Universal Electronics Inc. (UEI) (NASDAQ: UEIC) has announced it has reached key milestones in its continued mission to become a sustainable corporate citizen. One milestone that the company delivered on over the past five years is the 15 millionth refurbished and fully recycled remote control coming out of its Monterey, Mexico facility.
The remotes provide a second life as field returns from cable or satellite TV providers in the USA. This effort resulted in the company recycling over 667 tons of plastics. The company has produced over 100 million wireless products.
UEI Sustainable Packaging, No Battery Replacement
Another green program the company invested in is the removal of single-use plastics. In 2021, UEI won the Packaging Innovation Awards Gold Winner for its One For All retail product line.
The packaging innovation awards recognize outstanding packaging projects from around the globe, based on sustainability, technological developments and enhanced user experience breakthroughs. This resulted in saving nearly 40 tons of plastic each year.
The biggest impact on creating a cleaner environment is expected to come from breakthroughs in product and technology development. In addition to designing products that use recycled materials, are easy to refurbish and free of single-use plastic; the company is now designing remote controls that do not require battery replacement throughout the useful life of the product.
To deliver upon this goal, UEI invested in the UEI Eterna platform, a new reference design for remote controls aimed at extending battery life.
Powered by the new UEI Extreme Low Power (XLP) System-on-Chip (SOC) with energy-harvesting technology, the product uses indoor light and Wi-Fi signals to power a full-featured TV remote control. This feature could result in saving a significant number of batteries that otherwise could end up in landfills.
“Part of being a good corporate citizen is contributing to a sustainable future. As the leading global manufacturer of wireless control solutions and home automation, we are committing to reducing the environmental impact of our products – through the development, manufacturing, and recycling of our products,” said Enrique Suro, VP, Global Quality Assurance.
Finally, to ensure the company is consistent and can learn from the best in class, the company most recently signed on as a member of the Responsible Business Alliance, an industry coalition dedicated to corporate social responsibility in global supply chains.
