Berlin, Germany, 30 January 2018 – Greenpeace activists in Berlin and Taipei called out Samsung for sponsoring this year\u2019s Winter Olympic Games in South Korea, which are touted to be powered by 100% renewable energy. Renewables account for only 1% of Samsung Electronics\u2019 total energy consumption.<\/p>\n
In Berlin, Greenpeace Germany activists unfurled a banner of 40 square metres from the top of the construction site of Berlin City Castle. In Taipei, two banners ranging from 40 to 85 square metres were dropped from the top of Samsung\u2019s stores by Greenpeace East Asia activists, with the messages \u201cGo 100% RE right now #DoBiggerThings Now\u201d and \u201cStop Fuelling Climate Change\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamsung needs to take action now and publicly commit to 100% renewables. Without meaningful and urgent action from industry leaders on climate change, we might be facing a future where there is no Winter Olympics left to sponsor,\u201d said Jude Lee, Global Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia.<\/p>\n
The actions come after months of campaigning on Samsung and less than 2 weeks away from the Winter Olympic Games in South Korea, the first in history to set a goal of being 100% renewably powered. Despite being one of the main sponsors, Samsung heavily relies on fossil fuels – renewables account for 1% of its total energy consumption, which amounted to 16,000GWh in 2016.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamsung\u2019s climate-warming pollution has increased 45% since the last Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. If this growth remains unchecked, Samsung\u2019s emissions could increase an additional 60% by the next Winter Olympics in 2022,\u201d said Lee.<\/p>\n
According to research led by Daniel Scott, a geography professor at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, climate change will cause\u00a0many previous Winter Games locations to be too warm to host the Games again by 2050.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe climate in many traditional winter sports regions isn\u2019t what it used to be, and fewer and fewer places will be able to host the Olympic Winter Games as global warming accelerates,\u201d said Prof. Scott.<\/p>\n Samsung has the largest smartphone market share globally and is one of the main suppliers of key components to other major tech brands, with 38 production sites and more than 2,000 suppliers across the world.<\/p>\n Samsung Electronics should commit to 100% renewable energy, and follow the steps of other major IT brands like Apple which have already committed to renewables. Greenpeace is calling on Samsung Electronics to urgently set a clear renewable energy goal for its own operations as well as its supply chain.<\/p>\n ENDS<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong>:<\/p>\n [1] Greenpeace has launched a global petition (available\u00a0here<\/a>) asking Samsung to commit to 100% RE.<\/p>\n [2] Samsung\u2019s GHG emissions for its own operations (scope 1 & 2) have increased from 9,290,000 tons CO2e in 2014 to 13,416,000 tons CO2e in 2017 (Samsung 2017 Forecast), representing a compound annual growth (CAGR) rate of 9.77%. \u00a0Assuming this same rate of growth continued, Samsung\u2019s GHG emissions would increase to 21,381,657 CO2e by 2022,the year of the next Winter Olympiad in Beijing, nearly an additional increase of 60% from 2017 forecast levels.<\/p>\n [3] Details on Samsung\u2019s performance on renewable energy can be found in Greenpeace USA\u2019s latest Guide to Greener Electronics, available\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n [4] \u2018Olympic Games Impact(OGI) Study for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games\u2019 report can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n [5]\u00a0Photo<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0video<\/strong>\u00a0collection\u00a0here<\/a><\/p>\n Media contacts<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Maria Elena De Matteo, Global Communications Strategist, Greenpeace East Asia, +39-3281384774,\u00a0mariaelena.dematteo@greenpeace.org<\/a><\/p>\n