Decarbonizing supplier emissions has emerged as a priority for semiconductor manufacturers. According to senior partner Mark Patel and colleagues, purchased materials—from chemicals to silicon wafers—account for 62 percent of Scope 3 upstream emissions (or, those originating from suppliers). Semiconductor players can look to reduce supplier emissions by redesigning or enhancing product specifications and optimizing use of materials, among other measures.
Image description:
A square area chart shows the percentage share of Scope 3 emissions in typical semiconductor fabrication. The top portion of chart shows that purchased raw materials account for 62% of Scope 3 emission, separated into 6 categories: chemicals, 22% (including acids, 9%; solvents, 7%; water purification, 5%; and other photoresists and specialty chemicals, 2%); silicon wafers, 15%; gases, 13% (including nitrogen, 7%, fluorinated gases, 3%, noble gases, 2%, and other deuterium, silane, and oxygen, 1%); metals, 8% (including tantalum, 3%, aluminum, 2%; tungsten/wolfram, 2%; and other copper, gold, and titanium, 1%); slurry, pads, and conditioners, 3%; and quartz, plating, reticles, 2%.
Note: Figures may not sum to 100%, because of rounding.
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To read the article, see “Beyond the fab: Decarbonizing Scope 3 upstream emissions,” October 9, 2023.