Life Hacks

4 Eco-Friendly Tech Tips to Shrink
Your Carbon Footprint

From repurposing old devices to charging less often, here are a few easy ways to make a difference.

A woman with a bright coat and windblown hair stands in front of cacti and smiles at her Galaxy S21 Ultra. A woman with a bright coat and windblown hair stands in front of cacti and smiles at her Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Tackling climate change is going to take big, bold action. But the little choices you make every day can also help. By lowering your carbon footprint—the measure of how much carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas you generate—you’re making a small, consistent impact, and shifting your sustainable technology habits is a great place to start. Here’s how.

A Galaxy S21 5G with a Light Sensor interface onscreen, rests on a table beneath a lamp. A Galaxy S21 5G with a Light Sensor interface onscreen, rests on a table beneath a lamp.
A Samsung Galaxy S21 5G device with a Light Sensor interface onscreen. A Samsung Galaxy S21 5G device with a Light Sensor interface onscreen.
Galaxy Upcycling at Home
Turn old Galaxy devices² into smart home sensors.
1

Find a new use for old devices

When it comes to setting up an energy-friendly home, you don’t have to start from scratch. If you have old phones gathering dust in a drawer, it’s easy to give them new life with the Galaxy Upcycling at Home¹ program.

A man looks at his phone while standing by the big windows of his spacious, nicely decorated home. A man looks at his phone while standing by the big windows of his spacious, nicely decorated home.
2

Automate your home to save energy

Half the challenge of reducing energy consumption is just remembering to do it, whether it’s turning off the lights in empty rooms or lowering the air-conditioning when it’s not needed. Luckily, home automation makes it so you don’t have to remember. By connecting your Galaxy S21 5G to SmartThings devices, you can create a simple Bixby Routine that automatically turns smart lights⁴ on or off and manages their power use. Good for the planet. Good for your energy bill.

A casually dressed woman wearing gardening gloves looks at her phone in a sunny backyard. A casually dressed woman wearing gardening gloves looks at her phone in a sunny backyard.
3

Make your charges last longer

The less often you charge, the more energy you save—and there are plenty of features designed to help your battery go further. On the Galaxy S21 5G, you can turn on settings like Battery Optimisation or Dark Mode, and turn off features that use a lot of power and don’t need to be on 24/7 (Always On Display and Location, for example). The phone can even adapt its power usage to your personal habits with Adaptive Power Saving mode.

A woman sits and relaxes against the wall of her home with a mug, smiling at her phone. A woman sits and relaxes against the wall of her home with a mug, smiling at her phone.
The logo for the Global Goals initiative. The logo for the Global Goals initiative.
Global Goals
Samsung and the United Nations team up to help you change the world.
4

Scroll for a good cause

Supporting the fight against climate change can be as easy as casually tapping a few ads. On your Galaxy S21 5G, there’s an app called Global Goals that was made by Samsung and the United Nations. In the app, any ad you interact with donates revenue to one of the Global Goals, which include Climate Action and Responsible Energy Consumption and Production. You barely have to lift a finger. OK, just the one to tap the ad.

¹ The beta service for Galaxy Upcycling at Home is available in the US, the UK and Korea. Availability may vary by carrier.
² Galaxy Upcycling at Home feature is available on all S, Note, and Z series released from 2018 (S9, Note9 or later) running Android 9 and above. More devices will be supported in the future.
³ Software update can be done in SmartThings Labs, a feature within the SmartThings app.
⁴ Samsung Account login and data network connection (Wi-Fi or data network) required. To control other devices with Bixby, all devices need to be registered with SmartThings. Please visit https://117.p.syniva.es/smartthings for more information.

Shrink your footprint. Grow your impact.

Galaxy S21 5G can be the foundation for your energy-saving tech habits.

Read these stories next