Overview

Climate change has triggered extreme weather events, worsened regional water, food and energy problems, and become a global crisis. In a 2018 report, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) pointed out that, to keep global warming below 1.5℃ (based on the average temperature in 1990), carbon emissions worldwide must decrease by 45% by 2030, and carbon emissions need to reach net zero by 2050. The IPCC stated that the goal of limiting warming 1.5℃ is achievable provided all countries accelerate their carbon reduction.

More and more companies are also taking action amid the climate crisis. As a leading global semiconductor foundry, UMC is not only focused on cutting emissions from our operations, we are also enabling customers to create greener products with our low power, ultra-low power (uLP), and ultra-low leakage (uLL) technologies.

Energy conservation and carbon reduction through power efficient products
UMC offers two new ULP/uLL platforms, including the 22nm platform and the 28nm low power 60GHz & 22nm uLP/uLL 60GHz platforms for radio frequency (RF). Through the application of technologies capable of reducing power consumption by 30% to 50% to logic and specialty processes (such as embedded RRAM and embedded MRAM), we can improve power management technology and incorporate it into greener and more energy efficient products.

UMC continues to develop advanced process technologies with lower power consumption, including the 28nm SST embedded SuperFlash® used in microprocessors, non-volatile memory, and 22nm embedded RRAM & MRAM platforms. For power management ICs, the company has been developing a BCD & eNVM platform to provide a complete SoC solution for energy saving requirements. We have met our 2020 target with environmentally friendly products accounting for 66.9% of all production. The next stage is to boost sustainable production, striving to achieve the goal of 72% by 2025.

Environmentally friendly products in proportion to total production

Development of CO₂ sensors

In collaboration with our customers, UMC has developed CO₂ sensors currently used in medical respiratory equipment. The sensors are compact and efficient with power saving features, made possible by miniaturized components replacing bulky and expensive infrared LED sensors. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, CO₂ sensors help doctors diagnose patients. Post-pandemic, the sensors can be used to monitor the number of people in a room and automatically adjust ventilation to reduce risk of cluster infection, protecting the health and well-being of people through technology.

To regulate and control greenhouse gas emissions, authorities can also deploy sensors to monitor the concentration of CO₂ in the air, using the data to implement timely and appropriate control measures.

In the spirit of the Paris Agreement, UMC announced in June our goal of achieving net zero by 2050, the first in the foundry business. In our journey to net zero, UMC will work closely with customers, suppliers, and other partners in our value chain to take action, doing our part in the global effort to combat the climate crisis.