Circular Economy
Wistron seeks to maximize benefits for customers in the circular economy by not only producing green electronic products, but also recycling discarded electronic products and converting recycled materials into environmentally friendly products. We use resource sustainably to create a green and circular sustainable business model. The service targets of closed-loop gold and closed-loop plastic have expanded from the information and communication industry, medical industry, and aviation industry, to the “safe product destruction and recycling” services requested by OEM clients. The application of recycled plastic products has continued to extend from monitors, desktop computers, and televisions to routers, servers, mice, keyboards, fans, and other fields.
Green resources business achievements
|
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
Disposal of electronic waste(tons) |
11,363 |
10,000 |
7,300 |
4,660 |
PCR plastic materials shipping volume(tons) |
13,512 |
16,930 |
26,288 |
21,577 |
Reduction in usage of new plastic materials(tons) |
4,730 |
7,620 |
11,131 |
11,047 |
Revenue (in million RMB) of Wistron Advanced Materials (Kunshan) Co., Ltd. |
797 |
921 |
1,680 |
1,380 |
Raw Materials and Technological Innovations
The Wistron green resources team provides recycle processing and recycled plastics services, building on its past 10 years of practical circular economy experience. At the same time, in 2022, Wistron has cooperated with customers to introduce 50% PCR in laptop products, introduce hydroelectric recycled aluminum in commercial models, and introduce 12% recycled steel in desktop computers. In addition, expanding the application of recycled metals is another innovative focus areas.
|
Raw materials/technologies |
Characteristics and environmental benefits |
Renewable raw materials |
Bio-based Plastic |
Currently, the main source of bio-based plastics is castor oil from renewable plants to reduce the use of petroleum and to reduce carbon emissions. In 2022, 50% of PCRs have introduced into laptops. |
Ocean-bound plastic |
Ocean-bound plastic is applied for product development, and PC/OBP were newly developed. The application has covered display case, key cap, fan, router and other product components. In 2022, a total of 148 tons of marine recycled plastic products have been shipped |
Innovative technology |
Hydroelectric recycled aluminum |
The energy used to produce recycled aluminum in the form of remelting ingots is lower than that of virgin aluminum ingots. Moreover, the carbon dioxide emitted by one ton of electrolytic aluminum produced by hydropower is much lower than that of thermal power. In 2022, it has been introduced to laptop products. |
Recycling and reuse of lithium batteries |
In cooperation with technical partner in 2022, a lithium battery cathode material recycling refinery has been established in the Green Resources Plant in the State of Texas, with an annual processing capacity of 500 tons. It is scheduled to start production pilot run in 2023 and mass production in 2024. |
Green Product Performance
The product design and development process complies with the “Guidelines for Green Product Design and Review Procedure” and considers waste reduction, environmental protection, and the use of non-hazardous materials. Besides meeting international regulations and standards, we are also dedicated to minimizing our impact on people and the environment. Wistron’s Green Resources Business subsidiary focuses on the recycling of waste electronics and refining of renewable plastics, promoting post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics for various customer products and expanding the influence of Wistron’s green products.
Products using PCR plastic materials as percentage of hardware revenue (%)
|
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
Laptops |
52.2% |
61.8% |
85.6%
|
90.9% |
Desktop computers |
65.8% |
58.1% |
68.4%
|
81.7% |
LCD Display products |
97.7% |
95.8% |
96.5%
|
94.2% |
Servers/ Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) |
1.3% |
0.5% |
0.65% |
0.8% |
Total |
53.5% |
58.7% |
79.1%
|
80.3% |
- Note: Hardware products refer to laptops/desktop computers, and all-in-one (AIO) computers/display products /servers/Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
Key Performance Indicators of Green Products (%)
|
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
Percentage of products compliant to WEEE regulations |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
Percentage of products with environmental labels |
87.0% |
89.5% |
90.7% |
85.1% |
Percentage of packaging designed with recycled materials |
95.0% |
98.0% |
98.1% |
98.6% |
Percentage of products that use recycled plastic materials |
53.5% |
58.7% |
79.1% |
80.3% |
- Note: Data and examples of packaging designs using recycled materials before 2020 in Wistron Technology
Wistron's product packaging has always been based on the concepts of environmental protection and reduction of resource waste. We choose recyclable and reusable materials for cardboard boxes, cushioning materials, and ink used for printing whenever possible. We also make use of this feature to add recycled and reproduced materials at the source for production. . In 2022, the products that used Wistron's packaging design with recycled materials accounted for 98.7% of overall revenue. Among which, 98.6% of the external boxes were made from recycled pulp; 92.2% of the cushioning materials were made from recycled EPE; and 98.1% of the printed materials were printed with environmentally friendly water-based ink.
Recycled materials used in product packaging as percentage of hardware revenue in 2022 (%)
|
Recycled pulp for cardboard boxes |
Cushioning materials using recycled EPE |
Environmentally friendly water-based ink for printed materials |
Laptops |
99.6% |
99.6% |
99.6% |
Desktop computers and all-in-one (AIO) computers |
96.2% |
78.2% |
96.2% |
Monitors |
95.1% |
67.6% |
95.1% |
Servers/Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) |
99% |
92.8% |
96.1% |
Keyboards |
100% |
0% |
100% |
Speakers |
100% |
0% |
88.2% |
Handheld mobile devices |
100% |
100% |
100% |
Total |
98.6% |
92.2% |
98.1% |