Semiconductor Industry Sustainability Priorities - A Systems Engineering Opportunity

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Reducing emissions and optimizing resources in semiconductor manufacturing is an immensely complex undertaking, with multiple moving parts and several cascading impacts. While semiconductors are key to enabling a sustainable future, fabricating those chips is a notoriously resource-intensive process. Consider: a single fabrication plant can consume up to 10 million gallons of water a day, as much electricity as what's needed to power 50,000 homes daily, and, over the course of a year, generate 60,000 tons of waste.

www.eletimes.com/, Jun. 16, 2023 – 

An industry-wide consensus has emerged around the importance of driving sustainable practices into semiconductor production, especially as the industry is poised for further growth in the years ahead. Moreover, individual companies are stepping up to do their part. As outlined in our most recent Sustainability Report, Applied Materials has made significant progress in reducing our carbon footprint and powering our operations increasingly with renewable energy. Other industry players are taking similar actions to reduce their Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions (those produced by a company and the energy it consumes).

Yet, as an industry we need to take these efforts to the next level. Decarbonization requires a concerted and collective effort to reduce Scope 3 emissions – those generated across a company's entire value chain. And this is where things get complicated because it involves working with industry partners, suppliers, and customers to define levels and sources of emissions being generated beyond the control of any individual entity. The issue then becomes one of defining the actions that are most likely to have a meaningful and measurable impact.

High Value Problem

The stakes involved couldn't be higher. Advancing decarbonization is critical to the future of the semiconductor industry and, ultimately, to the future of the planet. Indeed, in systems engineering terms, it's perhaps the most significant high-value problem you can imagine.

The good news is we are systems engineers. In our industry, we apply our skills, talents, and methodologies to fuel unprecedented advances and innovation in semiconductor capabilities. These same qualities are needed to untangle the multi-layered complexities involved in creating a more sustainable industry. Specifically, a systems engineering mindset can define the cause-and-effect linkages that tie short-term actions to long-term collective goals. These linkages provide the foundation for the essential task of tracking progress over time and holding individual stakeholders accountable throughout the journey.

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