Razer, known for its green triple-headed snake logo, says the project is a long-term commitment to an environmental roadmap under the #GoGreenWithRazer banner.
The company makes gaming products such as laptops, keyboards and mouse units, smart glasses and gaming chairs, as well as offering gaming-related software and services. It said last week that 2020 annual revenue rose to a record-high $1.2 billion.
“Well before the pandemic we were already working on reducing our carbon footprint,” Bob Ohlweiler, senior vice president, global sales and marketing, told the Business Journal.
“Our success working from home has given us the confidence to reduce corporate travel, which enlarges a company’s carbon footprint.”
Irvine Co. Partner
The Irvine-based executive acknowledged it’s difficult to keep track of the environmental savings with people working from home, but that will change in the future as the company seeks to reduce waste and carbon emissions while encouraging gamers to do the same.
“We will have completed pre-pandemic plans to go from single-use plastics to wholly recyclable materials and/or permanent materials when we return to the office,” Ohlweiler said, citing ceramic and metal cups as examples.
“On top of our own regional commitment to the global Razer Sustainability Program, we support any initiatives that our leasing provider, Irvine Co., endeavors.”
Razer’s aim for 100% renewable energy includes the Irvine offices, which share headquarters duties with Singapore.
Product Recycling
Further highlights of the sustainability plans include:
• Razer will ensure that all products carrying its brand will be recyclable by the year 2030. This includes the disposal and recycling of Razer products by both customers and global distributors; free-of-charge recycling will also be available at all global Razer retail stores.
• Collaborating with Virginia-based nonprofit Conservation International, Razer recently set a new target to save 1 million trees and to protect trees in dozens of forests around the world, such as those in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Suriname, Brazil, Madagascar and Indonesia among many others. Razer said it had already saved approximately 170,000 trees as of March 22.
• Razer’s corporate venture arm will fuel the growth of startups focused on sustainability projects. The planned amount of spending was not specified.
Environment Impact
“Awareness of how we impact the environment is incredibly important,” Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder and CEO, said in presenting the program on March 22. “We’re determined to make the world a better place for all of its citizens to game and live in.”
As part of this movement, Razer is also calling on its gamer community—youth, millennials and Gen Z—to make a difference through several green initiatives.
Founded in 2005, Razer has 17 offices worldwide and supplies gamers in the U.S., Europe and China.
