Samsung South Africa takes the 49M Energy Efficiency Pledge

Last week marked the official signing of the 49M pledge by Samsung South Africa, a pledge that commits the brand to energy efficiency through both its product line and internal environment – one that aligns the brand to a government endorsed initiative that aims to encourage a national culture of energy saving for a sustainable future.

Says Michelle Potgieter, Head: Marketing and Corporate Communications at Samsung South Africa; “As a brand that globally and locally, places considerable focus on sustainable business practices – working towards creating harmony between people, society and the environment – it is critical that we demonstrate our true commitment to eco-friendly practices, of which energy efficiency is at the core for the organisation. The 49M campaign aims to encourage 49 million South African’s to embrace energy savings as a national culture. Samsung, who is the first South African Consumer Electronics brand to have made this pledge, is proud to align with this movement, where we believe our products already promote this philosophy, and look forward to extending this pledge within our office and home environments too.”

Further to the pledge, Samsung will provide 49M with eco-friendly products from the Samsung Electronics range which will be used in their national road show – The Glasshouse – which will take the form of mall activations, displays in corporate companies as well as consumer and trade expos, focused at creating a stronger awareness around energy efficiency in a number of strategic areas of the consumer and business markets.

Globally, Samsung has set a goal to ensure that 100% of its products exceed the Good Eco-Product criteria, to reduce average energy consumption of products by 40% as well as achieve 0.5W of standby power by 2013. “As part of our alignment to global standards, we have initiated a number of eco driven activities locally, including the solar powered internet schools, the local availability of solar powered Netbooks, energy efficient products within our LED TV and lighting business and within the Digital Appliances and Digital Air Solution categories,” continues Potgieter. “It is this innovation, coupled with our pledge to 49M, that we believe will impact the way consumers think about energy efficiency and through this we hope to see a change amongst South African consumers when it comes to power saving and energy efficiency.”

Says Andrew Etzinger, 49M Spokesperson; “We are very excited that Samsung has come on board and pledged their commitment to energy efficiency and believe that with large conglomerates such as Samsung – that have a strong impact on the consumer mindset and influence into behaviours – taking this pledge, we will see the shift that we are aiming for towards an energy efficient culture, and that will drive South Africa towards a sustainable future”