OPPO Pledges Carbon Neutrality by 2050 at MWC 2023

Leading technology brand, OPPO, has released its Climate Action Report delivered in a keynote by Billy Zhang, OPPO Associate Vice President, together with Steven Moore, Head of GSMA Climate Action at MWC 2023 in Barcelona.

Following years of research and analysis, OPPO released the OPPO Climate Action Report: Climate Pledges and Low Carbon Development Strategy. In the report, OPPO pledges for the first time to achieve carbon neutrality across its global operations by 2050. With technical support from global consultancy Deloitte¹, the report outlines five key areas in which OPPO will work towards achieving this goal: low-carbon manufacturing, reducing the carbon footprint of products, investing in options that generate less carbon, utilizing digital technology to manage carbon emissions, and collaborating on industry standards to address climate change.

Starting in 2020, OPPO has published a sustainability report each year to publicly disclose its plans and practical progress towards sustainability goals. In 2022, OPPO completed its first global inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and used this data as the scientific basis for its carbon reduction strategy. Now, in the new Climate Action Report, OPPO pledges to make its operations carbon-neutral by 2050.

Commenting on this commitment, Tony Chen, OPPO Founder and CEO, said: “Achieving our goal of becoming carbon neutral will require both determination and patience. Guided by our mission of ‘Technology for Mankind, Kindness for the World’, we promise to pursue carbon neutrality with the same zeal and commitment that we invest in our technological innovation.”

Through energy saving and emission reduction initiatives, by the end of 2022, OPPO has managed to reduce 6,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from its operation each year. This is equivalent to the amount of greenhouse gas absorbed by 3,330 square kilometres of forest in a year.

Since 2020, OPPO has systematically carried out a series of energy-saving upgrades to key machinery in its factories. One such project has involved automating previously manually operated machines. Compared with manual control, the automated equipment can be set to operate precisely according to the real-time requirement, thus reducing power consumption to the bare minimum. For example, with the automation upgrades introduced, power consumption has fallen by 54%.

In addition, OPPO is also working on the construction of carbon-neutral data centres. Its first self-built data centre, OPPO Binhai Bay Data Centre not only uses 100% renewable energy but also continues to explore and apply cutting-edge, low-carbon technology. One of the key outcomes of this exploration has been the research and implementation of immersion cooling technology for GPU server clusters.

In order to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, OPPO is deploying immersion cooling technology for GPU server clusters in its data centre. Immersion cooling technology, which refers to the direct immersion of servers in a non-conductive liquid, directly draws the heat generated during operation away through the liquid, without the need for active cooling by devices such as fans and air conditioners. The deployment of immersion cooling technology leads to a 45% improvement in energy efficiency, and an industry-leading data centre power usage efficiency (PUE) as low as 1.15.

Introducing sustainability into the product management life cycle 
While constantly thinking about how to improve the user experience of its products, OPPO also aims to provide greener products. To this end, OPPO has made sustainability a key goal in the life cycle management of its products to minimise their impact on the environment.

While designing the packaging of its products, OPPO follows the internationally recognized green packaging principle of 3R+1D, reduce, reuse, recycle and degradable. In 2023, starting in the European market, nearly all plastics have been removed from the packaging of OPPO’s smartphones, making it 100% biodegradable and more eco-friendly. Approximately 45% is also made from recycled fibres, sourced from recycled wastepaper or plant-based materials - such as sugarcane and bamboo byproducts - helping to reduce the demand for raw materials.

OPPO has also made technological breakthroughs aimed at improving the durability of its products. For example, OPPO's proprietary Battery Health Engine technology can maintain 80% of the original battery capacity for up to 1600 charging cycles, significantly extending battery life.

The road to a greener future is a long one, but with its Climate Action Report and low-carbon development strategy, OPPO is already well on the way to achieving this goal. OPPO is committed to playing its part as it works with both partners and the public to build a better future for all.

To learn more about OPPO’s low-carbon development strategy, please refer to the OPPO Climate Action Report.

¹ Deloitte provided technical support to OPPO when it developed its GHG emissions inventory, emission reduction goals and long-term roadmap for low carbon development.