Infineon hosts first-ever Supplier Sustainability Summit

“In order to meet our ambitious targets, we need you, our suppliers,” said Elke Reichart, Member of the Board and Chief Digital and Sustainability Officer at Infineon, during her welcome message. “Infineon’s scope 3 emissions make up the lion’s share of our footprint, especially the materials we source from our suppliers. Therefore, we very much look forward to joining forces with you. Together, we can stimulate and implement decarbonisation strategies even better.”

Collaboration with suppliers is a fundamental part of Infineon’s overall sustainability strategy. The company has already made significant progress on its way to reaching climate neutrality by 2030; since 2019 Infineon has halved its CO2 emissions (scope 1 and 2) while doubling revenue at the same time. In December 2023, Infineon added a commitment to setting a science-based target that includes the supply chain (scope 3). The procurement team is actively working with over 100 suppliers, engaging them to define their own science-based targets and implement appropriate reduction measures.

The Supplier Sustainability Summit was an excellent opportunity for Infineon to share learnings from its own climate strategy and journey and to facilitate exchange of best practices among suppliers. For instance, experts from the Infineon electricity procurement team gave insights from their hands-on experience in achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2025; whereas two suppliers shared their expertise in effectively setting science-based targets. The topic was deepened in a panel discussion with Infineon leaders and an expert from the CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) that offered further practical advice to attendees.

Infineon’s Green Award recognises and honours suppliers who demonstrated outstanding environmental commitment and advancements throughout the past year. The “Best Performance Award” went to Applied Materials Inc. for its ambitious climate strategy, including a 1.5°C science-based target and the company’s innovative “Xchange” program. As part of the program Infineon is directly collaborating with Applied Materials to increase resource efficiency and reduce emissions. The program enables take-back and refurbishment of spare parts for complex semiconductor equipment, thereby building on the circular economy to create environmental and business benefits for both parties.

The “Best Improvement Award” winner is Sumco Corporation, that has made remarkable progress in environmental sustainability throughout the past year. The Japan-based company is the first silicon wafer supplier to make a public commitment to setting a science-based target. Following discussions at the top leadership level, Sumco acted at an impressive speed, accelerating existing carbon reduction targets and expanding renewable electricity sourcing.

In the category of companies with less than one billion euros revenue, the “Best Improvement Award” went to iwis SE & Co. KG. The Munich-based, family-owned company serves as a great example to many with its ambitious “Zero Carbon 2040 program” and science-based target commitment. Infineon recognises the proactive approach towards improving the environmental impact of operations and supply chain and the integration of climate targets in the environmental management system at the sites.

"We would like to applaud the winners of our Green Awards: Applied Materials, Sumco and iwis for stepping up and taking responsibility for environmental sustainability and performance,” said Angelique van der Burg, Chief Procurement Officer at Infineon and host of the day. “We believe that this performance will motivate our whole supplier base to raise the bar higher and follow their example. Now let’s make the best practice a standard practice.”