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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteWhat does semiconductor sustainability mean? It means managing several connected environmental impacts—not earning one all-purpose sustainability score. How sustainable is semiconductor manufacturing? There is no single answer: electricity and greenhouse gases, water use and basin stress, materials and waste, value-chain emissions, and climate resilience each need their own measures.
Why semiconductor sustainability has no single score
A semiconductor’s environmental footprint is shaped by more than the energy used inside a factory. Manufacturing also relies on water and specialized materials, creates waste streams, and is connected to emissions from suppliers and from products that use the chips. Facilities and supply chains also face physical climate risks.
SEMI treats decarbonization, water, circularity, emissions accounting, and resilience as distinct but related workstreams. A company can make progress in one area while facing unresolved impacts in another, so a single headline number cannot describe its overall performance.
Energy and greenhouse gases are related, but not interchangeable
Electricity is a major part of the sustainability discussion, but renewable-electricity procurement and greenhouse-gas reductions are different measures. Renewable electricity describes an energy-sourcing claim; emissions depend on the accounting boundary, the grid and other energy sources, and the gases included. Absolute emissions also differ from emissions per unit of production.
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Intel reports that it purchased approximately 99% renewable electricity globally in 2025. It also says its 2025 Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse-gas emissions were 16% below its 2019 baseline. These are company-reported results for Intel’s stated boundary and reporting period, not sector-wide figures.
Intel further reports a reduction of up to 70% in carbon footprint per wafer against a conventional grid-energy baseline. This is an Intel internal analysis for a 300 mm wafer, using the company’s stated Scope 1 and Scope 2 comparison methodology. It is a modeled, company-specific estimate—not a universal reduction for every chip, fab, or manufacturer.
Water impacts depend on location as well as volume
Water stewardship involves both how much water a facility uses and the conditions in the basin where it operates. A volume conserved at one location does not by itself reveal whether local water supplies are under pressure, whether water is returned at a useful quality, or how competing users are affected.
SEMI’s October 2025 report, Ripple Effects: Water Risk & Resilience Across the Semiconductor Value Chain, assessed 140 semiconductor production facilities across 89 unique water basins. Those figures describe the assessment’s coverage; they do not mean that all 140 facilities are in water-stressed areas.
Intel reports that in 2025 it conserved 11.2 billion gallons of water and enabled 2.8 billion gallons for restoration. These are company-reported figures. They should be read alongside the company’s definitions of conservation and restoration, the locations involved, and the reporting boundary—not treated as a direct measure of basin-level water security.
Circularity covers waste and the materials that go into chips
Circularity is not just a recycling rate. It can include preventing waste, reusing or recovering materials, and reducing reliance on inputs that are difficult to source or manage responsibly.
Intel says circular-economy practices were applied to approximately 69% of its manufacturing waste streams in 2025 through reuse, recovery, or recycling. Separately, a 2025 SEMI and imec report prioritized 69 distinct materials for circularity. The two figures share a number but measure different things: one is Intel’s reported share of waste streams addressed by specified practices; the other is a materials inventory and prioritization exercise.
Emissions beyond factory operations change the picture
Operational emissions do not capture every climate impact connected to semiconductor production. Emissions can arise upstream from purchased goods and services, and downstream when products containing chips consume energy. These are commonly addressed through Scope 3 accounting, including Category 1, purchased goods and services, and Category 11, use of sold products.
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SEMI provides guidance for these categories and work on product carbon-footprint methods. Comparisons are meaningful only when they make clear which emissions are included and how they are allocated. A factory-only figure, a company-wide Scope 1 and 2 total, and a product carbon footprint answer different questions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Climate resilience is a value-chain issue
Sustainability also includes whether facilities and supply chains can withstand climate-related disruption. Water availability is one example of a local risk; resilience can also depend on conditions affecting suppliers and production networks. SEMI’s water-risk assessment illustrates why geography and basin context matter, but its facility count alone does not establish the exposure or resilience of every site.
How to compare company disclosures fairly
Intel and TSMC provide examples of company-specific reporting, but their disclosures should not be treated as a ready-made ranking. TSMC’s reporting index lists separate materials on climate, biodiversity, water, and F-GHGs. Intel presents targets and progress using its own company boundary and accounting approach.
TSMC’s 2024 Sustainability Report listing cites 4.4 GW of cumulative renewable-energy procurement contracts and an estimated 5.23 million metric tons of annual emissions reduction. The emissions figure is explicitly an estimate tied to the 2024 report listing; it should not be compared directly with Intel’s renewable-electricity share or Scope 1 and 2 reduction without aligning definitions and boundaries.
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Before comparing a figure or target, check:
- Environmental dimension: Is it about energy and carbon, water, materials and waste, or product-use emissions?
- Boundary: Does it cover direct operations, purchased energy, upstream supply chains, or use of products sold?
- Metric and baseline: Is it an absolute total or an intensity measure, and what baseline year or production unit is used?
- Place and time: Which reporting year, facilities, geographies, watersheds, and grid conditions are included?
- Evidence status: Is the number a target, reported outcome, estimate, or independently assured result?
Company disclosures are useful evidence of what each company reports, but they are self-reported and use different definitions. The figures above do not establish a harmonized cross-company ranking or independent validation of corporate performance.
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