OMV Petrom, the largest integrated energy company in South-Eastern Europe, signed a partnership with Romanian startup Flip.ro aimed at supporting the circular economy by recycling used smartphones.

In the first phase, Flip.ro purchased over 500 old smartphones from OMV Petrom. The startup will put them back on the market after refurbishing them.

In total, the three-year contract provides that Flip.ro will take over more than 2,500 smartphones from OMV Petrom.

“By putting refurbished mobile terminals back on the market, we contribute to reducing the volume of waste and carbon emissions. We thus prove that circular economy projects can be successfully implemented on the Romanian market,” said Alina Popa, CFO of OMV Petrom.

In turn, Nicolae Trofin, Chief Sales Business Partnerships at Flip.ro said: “We are convinced that other companies will follow the example of OMV Petrom and will choose to recycle the smartphones that would otherwise have become waste.”

This is not the first such circular economy project supported by OMV Petrom. The company has also been involved in re-circulating refurbished computers through the “Let’s click on Romania” project, developed in a partnership between private companies, Ateliere fără Frontiere and 230 schools from disadvantaged areas. During the project, which helped avoid almost 600,000 kg of CO2 emissions, 4,000 refurbished computers were donated to 110 public schools.

OMV Petrom said it aims to achieve carbon neutrality for its operations by 2050 and contribute to the process of decarbonization of its customers. To generate new low- and zero-carbon projects, the company will invest EUR 3.7 billion from its EUR 11 billion investment plan by 2030. This is the most extensive private investment plan in the Romanian energy sector.

OMV Petrom is the largest integrated energy company in South-Eastern Europe, with an annual group hydrocarbon production of approximately 47 million boe in 2021. The group has a refining capacity of 4.5 million tons annually and operates an 860 MW high-efficiency power plant. It is present in the oil products retail market in Romania and neighboring countries through approximately 790 filling stations under two brands – OMV and Petrom.

OMV Petrom shares are traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. OMV Aktiengesellschaft, one of the largest listed industrial companies in Austria, holds a 51% stake in OMV Petrom. The Romanian State, through the Ministry of Energy, has 20.6% of OMV Petrom shares, and 28.4% is owned by natural and legal persons.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source:OMV Petrom)