Xiaomi 2024 ESG Report: Commitment to Sustainability and Technological Advancement

TL;DR:

• Xiaomi’s seventh annual ESG Report for 2024 reaffirms its dedication to sustainability driven by core technologies.
• The report highlights Xiaomi’s advancements in accessible technology, including features for visually and hearing-impaired users.
• Xiaomi outlines its strategies for climate change mitigation, including supply chain GHG reduction targets and renewable energy plans.
• The company details its robust recycling and reuse programs, exceeding 95% of its five-year electronic waste recycling target.

Xiaomi Corporation has released its seventh annual Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report for 2024, demonstrating the company’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, firmly rooted in its foundational core technologies. The report provides a comprehensive overview of Xiaomi’s progress and initiatives in key areas such as enhancing the accessibility of its technology, mitigating and adapting to climate change, and promoting robust recycling and reuse programs.

Leadership in Foundational Core Technologies

At the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in November 2024, Xiaomi introduced its refined strategy for sustainable development, driven by its foundational core technologies. The company is placing increased emphasis on inclusive products and technology equality, alongside its “Human x Car x Home” ecosystem strategy, aiming to provide consumers with a sustainable and intelligent lifestyle.

In 2024, Xiaomi’s annual investment in Research and Development (R&D) reached RMB24.1 billion (approximately RM14.48 billion), and its global patent filings exceeded 42,000. The company’s R&D team comprised 21,190 employees, representing 48.5 percent of its total workforce. Over the initial five years of the decade spanning 2020 to 2030, Xiaomi anticipates its cumulative R&D investment to surpass RMB100 billion (approximately RM 60.06 billion).

The Xiaomi Smart Factory and Xiaomi EV Factory commenced operations in the preceding year, leveraging industrial internet and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to achieve efficient, environmentally conscious, and sustainable production processes.

Xiaomi’s self-developed hardware and software, in conjunction with other proprietary technologies, have enabled flexible production lines, automated logistics, and cloud-edge-device automation control at the Xiaomi Smart Factory. Consequently, the factory has achieved an automation rate of 81 percent in its production lines, significantly exceeding the industry average.

Enhancing Accessibility of Technology for All

Xiaomi is deeply committed to fostering an equitable and inclusive digital experience for every user, including individuals with specific needs. Throughout 2024, the company continued to enhance its comprehensive accessibility support. With a focused approach on key user groups, such as individuals with visual impairments, hearing impairments, and physical disabilities, Xiaomi introduced features like text extraction, real-time subtitles, and gesture-based controls.

For instance, Xiaomi enhanced its TalkBack feature, a voice assistance tool designed for blind and visually impaired individuals, by streamlining its operation through the optical character recognition (OCR) capability of the AI subsystem within Xiaomi HyperOS. This enhancement enables accurate recognition and real-time narration of text within images, providing users with a seamless “reading” experience.

Xiaomi HyperOS 2, the latest iteration of Xiaomi’s operating system, has seamlessly integrated the AI Assistant’s real-time subtitle function with the Xiaomi Sound Recognition Function, resulting in a high transcription accuracy rate of 93 percent.

Furthermore, Xiaomi is actively developing elderly-friendly technologies. In 2024, the company collaborated with several institutions to launch initiatives such as “Showing Care for the Health and Safety of the Elderly and Promoting Elderly Friendly Retrofitting,” which aims to establish standards, products, applications, and designs that enhance the safety and well-being of elderly individuals.

Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change

Beyond setting greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets for its own operations, Xiaomi mandates that its smartphone supply chain partners establish their own GHG reduction targets and renewable energy usage plans. By 2030, suppliers within Xiaomi’s smartphone business are required to achieve an annual average carbon reduction of no less than 5 percent (using 2024 as the baseline year) and a renewable electricity usage rate of no less than 25 percent. Looking further ahead, by 2050, suppliers to Xiaomi’s smartphone business are expected to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity usage.

By the end of 2024, Xiaomi had completed lifecycle carbon footprint measurements for 18 representative products, including 13 smartphone and tablet devices, 1 wearable device, and 4 smart home appliances. The company also collaborated with independent GHG accounting and certification organizations to establish a robust carbon footprint assessment process for its smartphone products.

Climate response measures have been implemented across all of Xiaomi’s business operations, encompassing office work, production and manufacturing, logistics and transportation, store operations, and the supply chain. In the past year, Xiaomi’s business operations within its operational boundary obtained ISO 50001 Energy Management System certification and successfully passed the annual surveillance audit.

Xiaomi also actively promoted sea and rail transport as more sustainable alternatives to air freight. In 2024, this effort resulted in a reduction of the Group’s carbon emissions by 3,378 tonnes.

Promoting Recycling and Reuse Initiatives

Xiaomi conducts electronic waste recycling programs on a global scale and has implemented a tiered recycling approach that includes trade-ins, refurbishment, scrapping of devices and repair parts, and the internal purchase of prototypes. The company has set a target to recycle a total of 38,000 tonnes of electronic waste over a five-year period (2022 to 2026) and had achieved 95.94 percent of this target by the end of 2024.

Over 1.3 million used devices were recycled through Xiaomi’s trade-in program in Mainland China. Trade-in programs were also established in nine overseas countries and regions, where 23,353 trade-in orders were processed. The Group expanded its refurbishment business to include laptops, projectors, and monitors, refurbishing more than 130,000 devices in the past year, marking a 4.7 percent increase compared to 2023.

Xiaomi also integrates recycled materials into the design and production of its various products, including smartphones, smart EVs, and smart home appliances. For example, the back cover of the Xiaomi 14T incorporates a bio-based material derived from lemon residue, with half of its polyurethane sourced from bio-based raw materials. Recycled aluminum is utilized in the die-cast middle frame of the Xiaomi 14T, and recycled aluminum, gold, and copper are used in the production of its acoustic components.

The Xiaomi Smart Factory has established a zero-waste-to-landfill management system, integrating recycling and efficient disposal methods to minimize landfill usage. In 2024, the factory achieved a 99.35 percent waste diversion rate (WDR) and was awarded the TÜV Rheinland Zero Waste to Landfill Management System Certificate with the highest global rating of three stars.

Xiaomi reaffirms its unwavering commitment to producing exciting innovations and breakthroughs, striving to build a better future through its continuous pursuit of sustainable development.

The above serves only as highlights of the 2024 ESG report. To view the full version, please click here.