Sustainability in semiconductor operations: Toward net-zero production

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As semiconductor companies ramp up production to meet surging demand, greenhouse-gas reduction deserves equal emphasis.As semiconductor companies ramp up production to meet surging demand, greenhouse-gas reduction deserves equal emphasis.

www.mckinsey.com/, May. 17, 2022 – 

Climate change is creating many life-threatening disruptions, including extreme weather, rising sea levels, and droughts. Faced with irrefutable evidence of global warming, almost 200 countries have committed to the 2016 Paris Agreement, a treaty that calls for accelerated decarbonization. This agreement is designed to limit the mean rise in temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius from preindustrial levels to mitigate or prevent some of the most dangerous effects of climate change.

While some semiconductor companies have created ambitious targets for reducing their emissions and remaining on a 1.5°C pathway, many others have been less ambitious. The pressure to act may soon increase, however, since businesses across industries are now scrutinizing emissions along their entire supply chain–and in many cases, semiconductor companies will account for a substantial amount of them. Already, some of the semiconductor industry's most important end customers, including Apple, Google, and Microsoft, have committed to reaching net-zero emissions for their full value chain and set aggressive timelines for achieving their goals.

Some semiconductor companies have responded by setting their own emissions goals. For instance, Infineon plans to reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by 70 percent by 2025, compared with its 2019 baseline, and aspires to reach carbon neutrality for emissions directly under its control by the end of 2030. Intel recently committed to net-zero GHG emissions in its global operations by 2040 and has targeted achieving 100 percent use of renewable electricity as an interim milestone in 2030. Several semiconductor players have also committed to science-based targets, including STMicroelectronics, NXP, and UMC. Over the next few months or years, more semiconductor companies are expected to commit to ambitious and actionable emissions targets.

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