LG Electronics has cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 61,348 metric tons of CO2e and saved about $1 million in operating expenses since December 2012, according to an EPA environmental assessment.
The company signed a memorandum of understanding with the EPA in late 2012 in which it pledged to implement several sustainability initiatives to help reduce its carbon footprint. According to the EPA’s first assessment report on the company’s efforts, LG has cut GHG emissions, solid waste production and energy use across its US operations in just the first six months of the partnership.
LG’s sustainability initiatives include:
- Energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reductions in manufacturing and the supply chain,
- Consumer education aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of product use,
- Producer responsibility through consumer take back/recycling programs,
- Reduction in the use of hazardous substances,
- Deployment and promotion of renewable energy technologies, and
- Development of innovative green life cycle product designs.
LG has avoided more than 10 million pounds of used electronic equipment from being landfilled in the first four months of 2013 through the LG Electronics Recycling Program, the assessment says. LG Electronics uses only e-Stewards and R2 certified e-waste recyclers for its US national take-back program.
Last year, LG along with Best Buy, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Sprint and Staples joined the EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management Electronics Challenge, committing to send 100 percent of the used electronics they collect to third-party certified refurbishers and recyclers, and to increase the amount of used electronics they collect.
One hundred percent of LG’s outsourced shipping fleet now participates in the EPA’s SmartWay coalition, a program that reduces transportation-related emissions by creating incentives to improve supply chain fuel efficiency. LG Energy Star manufactured products also help reduce the company’s CO2 emissions, the assessment says. For LG products sold in the U.S. in 2012, annual CO2 savings were 377,484.8 metric tons.
The company has also purchased 776,000 kWh of renewable energy in just the first six months of the MOU as part of the EPA Green Power Partnership, according to the EPA. The company has offset 100 percent of its electricity consumption with renewable energy at two locations in New Jersey, including its headquarters.