Biodiversity and No-Deforestation
At Infineon we are continuously looking for opportunities to improve our sustainability performance. Our Biodiversity strategy is part of IMPRES (Infineon Integrated Management Program for Environment, Energy, Safety, and Health) and contains a combination of elements related to the prevention and management of impacts on habitats resulting from our activities. Furthermore, possible occasional impacts are also regularly monitored and countermeasures derived if necessary. With this approach, we strive to be prepared and be capable of dealing with our impacts on biodiversity, while trying to reduce them.
We are also actively contributing for the general protection and restoration of biodiversity through local projects and engagement in local activities, such as reforestation, habitats restoration and collaborating with NGOs and Government partnership in several projects.
We Commit
- We are committed to avoid the impacts, and if not possible, to limit or reduce impacts on nature, and to be accountable for restoring areas and ecosystems adversely impacted by our business operations.
- Our commitment is part of Infineon CSR Policy and our performance is monitored by the Management Board.
- We are committed to the Sustainable Development Goal 15 “Life on Land”.
- We respect legally designated protected areas and key biodiversity areas.
- We conduct a location-specific biodiversity risk assessment
- We engage with our stakeholders for biodiversity conservation and restoration
We conduct risk assessment
As a worldwide company, we conducted a risk assessment on the dependency and impact related biodiversity risks for our main manufacturing sites and our Headquarters. Furthermore, we assess potential risks on our supply chain based on external risk indicators, such as the country and industry risk factors covering deforestation and Biodiversity. To know more about our due diligence process please see here.
The first step was the identification of our main drivers of biodiversity loss within our area of influence. In a second step, the assessment of potential risks derived from those main drivers of biodiversity loss resulting from our activities was conducted.
We Engage
Together with Rainforest Connection (RFCx), we are collaborating to equip a number of RFCx Guardian devices with Infineon's XENSIV™ PAS CO2 sensor, which allows CO2 data to be linked to the RFCx sound recordings and improve their biodiversity analysis to look for further insights on forest health and to identify areas that need to be protected.
Infineon Austria has launched a reforestation initiative in cooperation with Arge NATURSCHUTZ and the Villach District Forestry Inspectorate. In the first step, 1,650 trees were planted north of the Tauern Highway in the area of the eastern portal of the Oswaldibergtunnel in November.
On the International Day for Biological Diversity (22.May.2023), IFSSC employees volunteered to help clean up the invasive species Carpobrotus edulis (common names hottentot-fig, sour fig, ice plant or highway ice plant), a ground-creeping plant with succulent leaves, native to South Africa, at the beach. The task wasn't easy and required pulling hottentot-fig from its roots by hand.
Infineon supported the reforestation of the local forest in Warstein and has taken over the patronage of a 7-hectare forest area in the Arnsberg Forest. The first big planting party took place in mid-May, with the support of Infineon employees, who helped to plant 900 Douglas firs. In the fall, another planting festival will take place in this area.
Infineon Singapore employees came together and spent a morning with Waterways Watch Society to clean-up along the Kallang River. Every year, the Public Hygiene Council (PHC) holds the flagship initiative and the river clean-up is organized by Infineon Cares, IFAP's corporate citizenship initiative. Thanks to the hard work of our participants, the team managed to pick-up a total waste of 58.4kg!
Infineon has been planting mangrove trees in a forest reserve in Batam to help preserve natural habitats. In Kulim Infineon planted mangrove trees to protect the natural tsunami barrier and to prevent sea and river erosion.
In Shanghai Infineon won the Shanghai Daily's 2022 Excellence Award for Corporate Social Responsibility by accelerating the green transformation and contributing to the community, in particular for the Panda Habitat Restoration and Afforestation project.
Our site in Austin was certified as a Wildlife Habitat in the National Wildlife Federation’s worldwide network of mini-refuges, recognizing the establishment and maintenance of an official wildlife habitat and the owner’s conscientious planning, landscaping and sustainable gardening, which allows wildlife may find quality habitat.