Social responsibility thanks to the individual commitment of the Infineon employees
Companies today increasingly face the challenge of how to balance not only economic but also ecological and social considerations. Infineon's guiding principle in this context is sustainability. The scope of our measures ranges from the economical use of resources to the protection of the environment on a global scale and to the support of local projects.
Achieve savings potential
Environmental impact cannot be completely avoided in the production of semiconductors. Yet, over the past few years we have made extensive efforts to reduce PFC (Perfluorinated Compounds) emissions that contribute to the greenhouse effect. It is our goal to reduce PFC emissions by 10 percent by the year 2010 compared to levels in 1995. Emissions are calculated in carbon dioxide equivalents, the unit of measurement used for the contribution of a gas to the greenhouse effect. Based on the semiconductor industry's average 15-percent annual growth rate in worldwide production volume, this means that PFC emissions will be reduced by approximately 90 percent by 2010 vis-à-vis 1995 - again based on carbon dioxide equivalents.
In the 2004 financial year, we devised a method at our site in Villach to recycle the chemical compound sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) on site. It is one of the PFCs and is mainlyused as an inert gas in operational tests for power semiconductor circuits. Its global warming potential is 23,900 times higher than that of carbon dioxide. By recycling SF6, we are another step closer to achieving our goal of reducing PFC emissions.
At our Dresden production site, we have reduced the nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) consumption required for chamber cleaning by more than 30 percent. Like SF6, NF3 is one of the PFCs. These examples show that economy and ecology can form a synergy - since a reduction of resources and emissions is not only beneficial for the environment, it also reduces production costs.
Another example is Infineon Regensburg, which received the city's Environmental Prize for the fifth time. In special recognition of the site's constant endeavors to improve environmental protection, the site was also presented with the Bavarian Environmental Medal in November 2003. Over the past years the site's economical use of resources, such as water reclamation and heat recovery measures have achieved moderate cost savings for the company.
A well-functioning environmental management
Infineon's environmental management system ensures the implementation of our environmental commitment throughout the company. This management system is certified in accordance with EN ISO 14001 which is convincing evidence of the fact that environmental protection is an important objective in our company and one that is actively pursued. In the 2004 financial year, our Richmond site in Virginia, USA, also qualified to be added to the Infineon multi-site certificate.
Certified environmental management system in accordance with EN ISO 14001
It is extremely important to us that our customers are aware of our high environmental standards. At the same time, our customers increasingly demand that their suppliers also adhere to prescribed environmental standards. Since April 2004 for instance, only suppliers recognized as a Sony 'Green Partner' are allowed to provide the Japanese electronics manufacturer with products. After its environmental audit, Sony officially awarded 'Green Partner Status' to the Infineon sites in Singapore, Japan, Malaysia and Portugal. Our Singapore site, for example, achieved 98.4 of a possible 100 points.
Savings through our products
Saving energy is an important part of effective environmental protection. Infineon also develops and delivers innovative solutions with lower power consumption, which help to consume less energy, and thus make a positive contribution to people and the environment.
Our innovative LightMOS chips in fluorescent tubes help save electricity. These chips use electricity far more efficiently, thereby reducing power consumption of lighting systems by up to 25 percent. The new generation of Mobile-RAMs with a 1.8 V power supply makes it possible to reduce the power consumption in portable devices such as cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 players and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) by up to 80 percent.
In terms of saving energy, the CoolSET F3 chips established a record. These products have the lowest standby power consumption in the entire industry. It even surpasses the specifications of standards such as the German Blue Angel Eco Norm and North America's Energy Star Program. Typical areas of application for these chips are adapters for notebooks and portable electronic devices as well as integrated power supply units for DVD players, LCD televisions and digital video cameras.
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Taking social responsibility seriously
Infineon is involved in a variety of projects that extend beyond safety at work and environmental protection. In addition, many of our employees are involved in social concerns or work as volunteers in different regions.
Educating children is not only beneficial to the children themselves but in the long term also to society in general. For this reason, employees at different Infineon sites organize environmental and health projects at various local schools.
Infineon employees also help build up charitable organizations: they are, for instance, supporting the work of "Educara" both actively and with their donations. Educara is an association set up to support children's education in one of the poorest regions of Brazil: its goal is to help people help themselves. The association promotes and supports talented children and adolescents to develop their sense of social responsibility by motivating them to help others.
For more detailed information about our environmental endeavors please refer to our Environmental Report which, among other things, provides specific facts and figures for the individual production sites. It is available on request from Infineon Technologies AG.