SK hynix shows roadmap for using recycled materials
SK hynix in Korea has detailed a roadmap to actively use recycled and renewable materials in its semiconductor production.
The company aims to increase the percentage of recycled materials it uses in semiconductor production to 25% by 2025 and above 30% by 2030, based on weight. It says this is the first case of a semiconductor company laying out such mid- to long-term plan.
As part of the plan, SK hynix will start with essential metals in production of its DRAMs, flash memory and image sensors. This will see copper, tin, and gold replaced with recycled materials. Industry experts point out that metal materials are the most effective when it comes to resource circulation as they account for a large proportion of the weight of finished memory products and are difficult to replace with other materials.
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The company also plans to promote resource recycling, including replacing the plastic packaging used to protect finished semiconductor products with recycled plastic.
The recycled materials are extracted, recovered and reprocessed from pre-consumer waste generated in the manufacturing process before arrival at end users or from post-consumer waste disposed of after use.
“In order to achieve Net Zero, or Carbon Neutrality, establishing a circular economy system centered on resource recycling has become an important task for countries and companies around the world,” said SK hynix. “In line with this trend, we have decided to preemptively establish and faithfully implement the goal of increasing the use of recycled materials in stages.”
TO achieve this, the company will strengthen certification procedures and quality evaluation for recycled materials purchased directly by the company, and decide whether to apply the materials included in the parts supplied by business partners after receiving and reviewing the quality evaluation.
In addition, SK hynix plans to encourage its suppliers to join the efforts to obtain validation from publicly trusted external organizations, such as ISO 14021, to verify the use and proportion of recycled materials.
“As a company that takes ESG management seriously, we intend to actively participate in the establishment of a global circular economy,” said Junho Song, Vice President and Head of Advanced Quality & Analysis, of SK hynix. “While implementing this roadmap, we will work together with all stakeholders in the semiconductor supply chain, including customers and suppliers, to achieve practical results.”
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