Universal Electronics Hits Sustainability Milestones in Time for Earth Day

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Universal Electronics Inc. (UEI), the global leader in wireless universal control solutions for home entertainment and smart home devices has announced it has reached key milestones in its continued mission to become a sustainable corporate citizen. With over 100 million wireless products shipped each year, the company understands its responsibility to reduce its environmental footprint and decarbonize its products.

Manufacturing Milestone: 15 million Refurbished and Recycled Remotes

A key milestone that the company delivered on over the last five years, is the 15 millionth refurbished and fully recycled remote control coming out of the 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.

Supply Chain Milestone: Innovations Award for most Sustainable Packaging

Another key 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 forty tons of plastic each year.

Decarbonization of Products: No more Batteries Needed

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 that paves the way to a promising future with extended 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 breakthrough innovation 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, the world’s largest industry coalition dedicated to corporate social responsibility in global supply chains.