With innovative technology,
we create sustainable future value.
We strive to minimize our impact on nature throughout each stage of our process,
from responsible raw material selection, product development, and production to disposal.
As a global leader, we fulfill our social responsibilities and contribute to all of humanity.
Our tiny but powerful semiconductors give life to your imagination.
Samsung Semiconductor is moving onward with technology that makes technology sustainable.
100% renewable energy
powering our overseas business locations
A platinum rating under the Zero Waste to Landfill certification scheme for all Samsung Semiconductor business sites
Keep water withdrawal to 2021 levels in 2030
99.9% Waste recycling by 2030
* Excludes waste designated for landfill by
law
Air/Water pollutants in a natural state by 2040
* [Air] Natural atmosphere
* [Water quality] Upper stream level
Net zero by 2050
(Scope 1, 2)
As part of our relentless pursuit of a greener tomorrow, we continue to try reduce carbon emissions in all stages of our manufacturing process, from using less raw materials to recycling product waste. Find out more about our approaches.
Samsung Semiconductor has been integrating environmental
sustainability into every aspect of the manufacturing
process. As a result, we have seen a significant reduction
in the amount
of carbon emissions, water use,
and waste discharge
across all sites. And in
recognition of our long-term efforts,
Samsung Semiconductor was awarded
the industry’s first-ever Triple Standard for carbon,
water, and waste by Carbon Trust.
Samsung Semiconductor makes environmental sustainability a priority in every facet of our business. We strive to build a sustainable future by developing technology that makes technology sustainable.
With technology at the core we aim to minimized climate impact by meticulously managing every aspect of our business operation from raw material selection, product development, and from manufacturing to disposal.
Here, we share with you some of Samsung Semiconductor's environmental goals, actions for the climate and also some of our key initiatives.
Charging your battery less often contributes to lower carbon emission levels and that’s why Samsung’s low-carbon semiconductors are made to provide longer battery life. They’re also designed to be energy-efficient since they’re used in applications that can generate quite a lot of heat by processing huge amounts of data such as in AI, big data and autonomous driving. Our green efforts are also applied to the entire manufacturing process by minimizing the environmental impact of each stage.
Even as we speak, an incredible amount of heat is being generated from online activities like searching, streaming and gaming, and from the data centers where the data is being stored. This is where our chips come in. If all data center memory was replaced with Samsung SSDs, we could save 7 terawatt hours (TWh) a year – that’s enough energy to power all households in New York City for four months straight.
Four DRAM solutions, three SSDs and two e-storage devices have earned Carbon Footprint certifications from the U.K.-based The Carbon Trust. Of these, our Portable SSD T7 Touch was also awarded the Low Carbon Product certification from the Korean Ministry of Environment.
In June 2018, we announced plans to use 100% renewable energy at all our sites in the U.S. and China by 2020. We reached our goal a year early in 2019, and have replaced all fossil fuel usage with renewable energy.
Every Samsung Semiconductor site has a renewable energy facility. In 2019, we built a 1.5-megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Giheung and the following year, a 0.4MW solar power plant in Pyeongtaek. And since then, the two sites have been running on renewable energy.
5.68 million tons. That’s the amount of greenhouse gases we reduced during 2020 which is a further 16% reduction from greenhouse gases emitted in 2019. This is thanks to our continued efforts toward sustainability including the large-scale solar power plants we built on our Giheung and Pyeongtaek sites.
All Samsung Semiconductor manufacturing sites have received Zero Waste to Landfill validation of Gold level and above by third-party industry testing and certification organization, UL. The validation is a key indicator in evaluating a company’s efforts toward a circular economy with higher awards given to higher percentage of waste used as resources. DSR Tower at our Hwaseong site acquired Platinum level, the highest recognition, and all other sites were awarded Gold.
Since the late 90s, we have been making the transition to a circular economy. One approach was to take the huge amounts of sludge generated from the manufacturing process and reuse it as raw material for cement. In 2018, we set our zero waste emissions goal and invested in research facilities to study how we can recycle the different kinds of waste. We also provided financial support to our partners to build facilities and carried out research to improve the efficiency of dehydration pumps and filters.
