Feature Story

2023/11/17

ASUS Takes Climate Action to Build an Incredible, Sustainable Future

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The escalating impact of the ongoing climate crisis is becoming increasingly hard to ignore. That is why it is crucial for companies to acknowledge that sustainability transformation and evolution should now be a key component of their business. 

At ASUS, we have long believed that innovation is not just about technological progress; it is equally important to incorporate a sustainable mindset to mitigate the collective harm being inflicted on the environment. This awareness highlights our strong commitment to continuously adopting sustainable practices and developing green innovations. 

We also believe that every enterprise should set themselves up for sustainability success by setting clear, science-based goals that align with global initiatives and ensuring accountability and transparency through environmental disclosures. 

Our overarching goal at ASUS is to build a net zero enterprise and drive the shift towards a circular economy, with a responsible supply chain creating shared value for everyone.

 

Setting the stage for sustainability success

To achieve its climate action goals, ASUS is digitizing data, adopting scientific management practices, and optimizing core competencies to promote sustainable value creation. The key to driving change within an organization is to have clear, measurable, and achievable sustainability goals that are in line with the latest climate science. These targets help provide a solid roadmap for climate action and sustainable innovation.

This explains why ASUS completed a group-wide inventory of its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and developed clear targets to reduce them. This includes a commitment to reduce Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50% by 2030, from the base year of 2021, and reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions covering purchased goods and services and use of sold products by 30% in the same timeframe. 

Our near-term science-based emission reduction targets were recently validated by the Science-Based Target Initiative (SBTi). An SBTi validation indicates that ASUS’ targets are consistent with the Paris Agreement’s objective of limiting global temperature change to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

 

The ASUS commitment to transparency and accountability

Transparent reporting of sustainable actions provides the basis for accountability and enables enterprises to track their progress on a broader scale, enabling responsible business practices and meaningful change. Systematically analyzing environmental data also helps guide businesses to focus their efforts in the most impactful areas. 

As part of this commitment, for the past two years ASUS has released Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) independent reports. These reports address the company’s climate risk and environmental impact management, and then transparently disclose its climate actions to stakeholders so that they can better understand the climate-related financial information.

 

Carbon reduction throughout the value chain

ASUS is committed to reducing carbon emissions across its entire value chain. After the company identified the potential risks and opportunities, we focused on building a circular economy and enhancing our supply chain management to help decrease carbon emissions.

In order to create a circular economy, we have been working hard to increase our sustainability across a wide range of areas. In fact, 87.2% of our revenue came from ecofriendly products in 2022.  For example, ASUS uses environmentally friendly material, such as Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) materials, which is the raw material made from waste from the consumer/end user, and Post-Industrial Recycled (PIR) materials, which is the raw material made from waste generated within the industry. 

Since 2017, 1,689 tons of PCR plastics have been used in our laptops. And our packaging makes use of FSC certified paper. In total, 90% of our laptop packaging is recyclable and made from recycled pulp. Additionally, our recycling service is now provided to over 75% of our markets worldwide. The result? Since 2019, more than 40,000 tons of E-waste have been recycled. And we have further elevated our energy efficiency – exceeding the ENERGY STAR® standard by 34%. We also donate refurbished computers to NGOs that promote causes like digital inclusion. 

And there’s even more. We also provide an innovative Device as a Service (DaaS) business model that decreases maintenance costs. This program empowers corporate customers by offering companies comprehensive options to lease and return IT hardware. The initiative encourages responsible disposal and reduces electronic waste. It also helps businesses adopt sustainable IT solutions, mitigate costs, and contribute to environmental conservation efforts.

Our products have also been designed in a way that extends their product life cycle. For example, they have an efficient, modular design, and are easily disassembled to aid in restoration and recycling. 

When it comes to responsible manufacturing, we assist our suppliers in establishing carbon inventory and management capabilities. The results have been clear – in 2022, key ASUS suppliers reduced their GHG emission intensity by 24%, benchmarked against the baseline year of 2020.

Additionally, we are a full member of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) and we were the first company in the electronics industry to receive ISO20400 verification – proving our commitment to sustainable procurement. And we also ensure use of responsible minerals by sourcing all of our tantalum, tin, tungsten, and gold from qualified smelters..

 

Speeding up the transition to net zero and a greener world

ASUS has also joined the Renewable Energy 100 (RE100) initiative, in which companies commit to using 100% renewable electricity by a specific target year. In 2022, we achieved RE15 and we are on track to achieve RE30 in 2023. Additionally, as part of our commitment to SBTi, we will be recognized as part of the UN Race to Zero campaign, which aligns with our decarbonization goals and our long-term emissions reduction target of reaching net zero by 2050. To achieve this, we are committed to using 100% renewable energy across our global operations by 2035.

But it is not just about what we do internally as a company, we also want to help our customers reduce their carbon footprints. That’s why we have launched two carbon neutral laptops: the ASUS ExpertBook B9 (B9400CB) and ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED (UX5304)

And our innovative ASUS Carbon Partner Service enables our commercial customers to offset the carbon footprint of their ASUS products throughout the product lifecycle and offer a one-stop service for clients to deal with the offset procedures.

We are committed to selecting only high-quality nature-based carbon credits and to using environmentally friendly materials to reduce our products’ carbon footprint. In addition, the data quality and processes for this service are all verified by independent 3rd parties. 

Additionally, during the development of all our products, we evaluate the product carbon footprint, adopt environmentally friendly materials, and elevate energy efficiency to decrease our products’ carbon footprints as much as we can. Finally, we offset any residual carbon with high-quality carbon credits.

To further speed up the transition to a net zero world, we are also looking for strategic investment opportunities in startups that are pursuing carbon reduction technologies. We will also look to leverage these capabilities to help us reach our net-zero goal.

 

Recognizing ASUS climate leadership

Addressing the global climate crisis requires unified efforts from governments, businesses, and individuals. ASUS has wholeheartedly embraced this responsibility, and we have consistently received international validation of our sustainable practices and environmental leadership. 

For example, ASUS has been recognized as an EPEAT Climate+ Champion by the Global Electronics Council (GEC), showcasing our commitment to climate change mitigation. We were also ranked on TIME's 2023 list of the World’s Best Companies, where sustainability is a key criterion. Additionally, our placement, for the second year in a row, among the Financial Times’ Climate Leaders Asia-Pacific 2023 highlights our commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship. 

Related Reading: The biggest awards ASUS has won in 2023, so far…

These accolades serve as a source of inspiration, fueling our resolve to make a positive impact on our planet. They motivate us to further strengthen the ASUS commitment to environmental sustainability as we continue our journey to build an incredible, sustainable future for everyone.

For even more details about the incredible sustainability work that ASUS is doing, please check out our ASUS ESG website.

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