Semi launches sustainability consortium

Business news | November 1, 2022

By Nick Flaherty

Materials & processes

Semi, the semiconductor industry association, has launched a consortium specifically to focus on the challenge of sustainable chip making.

The Semiconductor Climate Consortium has been in negotiation for the last year and is launching with 65 members across the supply chain. The key focus is the sustainability of fabs, from water and electricity to the chemicals that are used for chip making.

“Semi has been organising a group of members on sustainability and this is the culmination,” Mousumi Bhat, Vice President of Sustainability Programs at Semi told eeNews Europe. “We started with 11 companies but when we rolled that out there was tremendous interest.”

The consortium aims to look at fab operations and the supply chain both into fabs and out to the industry.

“One of our biggest challenges is for our supplier base to be transparent about their carbon footprint/ There are administrative and system issues as well as IP issues,” she said.

Using chemicals with a lower greenhouse gas footprint is a challenge for industry as a whole, she says. “We have gases with high greenhouse gas potential and replacing these gasses takes a lot of due diligence, it’s not a simple switch. This can seven 10 years and with the supply chain [suppliers] in the same room we can make that go faster as we don’t have seven to ten years.”

Fab operators in the SCC include Intel, Samsung and TSMC, as well as sk Hynix, Micron and onsemi, accounting for the majority of large scale fabs. European fab operators in the consortium include ST Microelectronics and Global Foundries. Some names that are notably missing are Infineon Technologies, Apple and Philips, all of which have strong sustainability programmes.

Belgian research lab imec, a founding member of SCC, also launched a sustainability programme earlier this year.

“We have almost all the large fabs wanting to collaborate and a couple are going through due diligence,” said Bhat.

The SCC is not looking to name and shame companies that are not making progress in cutting emissions, she says. “We are here to inspire and motivate and work constructively. There are three key tenets – collaboration, transparency and ambition,” she said.

“The transparency is having reporting across the value chain so that as a sector we know exactly where we stand and we have visibility on where the problem areas are. That’s easier said than done so we are enabling this transparency journey by how they create the reporting standards so there is consistency and synergy and that should address the question of greenwashing. A lot of reporting is constrained by the lack of data.”

“Reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the semiconductor value chain will benefit not just the technology industry, but industries across the globe. However, this requires immense innovation and collaboration – the challenges we’ll face can’t be solved by just one company. I am proud to see Intel joining the Semiconductor Climate Consortium as a founding member to support these critical efforts. Together, we will be able to make a lasting impact to help mitigate the impacts of climate change,” said Keyvan Esfarjani, Executive Vice President, Chief Global Operations Officer and General Manager of Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Operations at Intel.

“GlobalFoundries recognizes climate change is an unprecedented global challenge, and we are committed to growing our company responsibly and minimizing our impact on the environment. True to our long legacy of environmentally responsible manufacturing and operations, GF is proud to be a founding member of SEMI’s Semiconductor Climate Consortium and collaborate across the supply chain to enhance the sustainability of our industry,” said John Toy, Chief Ethics and Sustainability Officer of GlobalFoundries, which has a fab in Dresden, Germany.

SCC members will vote on its leadership in 2023 to set priorities for work programmes which cover Material assessment, Industry Pact, Scope 3 emissions and Component Sustainability. “We aim to get to the goals much faster together,” said Bhat.

The consortium has companies from across the supply chain, from fabs to fabless companies such as AMD and NXP, tool makers such as ASM, ASML and Lam Research, packaging firms such as KLA to end users such as Schneider Electric and data centre operator Google.

“NXP is proud to be one of the founding members of SCC as we remain unwavering in our commitment to a more sustainable future. As a company that enables a smarter, safer and more sustainable world through innovation, we are excited to unite as a global industry to continue this sustainability journey together,” Said Jennifer Wuamett, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Sustainability Officer at NXP.

“The Semiconductor Climate Consortium can drive progressive climate action within the entire semiconductor ecosystem. With our accumulated knowledge and innovative technology, imec will contribute to accelerate solutions to address the pressing challenges for the future and reach our own ambitious decarbonization targets, as well as those of member companies,” said Luc Van den hove, President and CEO at imec,

“ASM’s Growth through Innovation strategy includes Accelerate Sustainability as a foundational pillar. We are excited to be a founding member of the Semiconductor Climate Consortium, which we see as a fundamentally innovative solution to our industry’s challenges in addressing the climate crisis. We endorse the SCC’s vision of collaboration, transparency, and ambition. Together, we can achieve impact and speed way beyond our individual efforts,” said Benjamin Loh, CEO and President at equipment maker ASM.

Customers are also important in driving down emissions. “The collaboration will see Schneider strengthen its commitment to progressive climate action as it pools resources with other industry players and aligns to develop decarbonisation solutions together. Already a firm supporter of the Paris Agreement and 1.5⁰C pathway, Schneider is looking forward to joining with fellow players in the semiconductor value chain to lead the way towards meeting these critical climate goals,” said Olivier Blum, Executive Vice President of Energy Management at Schneider Electric.

www.semi.org