Infineon Technologies AG has announced that it will become carbon-neutral by 2030. The company presented its plans at its Annual General Meeting in Munich. Infineon is thus making an active contribution to reducing CO2 worldwide and achieving the targets defined in the Paris Climate Agreement. The objective relates to its own greenhouse gas footprint and includes not only all direct emissions, but also indirect emissions from electricity and heat production. Emissions are to be cut by 70 percent over the 2019 levels by 2025.
Energy efficiency and hence reducing CO2 emissions have long been core elements of Infineon's business model. Making life greener is part of the company's mission. Through the use of its products and solutions by the customers of Infineon, 40 times more CO2 can currently be avoided than is generated during production. With its goal of going carbon neutral, the company is thus taking the next strategic step to fulfill its own mission.
"Climate change threatens the global ecosystem and so the very existence of mankind," said Dr. Reinhard Ploss, Chief Executive Officer of Infineon. "It's an acknowledged fact that we need to act. With our goal to become carbon-neutral, we are making a pledge by which others outside the company can measure us. At the same time, it is motivation for all of us at the company to do all we can to continue minimizing our own footprint. We at Infineon are driven by the mission of finding better and better solutions. Infineon's products are already the basis for the energy and mobility transition."
In order to achieve the targets, Infineon is committed in particular to avoiding direct emissions and further reducing the energy it needs for its plants and processes. Further expansion of its energy efficiency program and efforts aimed at smart exhaust air treatment will play a key part in that. They will make a major contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The company plans to compensate for unavoidable emissions by purchasing green electricity with guarantees of origin. Emissions will also be compensated to a smaller part by certificates that combine development support and CO2 abatement.
"Infineon is already one of the most sustainable semiconductor producers," says Jochen Hanebeck, Chief Operations Officer of Infineon. "CO2 avoidance and resource efficiency in production have been a priority for us for years, as in the setting up of our 300-millimeter thin wafer technology. With our goal of becoming carbon-neutral we are strengthening our efforts through electricity from renewable sources and investments in exhaust air treatment that far exceeds the industry standard."
According to a global comparison of companies in the industry by the World Semiconductor Council, Infineon's frontend production sites use around 52 percent less electricity per square centimeter of processed wafer surface than the average for all manufacturers. Moreover, the company already reduces its total carbon footprint by one-third thanks to smart exhaust air treatment concepts. It has invested around 50 million euros in this voluntary measure to cut emissions to date.
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