ESG Steering Committee Chairman Message

Trusted Manufacturing, Sustainable Future

In 2025, UMC marks an important milestone as we celebrate our 45th anniversary. Over the past four and a half decades, we have remained firmly focused on our core business of wafer manufacturing, guided by the principles of integrity, pragmatism, professionalism, and long-term value creation. These commitments have enabled us to become a trusted manufacturing partner to customers around the world. Today, as the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, the reshaping of global supply chains amid geopolitical shifts, and the growing challenges of climate change redefine the business landscape, we are more convinced than ever that companies must integrate innovation, resilience, and sustainability to continue creating long-term value for customers, shareholders, employees, and society.

For UMC, sustainability is embedded in business operations rather than treated as a standalone effort. It is central to who we are—shaping our strategy and strengthening our competitiveness. From technology innovation and manufacturing excellence to corporate governance and talent development, we continue to embed ESG principles deeply into our operational decisions. We believe that only by building a company worthy of trust can we remain a long-term partner for our customers.

As a leading global pure-play foundry specializing in mature process technologies, UMC provides more than wafer manufacturing services. We deliver an essential foundation for critical applications, including artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, smart vehicles, industrial automation, high-speed communications, and the Internet of Things. We understand that every wafer carries our customers’ product innovations and supports the broader mission of advancing a digital society and a low-carbon economy. Therefore, we continue to enhance manufacturing efficiency, product quality, and supply chain resilience, while working with customers to reduce product carbon footprints and build a more sustainable semiconductor value chain.

In response to the global net-zero transition, UMC continues to translate its GHG reduction commitments into concrete action. Our net-zero targets are validated by SBTi and we are advancing energy conservation and GHG reduction initiatives in line with science-based pathways. In 2025, our GHG emissions reduced by 37% compared with 2020, while the ratio of renewable energy use exceeded 25%, demonstrating steady progress toward our 2050 net-zero commitment. At the same time, we are actively leveraging AI, data analytics, and smart manufacturing processes to improve equipment utilization, process control, energy management, and yield performance. By enhancing operational efficiency while reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions, we continue to demonstrate the value of technological innovation in advancing sustainable development.

Circular economy is another key pillar of UMC’s sustainability strategy. Guided by the principle of “value-chain circular sustainability,” we continue to promote resource circulation, ensuring that every resource delivers its greatest possible value. In 2025, we launched the Circular Economy & Resource Innovation Center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park. The facility is expected to convert approximately one-third of waste generated by UMC’s Taiwan fabs each year into valuable products. This initiative not only reduces environmental impact, but also redefines the value of resources through innovative technologies, supporting our long-term vision of “zero waste + full circularity.”

People remain at the heart of sustainable business development. UMC continues to foster a corporate culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), providing a safe, healthy, respectful, and inclusive workplace where every employee can realize their potential and grow together with the company. In 2025, the proportion of women in management positions increased to 24%. We also continued to invest in talent development, employee health and well-being, and social engagement, enabling corporate growth and social progress to reinforce one another.

Robust governance has always been a cornerstone of UMC’s long-term development. We continue to uphold integrity in business conduct, strengthen risk management, and enhance transparency in governance, building a corporate culture trusted by customers, employees, investors, and society. In recent years, UMC has received encouraging international recognition for its sustainability performance, including ranking first in the global semiconductor industry in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment for two consecutive years, achieving an MSCI ESG AAA rating, and being recognized by the World Economic Forum as the world’s first Semiconductor foundry Lighthouse Factory. These recognitions reflect the results of our long-standing commitment to sustainable governance. More importantly, they remind us that what truly matters is not the recognition itself, but our continued actions to create value and build a company worthy of trust.

Looking ahead, the world will continue to face significant challenges, including the rapid evolution of AI, the energy transition, climate change, and supply chain realignment. Semiconductors will continue to play a vital role in enabling global innovation and sustainable development, and UMC will continue to support customers worldwide in realizing product innovation through technology advancement, manufacturing excellence, and responsible operations. We believe that sustainability is not merely another corporate objective; it is the way we do business. It is not a cost, but long-term competitiveness.

Standing at the new starting point of our 45th anniversary, UMC will continue to uphold the spirit of “Trusted Manufacturing, Sustainable Future.” Together with our customers, suppliers, employees, and partners, we will work to build a smarter, lower-carbon, and more resilient semiconductor industry, create long-term value for all stakeholders, and lay a foundation for sustainable growth in the future.