Xiaomi affirms climate commitments at COP28

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi will introduce its smart products into the key Middle East region in a sustainable manner, according to a white paper presented on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai on Dec 5.

Alain Lam Sai Wai, vice-president and chief financial officer at Xiaomi Corporation, said that China and its firms have a big part to play in helping fight climate change.

Lam said that the UAE hosting the annual climate summit and this year's 10th anniversary of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) made publishing the company's plans to fulfill its climate commitments "timely".

"I think we all have a role to play to reduce the carbon emissions in the world and what we're doing is we're looking at every single product," Lam told China Daily in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

"We are measuring the carbon footprint for each series of our smartphones now. We're looking at each part of the process from raw material sourcing to production, to manufacturing, to logistics," he added.

Lam said COP28 was an opportunity to share views with global participants and for Xiaomi to share a "very important paper" with a global audience.

In August, Xiaomi pledged to achieve carbon neutrality in the operations of its existing businesses and 100 percent renewable energy utilization by 2040.

According to the white paper, Xiaomi has set a short-term target of reducing its carbon emissions in existing businesses by 70 percent from its 2021 levels by 2030. It will also attempt to bring down consumers' carbon footprint by balancing the efficacy, price, and environmental footprint of its products.

Xiaomi's goal is to reduce the environmental impact of production while continuously bringing innovations to its consumers and making clean technology more affordable.

In its net-zero roadmap, Xiaomi prioritizes energy efficiency improvements, clean energy applications, and smart manufacturing innovation. The company is also working with its supply-chain partners to set net-zero emission goals and put in place processes to ensure they are on track to reach these goals.

Xiaomi is committed to emission reductions that are in sync with the United Nations' 1.5 Celsius goal and also to the transparent reporting of its progress.

Xiaomi said it recycled an estimated 4,500 tons of electronic waste globally, alongside its refurbishment program.

In 2022, Xiaomi's refurbishment factory successfully revitalized about 94,000 smartphones, 5,600 electric scooters and 6,200 smart TVs. The firm said all refurbished products "received official certification and were resold in the market".

The Middle East has become increasingly important for Xiaomi, with the firm opening its biggest flagship store at the Dubai Mall in April.

"The Middle East is always a very important part of our business. If you look at our smartphone market share in the third quarter of this year, we've achieved a 17.7 (percent) market share in smartphone shipments in the Middle East," Lam told China Daily.

"In our earnings release, we also mentioned that year-over-year shipment has increased by over 20 percent. So, the Middle East is a very important part of our business and therefore we want to do more here in this region," he added.

According to tech analysts Canalys, the global smartphone market underwent a slight drop of 1 percent in the third quarter of this year, signaling a slowdown in its decline.

Canalys said Samsung held onto the top spot with a 20 percent market share, while Apple claimed second place with a 17 percent market share.

Xiaomi took the third position with a 14 percent market share, with unit shipments recovering both annually and in each of the first three quarters of the year.