicity from the new introduction stage. The committee establishes and implements safety and health measures and exposure prevention measures, such as substitution of substances, sealing of facilities, local exhaust ventilation, and automation, when they are deemed to be high-risk substances. In addition, we conduct inspections of all chemical handling facilities in manufacturing and research departments and self-inspections of the protection status of facilities (automation, sealing, local exhaust) to periodically check the performance of facilities and maintain and manage protection performance.

Safety Evaluation Process

Samsung Electro-Mechanics strives to contribute to the preservation of ecosystems by minimizing negative impacts on biodiversity in the regions where it operates. We have signed the “Declaration for biodiversity preservation and the sustainable use” with the government and have established and implemented an internal biodiversity conservation policy based on the contents of the declaration. In addition, with respect to the supply chain, we are expanding our policy on forest conservation by applying the policy on prohibiting deforestation to our Code of Conduct. As part of our activities to prohibit deforestation, we also strive to minimize deforestation at our business sites and in surrounding areas, or in nearby areas, and to conserve and restore ecosystems through reforestation when deforestation is unavoidable.

Biodiversity Conservation Policy Core Principles and Code of Conduct

No Deforestation Commitment

By taking the lead in eradicating forest destruction, Samsung Electro-Mechanics will continue to implement policies to protect the global environment, including protecting the ecosystem and responding to the climate crisis.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics has identified the distribution of the ecological zoning map and endangered species for each site in Korea using the ecological zoning map of the National Institute of Ecology provided by the Korean Ministry of Environment. Although our business sites are not located in the ecological zoning map control area, they are located in the second-class ecological zoning map area, and we strive to minimize the impact on the surrounding ecosystem. In addition, we analyze and monitor the ecotoxicity of the rivers around our Suwon and Sejong business sites every year through an external expert agency to proactively identify possible impacts on the surrounding ecosystem. Furthermore, to promote biodiversity activities in the supply chain, we apply biodiversity and deforestation prohibition clauses in our business partner Code of Conduct to expand and promote conservation activities. Based on the biodiversity mitigation hierarchy, Samsung Electro-Mechanics will prevent negative impacts of its business activities on nature, minimize the impacts when they are identified, and strive to restore negatively impacted biodiversity.

Improving the ecological environment of Woncheonricheon (Woncheonri Stream)

Samsung Electro-Mechanics strives to improve the ecological environment by purifying wastewater discharged into Woncheonricheon, a stream near the Suwon business site. The Suwon business site purifies used water in three stages to protect the ecosystem near the site, and the pollutant concentration of the discharge water is controlled by a real-time monitoring system. The clean discharge water has reduced the concentration of suspended solids in the stream by about 16% and is preventing stream from drying up. Samsung Electro-Mechanics will continue to expand various environmental protection activities in the local community based on the ecosystem improvement activities for Woncheonricheon.

Preserving the ecosystem of the Sohwang Sand Dunes

The Sohwang Sand Dunes in Chungcheongnam-do Province, where Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ Sejong business site is located, has been designated by the Ministry of Environment as an ecological landscape protected area of high environmental conservation value since 2005 because it is home to endangered species, wildlife, plants, and natural monuments, and is the only ecological landscape protected area on the west coast where the entire dune remains intact. Samsung Electro-Mechanics has signed MOUs with the Geumgang River Basin Environment Agency, the Boryeong City Sustainable Development Council, and Samsung affiliates in the Chungcheongnam-do Province region to actively promote activities to remove plants and animals that disturb the ecosystem and to establish and maintain eco-tourism trails in order to preserve endangered animal species such as the Chinese Egret, Eurasian Oystercatcher, and plants such as Argusia sibirica (L.) Dandy, Vitex rotundifolia that live in the Sohwang Sand Dunes.