The Acer Group Joins RE100, Commits to 100% Renewable Energy Use by 2035
The Acer Group announced that it has joined the RE100 initiative. They have also shared a pledge to achieve 100% renewable energy, as of 2035. In addition, Acer also declared its mission to help tackle environmental challenges. Especially, with its Earthion platform that unites the strengths of its employees. And, of course, the supply chain partners and expands the circle of the impact of its sustainability efforts. Aspire Vero notebook exemplified these strengths and efforts, its first sustainability product under the Earthion platform.
The Acer Group unveils Aspire Vero Notebook as part of its Earthion Sustainability Mission
Tiffany Huang, Co-Chief Operating Officer, Acer Inc. said,
“I am so touched to see Acer employees and partners come together, knowing that they have the ability to make decisions to protect our environment for future generations. We already have the commitment of AUO, Compal, Innolux, and Quanta, and look forward to welcoming more partners to join the Acer Earthion mission to speed up the development of green designs and processes and support our goal of 100% renewable energy for a sustainable planet.”
Long-Term Commitment to Green Energy Use
Acer has long been committed to enhancing energy efficiency. Since 2008, it adopted the CDP’s global disclosure system to manage the environmental impacts of its supply chain. And, even expanded the system to two tiers of supplier engagement. In 2012, Acer also began setting carbon reduction targets through energy management and green energy use, taking 2009 as the baseline year. Through constant efforts and drive, the Acer Group successfully achieved its 2020 target of reducing its carbon emissions by 60% worldwide. Of course, this includes its global operations and subsidiaries,
Setting a new commitment to source renewable energy for all of its energy use by 2035, Acer also announced that it has joined RE100. It is a global corporate renewable energy initiative. Aside from that, this also brings together hundreds of large and ambitious businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity. Green energy has utilized various Acer operations since as early as 2013. With some locations even installing solar panels, they also generate their own solar power. In 2020, the Acer Group achieved 44% renewable energy use.
Sam Kimmins, Head of RE100, The Climate Group said:
“I am delighted to welcome Acer to RE100. By committing to 100% renewable electricity by 2035, Acer joins over 300 of the world’s leading businesses committed to driving market change. This sends a powerful message that renewable electricity makes good business sense, and we encourage others to follow.”
Earthion – Combining strengths across the supply chain
Acer decided to take its environmental commitments further with Earthion. This, on the other hand, remains a platform that combines the strengths of the company. Its supply chain partners, consumers (channels), and its employees. Earthion remains a blend of the words Earth + Mission. It has become the name Acer has created to represent its mission to help tackle environmental challenges through innovative and integrated solutions. The driving force behind Earthion remains each member’s belief that its mutual collaboration can effectively create a positive impact on the environment.
Earthion’s primary topics of focus are:
- Energy – using 100% renewable energy, as a goal
- Product Design – green innovations
- Packaging Design – using less packaging and more recycled materials
- Production – minimizing the impact on the environment
- Logistics – leaving a smaller carbon footprint
- Recycling – recycling, reusing, and repurposing resources
Acer Earthion has become the culmination of several years of efforts and will continue to evolve. The initial idea involves doing more. Like a responsible company and corporate citizen and fight against both the increasingly urgent impacts of climate change and the digital divide. Then, this idea led to the birth of Project Humanity. This, on the other hand, remains a company-wide initiative to raise awareness of intensifying global issues. It also sets to encourage each Acer employee to contribute toward positive changes. Project Humanity began at the individual level. It seeks to inspire employees to propose new ideas in their professional capacity. Aside from that, it also collectively contributes to the goals of reducing, reusing, recycling, and repurposing.
In 2020, all of Acer’s notebooks have adopted recycled paper for packaging, and these environmentally friendly designs have saved 8,750 kg of paper pulp and cut down on the usage of 20 million plastic bags. From Acer’s internal recycling activities, over 50 metric tons of batteries were recycled and remanufactured into new ones. More than 75% of Acer employees across 50 countries participated—driven from their hearts.
With Earthion, this initiative has expanded again: Acer seeks to share this culture with its partners and suppliers, creating a single overarching platform and creating an even larger circle of impact. Today, the company has a clear goal of utilizing clean energy and sustainable materials. The company also culminates in a concerted effort with its suppliers and partners to build its Earthion platform. Starting with the Aspire Vero, a sustainability-focused notebook.
Acer Aspire Vero – a Sustainability-focused Notebook
The first product within the Earthion platform includes Acer’s Aspire Vero. It has become a step towards reimagining what the computer manufacturing process looks like. The company used post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic throughout the devices’ chassis and keyboard caps. Of course, eco-friendly packaging takes this a step further. The Aspire Vero ships in a box made from 80-85% recycled paper pulp. And, plastic bagging for adapter protection has become reduced – using paper sleeves instead. Furthermore, the laptop bag and the sheet between the keyboard and screen came from 100% industrial recycled plastic.
This emphasis on sustainability carries over to the design language, too. They used soy ink for all the printed graphics on the shopping box. The notebook itself contains no paint on the chassis, reducing the impact on the environment. Aside from that, easily accessible and standardized screws hold it all together for a simpler disassembly process. Meanwhile, the notebook stands out with unique yellow and volcano grey accents on its bumpers. The text on the R and E keys has been inverted, calling out the 3 Re’s: reduce, reuse and recycle.
Behind all of this comes an attractive and impressive computer. The latest 11th Gen Intel® Core™ processor with Intel® Iris® Xe graphics lets it power through daily productivity tasks and more. While up to 1 TB of M.2 SSD storage gives users plenty of space to store music, movies, and files. This display features a lifting-hinge design that slightly elevates the notebook when opened. It allows for a more ergonomic typing experience, while AI noise suppression offers clarity during video calls. The notebook also comes with Intel® Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), a USB Type-C port, two USB 3.2 ports, and an HDMI 2.0 port for video-out.
Global Accolades on Sustainability
Global sustainability indices recognized Acer’s transparent reporting efforts. And, the company has won industry accolades for ESG performance. In 2020, Acer joined three global sustainability indices lists. Of course, these include Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) Emerging Markets Index for the seventh consecutive year, the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes with an “AA” rating, and the FTSE4Good Emerging Index for the fifth year. In addition, The Wall Street Journal ranked Acer among the 100 most sustainably managed companies in the world.
