Corporate Environmental Report

Water



Water quality is declining due to pollution and increased salinity. Shortages of clean water impact the quality of people’s food and domestic life, their health and general welfare. Around a billion households in developing countries do not have access to safe drinking water. Rapidly growing populations, especially in cities, are placing growing demands on limited resources. The health of natural habitats and eco-systems is also dependent on the availability of water.

Water plays a critical role in the manufacturing of semiconductors. It takes about 1,500 liters to make a six-inch wafer. Only ultra-clean water can be used because of the precision demanded. Conservation of water is one of our corporate goals and it is an imperative at several sites where water supplies are scarce or diminishing. We are concentrating our efforts in developing methods to reuse wastewater in manufacturing.

Chemicals and metal residues which we wash off our products end up in wastewater. These impurities must be removed before the water is reused or released to rivers and seas.

We have largely met our Decalogue target, reducing our water consumption by an average of 30%, compared with the 1994 baseline.

The dramatic downturn in the semiconductor market in 2001 affected our water indicator (measured in cubic meters per million dollars of added value - m3 /M$ AV). Despites this, savings for the period since 1994 remain high - more than M$20.