TSMC Emits More Carbon than GM
Major semiconductor companies are facing an increasing carbon reduction demand. Experts are pointing out that those companies are emitting more carbon than automakers.
CNBC reported on Nov. 3 that TSMC, the largest foundry in the world, has emitted more carbon than GM for years. According to it, TSMC’s annual carbon emissions increased from six million tons to eight million tons from 2017 to 2019 and then reached 15 million tons last year as the company’s production volume increased.
It takes about three months for a semiconductor manufacturer to produce a product from raw materials. During the course, a lot of electricity is used along with a lot of water, causing greenhouse gas generation. According to Bloomberg, Intel’s water consumption was more than 300 percent of Ford’s in 2019 and the former’s industrial waste generation was more than 200 percent of the latter’s that year.
Samsung Electronics emitted 12.9 million tons of carbon dioxide last year, the second-largest in the industry. CNBC pointed out that this has to be addressed first for South Korea to become a carbon-neutral country in or before 2050.
Semiconductor companies are coming up with a series of carbon reduction plans, and yet it is said that the reduction will not be that easy given the nature of the industry. TSMC is aiming to reach zero carbon emissions by 2050 and raise its renewable energy use ratio to at least 40 percent by 2030. However, coal-based power generation still accounts for as much as 90 percent of Taiwan’s power generation.
South Korean semiconductor companies are considering reducing their emissions gradually. Samsung Electronics recently obtained the product carbon footprint label of the Carbon Trust for its mobile system-on-chip, image sensor, digital TV system-on-chip and timing controller products as well as memory chip products. It is reducing the use of gas in its manufacturing processes while enhancing the efficiency of its greenhouse gas treatment.
SK Hynix is a member of Apple’s clean energy program, which is to increase the use of renewable energy to 100 percent by 2030. SK Group’s carbon reduction certification center, the first one of its kind in South Korea, opened in July this year.