If You’re Serious About Sustainability, You Have to be Serious About Social Equity

**Updated Foreword- October 2022**

Tonight, I close my eyes and all I can hear is nature. The sound of coqui?frogs, crickets and long deep sighs from Maverick the pooch. This is the sound of San Juan, Puerto Rico... well at least this week. If you spoke to me a few weeks ago, it would have been be a different story. No coqui frogs for us, just the loud noises of generators and a the smell of diesel. These are the sounds and smells of PR post hurricane. So let me tell you, when I say that the climate crisis is global, but the effects are local and many times devastating for local communities. I truly mean it and speak from personal experience. Now I am on a mission to be a part of the solution so that our kids and the next generations can enjoy the beautiful planet we call home.

October 2021

Today started like any other day. Morning routines, kids showered, breakfast and then making the mad dash to school. As I sat back and watched my two babes run off into school with their masks on, I reflected how they have such beautiful dreams for the future and how we as parents, leaders and global citizens must do our part to ensure our children have the opportunity to enjoy our beautiful plant.

Today we live in Puerto Rico. My husband is from here. We decided it was a YOLO year and took our kids to PR so we could double down on their Spanish and enjoy the island life. Since I have been here, we have been through countless tropical storms & blackouts. In the summer we did Route 66 and we raced against the hot days so we could miss the fires engulfing the west coast. In just the last 6 months, I have seen fires, droughts, storms and blackouts.?The climate crisis is real and it is impacting all of us including our children. So what are we going to do about it. What will we do for our children?

I have the honor of working for Samsung Electronics America as their Chief Marketing, citizenship and communications officer. For those who don't know, Samsung Electronics started out as a small manufacturer of black & white TVs in 1969. We’ve since grown into one of the most recognized global brands. From our very humble beginnings to our position as a global tech leader, our relentless passion for innovation has been the common thread throughout our history. But our focus on innovation goes much deeper than cultivating open collaboration, trailblazing new form factors, and empowering people to defy barriers. We’re?actively and intentionally integrating sustainability principles into our innovation strategy.

?We have an enormous responsibility to address the climate crisis, which is only?intensifying. How is Samsung making an impact? We’re using our global presence and scale to take a full-circle approach to sustainable innovation across three areas: operations, products, and communities.

?Embedding Sustainability into our Operations

Samsung is reducing the climate impact of our operations and supply chain through energy efficiency, expanded use of?renewable power, and a commitment to disclosure. Moreover, we recently unveiled our sustainability platform, dubbed?Galaxy for the Planet, which lays out tangible steps toward more sustainable business practices. I, for one, couldn’t be prouder of our plans to reduce our environmental footprint, lessen waste and resource depletion, and achieve zero waste to landfill – all by 2025!

?Developing Products for a Circular Economy

We’ve built an?eight-step circular process?that focuses on doing more with less. That means Samsung is responsibly sourcing materials in our products, reducing energy consumption and eliminating standby power, removing plastics from our packaging and using more recycled materials, and breathing new life to millions of upcycled devices. These bold eco-innovations have resulted in creating power-efficient semiconductor chips, energy-saving products and apps (Have you tried?SmartThings Energy?!), and extensive consumer?recycling?and?refurbishing?programs. Essentially, we’re helping people make sustainable consumption choices with our accessible technology.

?Empowering the Eco-conscious to Take Action in their Communities

Of all the efforts we’re making on our evolving sustainability journey, our work with communities is one that is deeply personal to me. Samsung is helping to educate the next wave of environmental leaders, elevating their voices, and unlocking their collective power to advance sustainable goals. For instance, through our youth-driven programs and partnerships like?Samsung Solve for Tomorrow,?Climate Superstars, and?Generation 17, we’re empowering diverse middle and high school students and budding climate activists to become seeds of social influence and real change in their communities.

?While climate change may be global, the effects are local — so it’s our mission to bridge the gap in communities that are most negatively impacted by these effects.?We recognize there’s a social equity dimension of sustainability that greatly needs to be addressed.?Communities most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis are the same as those that are disadvantaged and most at risk from climate change. Beyond our programs that are targeted to serve underserved and rural schools, it’s clear we must think about equity from a core business standpoint. That’s why, in partnership with the U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR program, Samsung is devoting our resources to “energy equity” by building in energy efficiency across our entire product portfolio at all price points to make energy savings accessible for all communities.

?Broadband access is another equity area that we’re focused on. With the dramatic shift towards remote and hybrid working and learning, the essential nature of broadband internet access has never been clearer. In an effort to reduce the broadband divide, Samsung’s decades-long work on the emergence of 5G has given us a critical new tool to achieve universal broadband, particularly in rural and underserved communities.?All told, if you’re serious about sustainability, you have to be serious about social equity.

?Caring for the planet requires action, long term commitment, and open collaboration between companies, countries, and people. And we’re determined to do our part in reimagining a future that is more sustainable, resilient, and prosperous for ALL.

I hope one day, our children will look back and be proud of the interventions we are making and know we did our very best to secure a safe future for them.

?To learn more about Samsung’s climate change efforts, visit our?Explore Sustainability?hub.

Author:?Michelle is the SVP, Chief Marketing, Citizenship & Communications officer for?Samsung Electronics America.?Before that Michelle spent 16 years at Procter & Gamble, most of her time in Prestige Beauty, then moved to become the CMO at?Vertu,?British luxury handmade mobile handsets. For upcoming posts, follow Michelle on?LinkedIn?and?twitter. All statements made, opinions expressed in this article only reflect her personal opinion.

Other articles written by Michelle:?

1. Forget 'managing yourself' , instead unleash yourself!
2. Rise up my warrior, a letter to my daughter
3. The 5 steps P&G taught me on how to build a Leadership Culture.?
4. Improve your Leadership overnight with these 3 simple steps.
5. True Grit- the success gene
6. The 5 tips to my younger self
7. Why some emotional advertising misses the mark