Overview

In the post-pandemic era, supply chains face new challenges, such as coping with the impacts of geopolitical tensions, trade conflicts, and extreme weather events. Ensuring uninterrupted operations in a rapidly changing market is crucial. United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), guided by the principles of mutual growth and resource reciprocity, holds annual supplier sustainability sessions at its manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, and China. These briefings promote the concepts and policies of sustainable development and aim to build a more resilient supply chain.

UMC’s 2023 Sustainability Session and Outstanding Supplier Award Ceremony focused on the theme of “Sustainability and Mutual Prosperity.” Nearly 200 supply chain partners were invited to come together for an event aimed at continuously strengthening industry competitiveness, with presentations on international sustainability trends, regulatory advocacy, and the sharing of UMC’s extensive experience with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives. Additionally, ten outstanding suppliers were selected from among over 1,000 supply chain partners to be recognized and thanked for their exceptional contributions in product and service provision, on-time delivery assistance, technical collaboration, and facility construction support. The efforts of these suppliers have enabled UMC to maintain stable production and meet customer demands.

“Thank you to all of our supply chain partners for your unwavering support. In the future, we look forward to rallying together, harnessing more energy, and uniting the upstream and downstream supply chain to work toward sustainability and low-carbon transition. We aim to provide higher quality products and services, co-create win–win solutions, and move forward on the path to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050,” said UMC Co-President and Chief Sustainability Officer SC Chien.

UMC hosted the 2023 Sustainability Session and Outstanding Supplier Award Ceremony, joining forces with supply chain partners to achieve low-carbon sustainability

2023 Outstanding Supplier Award Winner List

To continually enhance supply chain sustainability, UMC has established a supplier sustainability assessment mechanism and requires that suppliers adhere to UMC’s Supplier Code of Conduct. Through risk assessments, third-party audits, and corrective actions, suppliers are encouraged to improve their performance in five major areas: Labor Rights and Ethics, Environment and Climate Change, Occupational Safety and Health, Supplier Management, and Business Continuity Plans and Information Security Control. In line with these requirements, UMC continuously implements various action plans designed to strengthen, diversify, and localize supply capabilities. Simultaneously, UMC promotes sustainability awareness among procurement personnel, thereby boosting industry synergy and leveraging the influence of a responsible supply chain.

In 2017, UMC initiated the UMC Triple R League Program, which rallies suppliers to jointly achieve an industry-wide green upgrade and transformation. This program promotes the establishment and implementation of energy-saving and waste reduction goals by suppliers. Through the creation of an exchange platform, it fosters consensus on green products and drives collective efforts in environmental conservation. Building on the spirit of the Triple R League, in 2022, UMC launched the Supply Chain Carbon Inventory Guidance Program, which focuses on reducing carbon emissions throughout the supply chain. Its goal is to build a low-carbon and sustainable supply chain by achieving a “20% reduction in supply chain carbon emissions by 2030.”

Through this collaborative program, UMC actively provides consulting resources and cloud platform tools, guiding suppliers in a robust manner to initiate carbon inventory and regularly reviewing their carbon reduction progress to ensure goal attainment. As of 2023, a total of 172 suppliers have completed organizational greenhouse gas inventories. By 2030, UMC expects 500 suppliers to have completed carbon inventory operations under its guidance, with the aim of progressively implementing net-zero actions in collaboration with supply chain partners.

The Sustainability Session invited 200 suppliers to learn about sustainability trends and the Carbon Inventory Guidance Program