Samsung pledges $1.3 billion to reduce electricity use

Samsung has joined the government drive to slash energy consumption. The top conglomerate said yesterday it would invest 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) by 2015?to cut electricity use by 20 percent.

The plan allocates 300 billion won to replace lights in all Samsung subsidiaries with energy-efficient light-emitting diodes and 100 billion won for alternative energy sources such as solar. The largest chunk of the budget - 1.1 trillion won - will go for energy-efficient upgrades of existing facilities and equipment.

Samsung will also set the “appropriate office temperature” at 28 degrees Celsius (82.4 degrees Fahrenheit) during peak consumption hours from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. from July through August and turn off 70 percent of all lighting during the time span. To help employees cope with the heat, the No. 1 business group intends to distribute smaller desk lamps, USB connector-enabled fans and self-cooling mats.