To raise awareness of the importance of recycling, we started an internal “Empty, clean and separate” campaign and began by changing the types and locations of the on-site recycling bins. We also increased the types of recyclables from six to 10. Since the campaign started we have seen a huge decrease in the amount of trash thrown out daily by an average of 1.2 tons and an average 7.2-ton increase in monthly recycling. Today 57,000 of our employees in Korea continue to empty, clean and separate.
At Samsung Semiconductor, we take water management seriously because water is an important part of our manufacturing process and how we use it effects the environment. Working with environmental groups, we purified Osan Stream that carries water discharged by our Giheung Plant and saw the return of otters typically known to survive only in clean water. We are also the first in the industry to be awarded the Water Footprint certification from the U.K.-based The Carbon Trust.
Our semiconductor sites continue to improve manufacturing processes, and research alternative chemicals to replace hazardous chemical substances. In particular, we are developing non-hazardous treatments to use in wastewater treatment. As a result, we’ve seen reductions in the usage of hazardous chemicals by approximately 18% from 2018 to 2020.
In 2020, we surpassed our goal of reducing the amount of water we use by 2% and saw a reduction of 3,844 million tons in water used. This was possible thanks to our team of water experts. And that’s why we operate over 30 technical training programs for our employees as part of our efforts to manage water in a sustainable way.
Net zero by 2050
Develop low-power products
Save energy from manufacturing
Develop and apply new catalysts for treating process gas
Use renewable energy
Transfer all vehicles into eco-friendly
We aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
We are continually expanding our process gas treatment
facilities, and developing catalysts and replacement gas to
increase the efficiency of process gas treatment. While starting
to use only zero-emission vehicles within our business sites, we
will expand the use of renewable energy at all business sites to
expedite a transition to renewables for electricity use. Our
upcoming ultra-low power products will enhance its energy
efficiency while reducing energy consumption.
Keep water withdrawal to 2021 levels in 2030
Build a water recycling system
Discover alternative water, such as reused sewage water
Optimize water usage for manufacturing
We plan to keep the water withdrawal at the level of 2021 by
2030.
Reducing water withdrawal at Samsung Semiconductor means reusing
and recycling water, in addition to simply using less. Water
recycling rates are maximized at Samsung Semiconductor through
everyday and systematic improvement efforts: These include
optimizing operations, replacing superannuated equipment,
instituting improved operating standards, as well as improving
manufacturing processes, and establishing reusing systems.
As a result, in 2023, Samsung Semiconductor reduced its water usage by approximately 12,710 thousand tons annually.
Large-scale facilities have been installed at our Pyeongtaek
campus over the last few years. Medium/long-term objectives for
water use reduction are set, which include streamlining the
operation of facilities and utilizing the existing water use
reduction plans.
99.9% waste recycling by 2030
Convert waste into a resource
Develop and discover recycling technologies
Reducing daily waste
We plan to recycle 99.9 percent of manufacturing waste by
2030.
Samsung Semiconductor is constantly developing technologies to
recycle waste that is currently unrecyclable. We minimize the
use of disposable products and adhere to strict recycling
practices. We are also fostering and developing technologies to
generate added value from waste. In particular, we have
developed technologies to convert wastewater sludge and waste
fluid into resources. Our recycling efforts and technology
development will continue, to achieve our target to recycle
99.9% of current waste by 2030.
Air/Water pollutants in a natural state by 2040
Develop new technology for high-efficiency treatment
Develop the process of not using pollutants
We plan on reducing air and water pollutants discharged from the
manufacturing process, keeping the level at a natural state by
2040.
New high-efficiency treatment facilities and processes involving
Minimum use of potential pollutants are in the works to reduce
our emissions of air and water pollutants. Samsung Semiconductor
releases post-process water after purifying water through its
waste water disposal plant. Before water is released into the
stream, we monitor it to make sure it’s up to our standards —
which go beyond the required legal standard — then measure the
water quality in real-time using the Tele-Monitoring System
(TMS) and send this data to the Ministry of environment.
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