Overview

Amid the global movement towards net-zero carbon emissions and green transformation, UMC has actively committed to sustainable development. UMC has invested NT$1.8 billion to construct the Circular Economy & Recycling Innovation Center (CERIC) within the Southern Taiwan Science Park. The center officially commenced operations in December 2025. This facility not only underscores UMC's unwavering commitment to environmental sustainability but also establishes a replicable and scalable circular economy model for Taiwan's semiconductor industry.

UMC aims not only to reduce waste but also to create new value from these discarded resources, giving them a renewed purpose. CERIC leverages recycling technologies such as thermal cracking of waste solvents, purification and distillation of waste liquids, and treatment of calcium fluoride sludge. Previously, these waste were outsourced for treatment; now, UMC can process them in-house, transforming it into economically valuable regenerated resources. It is expected to divert 15,000 metric tons of waste per year, reducing UMC’s total waste in Taiwan by up to one-third and generating approximately NT$100 million in economic value.

1. Risk Management：Responsible production and operations, with autonomous handling and control of waste flow, ensuring no waste is transported off-site, thereby reducing the risk of illegal dumping.
2. Carbon Emissions and Costs Reducing：Resource recovery is conducted on-site, shortening waste transportation distances, thereby reducing indirect value chain (Scope 3) carbon emissions and operational costs.
3. Raw Material Extraction Reducing：By reducing reliance on raw materials through resource recovery, the environmental impact of extraction activities is minimized.

The four main type of wastes treated in CERIC are：IPA waste、EBR waste、Mixed waste solvent and calcium fluoride sludge.

• Waste isopropanol and edge bead remover from wafer cleaning are treated into industrial-grade products, with the goal of producing electronic-grade recycled solvents that can return to the chipmaking process.
• Mixed waste solvents that cannot be distilled are converted into fuel gas for the facility’s operations through thermal cracking.
• Calcium fluoride sludge, another byproduct, is processed into artificial fluorite for use as a flux in steelmaking, replacing virgin materials and reducing environmental impact.

When you arrive at the CERIC, you are greeted by a copper sculpture. This artwork is made by a local artist at UMC’s invitation, using high-purity recycled copper pipes produced by UMC. With “circular”and “creation” as the key concepts, the artist tailor made this artwork whose medium also reflects the spirit of circularity and corporate sustainability.

Even before the establishment of the recycling center, UMC had been actively promoting waste recycling and reuse, such as electrolyzing copper sulfate waste liquid to produce metallic copper and recycling waste sulfuric acid for use in wastewater and exhaust gas treatment agents.

In the future, UMC will continue to collaborate with suppliers and waste management partners to expand the scale of the circular economy, turning waste into the starting point for the next journey and working together with the industry to co-create a sustainable future.