Energy collaboration boosts low-carbon access in Asia-Pacific

The EC, a collective of industry leaders, will provide a consolidated view of priorities for low-carbon energy in the region.

“Sharing resources to start this foundational semiconductor industry sustainability work now is important to enable wider access to low-carbon energy in the next five to ten years,” stated Young Bae, SCC Governing Council member and sponsor for the SCC Scope 2 Working Group, and Global Business Director, Advanced Cleans Technologies at DuPont. “One of the key action areas the SCC has identified is the lack of low-carbon energy plans and actions in the Asia-Pacific region. The EC will help the SCC by accelerating investments to broaden access.”

The EC sponsoring companies will anchor the collective’s work to engage in roundtables and fact-finding sessions.

Initial sponsors include:

• Applied Materials
• AMD
• ASE
• ASML
• JSR
• Lam Research
• Macquarie Group
• Samsung Electronics
• TotalEnergies
• TSMC

McKinsey & Company is a Knowledge Partner to the initiative, providing fact-based analysis and support.

“The semiconductor value chain and its downstream partners and customers have a pivotal role to play in the acceleration of low-carbon energy installations, due to their scale in high-priority markets and the extent to which they will drive growth in future energy demands,” stated Ajit Manocha, President and CEO of SEMI. “To reach the emissions reductions goals of the sector, a step function change in ambition and action is required. The EC is focused on that goal – increasing the pace and scaling of access to low-carbon energy.”

A recent SCC report found that the semiconductor value chain is a significant consumer of energy in almost all key Asian markets. Additionally, a recent analysis by McKinsey & Company[1] shows that even with major semiconductor companies’ latest commitments, which are more stringent than past measures, the industry is not on track to limit emissions to the extent required under the 2015 Paris Agreement. The analysis finds that both individual and collective actions by semiconductor players can help the entire industry increase its sustainability effort and meet the 1.5°C challenge.

SEMI representatives will host a special session on December 2 in the Green Zone at COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.