Environmental issues stemming from human
actions that impacted the planet have continued to plague this generation. In
response, companies have stepped up and launched efforts to incorporate
necessary steps in their processes to address climate change. One of the
largest tech companies in the world, HUAWEI Technologies, has been at the
forefront of developing technological innovations to help protect the
environment.
Huawei believes that technology is a
critical solution for the environmental challenges the world faces today. The
company has focused its efforts on carbon emissions reduction, renewable
energy, and supporting a circular economy.
In the Philippines, Huawei’s Consumer
Business Group implemented trade-ins to support closed loop management of
product life cycles and sustainable production.
Trade-ins
and Recycling
Smartphone users often find themselves in a
dilemma between keeping a phone that works just fine and buying the latest
model in the market. To provide them add-on value to their old units, Huawei
has proactively promoted trade-ins for the sale of its new smartdevices in the
Philippines like the HUAWEI P60 Pro, the HUAWEI Mate X3, Mate 50 Pro or HUAWEI
Tablet. Since 2015, this trade-in program allowed nearly 600,000 devices to find
new owners.
Back in 2021, Huawei engaged
industry-leading recyclers and service providers to perform closed-loop
management of second-hand phones that involve recycling, refurbishment, and
reselling. This means that second hand
phones have to pass strict quality controls to ensure that all components are
from Huawei with the units all powered by HarmonyOS and brand new
Huawei-produced batteries. These Huawei-certified devices are sold by partners
through official channels in the second-hand market and also come with a
one-year warranty. What’s more, the company also started distributing cash coupons to
consumers who avail of the trade-in program which they can in turn use towards
purchasing new Huawei products.
With a plan to extend its second-hand
device business from phones to tablets, laptops, and other products, more
consumers will have the opportunity to acquire high quality second-hand Huawei
devices. This not just prolongs the products’ life cycles, but it also helps
reduce resource consumption.
Huawei also addresses e-waste by handing
over unusable used devices to professional environmental protection enterprises
to be recycled and disassembled in an effort to cut down environmental
pollution. These efforts minimize impact on the environment without
compromising product experience for its consumers.
Incorporating
green product designs
Huawei managed the use of chemicals in
their products and adjusted its processes to implement hazardous substance
controls in their phones that are more uncompromising than those required by
laws and regulations starting in 2016. Aside from adhering to the China
Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), Huawei also complies to the
European Union regulation Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and
Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). The company also created measures to cut back
on chemicals being used throughout the manufacturing process across the entire
supply chain.
Premium eco-friendly renewable materials
have also made their way to the Huawei process. While going full renewable
remains a challenge, Huawei continues to work with partners and suppliers to
improve the supply chain by incorporating high quality renewable materials into
product manufacturing.
Plastics in electronic products are one of
the hardest materials to reuse hence Huawei chose to widely use bio-based
plastics during phone production, substantially mitigating the negative
environmental impact associated with the manufacturing of petroleum-based
plastics.
Eco-friendly
packaging design
To cut down on raw material consumption,
Huawei also favors reusable, eco-friendly materials and has since developed
small, lightweight packaging without compromising product protection.
Well-designed packaging is a move towards sustainable product packaging as it
reduces the use of paper which in turn protects our forests.
From January 2021 to August 2022, Huawei
reduced the packaging used for its smartphones, wearables, tablets, PCs,
monitors, and other products and will implement design optimizations moving
forward.
Huawei also committed itself to using
non-plastic materials for its packaging whenever possible. With an estimated 8
million metric tons of plastic entering the world's oceans every year, and
plastics making up 60%–90% of the waste, it is imperative for businesses to
reduce plastic waste. In a bid to help, Huawei started using a special paper on
its Mate 50 series to replace the protective film on the phone’s screen. A
high-strength paper was also developed and used to replace plastic sealing
labels on its boxes. Innovations like these accumulate to a significant
reduction in plastic waste in our oceans.
Carbon
emissions reduction
The manufacturing process remains to have
the most significant amount of carbon emissions. To address this, Huawei
engaged in the adoption of innovative energy-efficient techniques as well as
renewable and clean energy in its processes. Suppliers are also required to set
carbon emissions reduction targets and implement them accordingly throughout
the supply chain. Back in 2021, Huawei
suppliers' carbon emission intensity decreased by 2.0% compared with 2020, a
testament to the effectiveness of this decision. .
Longer
product lifespans
Durability and maintaining high quality in
its products is one of Huawei’s most effective ways to protect the environment.
For Huawei smartphones, one of the main
strategies for sustainability is for products to last longer. By selecting and
developing materials to manufacture safe and reliable hardware during the
design phase, Huawei has come up with technological innovations that do not
just comply with stringent international standards but can also withstand
extreme conditions including drops, impacts, and changes in temperature and
moisture in the environment.
Flagship phones like the HUAWEI P60 Pro
come equipped with Kunlun glass which received the first-ever five-star glass
drop resistance certification from Switzerland's SGS. The overall drop
resistance is boosted 10 times which makes the screen of this phone very
durable. This provides consumers with reliability not easily found in other smartphones.
Huawei’s latest foldable, the Mate X3, is also protected by the Kunlun glass on
its outer screen and comes with an inner screen made of Non-Newtonian fluid
materials that creates an anti-impact surface which helps in protecting the
unit from accidents and everyday wear and tear thereby extending the phone’s
lifespan even further. Consumers who invest in Huawei smartphones do not just
get durable smartphones, they also contribute to reducing waste and supporting
sustainability.
Repaying
trust with responsibility through technology
Huawei continues to take its role in
protecting the environment seriously by continuing to develop technological
solutions to help mitigate the effects of climate change. Through its
commitment throughout its processes, logistics, and operations, Huawei
continues to look for technological solutions and develop innovations that
address environmental issues with the help of technology.
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