Electronic waste is becoming a gold ring and plastic waste that drifts in the sea is transforming into notebook paper as one of the CSR of IT corporations.

According to industry sources on May 8, Dell is expanding recycled resources such as waste plastics for packaging of PCs, notebooks and server products from GBP 40 million last year to GBP 100 million by 2020.

Meanwhile, the Lonely Whale Foundation estimates that more than 8 million tons of plastic waste per year is abandoned to the sea and that by 2050 the number of marine animals will increase. It is an analysis that marine animals as well as ecosystems are contaminated with waste plastics and have an adverse effect on humans.

Dell Technologies, as a part of CSR, is working on a project to recycle waste plastics collected from waterways and beaches in cooperation with NGOs. The company is also studying the development of packaging materials using straw to prevent the incineration of wheat straws that can cause air pollution. It is focusing on the development of packaging materials using organic mushrooms, bamboo, and recycled paper in order to replace styro-foam. Besides, Dell Technologies has also started a project to recycle metal from electronic waste to the motherboard.

Electronic components include a variety of metals, but according to US Environmental Protection Agency data, only 12.5% of discarded products are recycled. It is estimated that only USD 60 million (KRW 64.7 billion) of gold and silver are included in smartphones that are abandoned every year in the US. It released jewelry products such as 4-carat, 18-carat gold ring, earring and cufflinks, which recycled electronic waste as precious metals in January, along with actor Nikki Reid.

Google, on the other hand, is committed to protecting the environment through artificial intelligence (AI) technology which is developed a model for detection of endangered species. Generally, it is not easy to identify the ocean from the aerial photographs by visual observation. Using the algorithm based on the open SW `tensor flow`, it is possible to manage the habitat by finding the ocean with a probability of about 80%.

According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, IBM has teamed up with China startup "Energy Block Chain Lab" to build a carbon trading platform with block chain technology. The platform tracks and quantifies the environmental impact of energy production and consumption activities of block-chain network participants. Register more than 200 methods of developing carbon assets, and calculate the company`s carbon emission quota automatically. This will contribute to China`s severe dust and fine dust reduction.
An industry specialist stated, "Recently, we have been helping to protect ecology by using advanced technology such as drone and machine learning through infrared tracking technology." It is also necessary to refer to the case of global companies as CSR becomes an essential element of corporate management."

By Lee Gyung Tak kt87@


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