Huawei and sustainability, the green leaf on the lotus flower
Just a week ago, Huawei launched their latest flagship smartphone, the Huawei Mate 40 Pro. And just like the predecessors of the Ze Mate 40, the device is again full of new innovations, culminating in the now famous Leica camera. It’s where those predecessors already made a difference at launch.
But that’s not just the point. Much more, this launch was about some sort of third alternative. Because in addition to Android and iOS, Huawei comes with its own platform. Enforced by economic sanctions from the United States. No more Google, and so on a series of applications. We have already written it, the One More Thing from Huawei consists of an alternative to Google, the app stores, iTunes and Google Maps. From now on you have three options because in addition to Google and Apple, you can also choose the Huawei platform. Completely new, but no less interesting.
Huawei and sustainability
Huawei has surprised the market with the above innovations and solutions. Although that does not seem clear to everyone, because developing your own Search and Maps application opposite Google, you don’t think that. Strangely enough, or not, Apple is also working on an alternative to the most popular search engine (and eco-system) in the world. And coincidence does not exist.
Today, however, you no longer get there with only technological innovations. As a brand, more is expected of you, especially when it comes to sustainability. For many consumers, this is increasingly a factor in their choice. Huawei has now also announced that sustainability will be high on the agenda. The brand is therefore happy to claim that the recently launched Huawei Mate 40 Pro is right now the greenest smartphone to date. This difference is mainly made by a 28 percent reduction in plastic packaging material, a 90 percent reduction in paper documentation and a fully digital replacement of the paper warranty.
But packaging has also been further improved by using 100% compostable soy inks instead of petroleum based inks, to reduce the production of carcinogens and VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), which are a major source of environmental pollutants. substances.
That may not seem all that interesting, but if you look at the sales numbers of smartphones and also at Huawei, you are talking about 100 and million smartphones in the coming years. The amount of waste and use of plastic materials is enormous in that respect. They are numbers that no one else pauses to consider. But almost the entire world population uses a “mobile phone”. Numbers are missing, but from now on making sure that you are going to save on the use of plastic at this point and also want to limit waste is an important step.
The difference is in the numbers
Huawei commissioned research to discover what consumers really think of sustainability. This research shows that one in four Western European consumers wants to see the complete disposal of plastic packaging by 2025. Many consumers would like to see paper documentation removed from the packaging. They seem to be easy and easy to score. Yet it is not, because just look around you. How often are products packed in plastic? Or manuals in 23 languages that are included. It seems like a small step to take care of your packaging, but it is indeed a great start and an example for basically everyone. Preventing waste is essential if we want to do better.
By the way, the most remarkable research result is that 2 percent of consumers admit that they have more than 10 old phones collecting dust at home.
Circular economy
In addition to making packaging more sustainable, there is also attention for reducing emissions, investing in renewable materials and recycling and re-using waste to contribute to a circular economy.
Part of the strategy is to reduce pollution and the negative environmental impact of the production of petroleum-based plastics. More than 30 percent of the bioplastics used now comes from environmentally friendly castor oil. As a result, Huawei has reduced emissions by 612 tonnes since 2018. In the field of recycling, Huawei already managed to recycle 1,468 tons of waste electronics last year. In addition, the giant reused 86 percent of the devices that were returned for recycling in 2019. From this perspective, there should continue to be more focus on recycling consumer electronics, one of the greatest challenges in the world.