Micron’s products and technologies enable a wide range of applications that benefit society in myriad ways, yet we are mindful that our business, operations and sourcing practices impact our employees, the communities in which we operate and the planet, as well as our customers’ sustainability performance. We strive to make this impact as positive as possible over time through a sustainability strategy that is focused on:
The execution of this strategy is centered around initiatives that drive stakeholder value through enterprisewide goals and transparency.
Integrating sustainability into our business is strategically important, helping Micron to both capitalize on opportunities and better manage risks. Sustainability, for example, can be a differentiator when recruiting potential employees in a highly competitive talent market and can provide a platform for increasing engagement, satisfaction and productivity among current employees. Natural resource conservation and waste minimization make us a more disciplined and efficient operation, which in turn can directly enhance our bottom line. And conducting our business with integrity and in a socially responsible manner supports our license to operate in the communities where we are located.
While working to realize these opportunities, we also are focused on assessing, quantifying and managing sustainability risks. Climate change, extreme weather events and natural disasters, as well as carbon pricing, pose risks to our supply chains, operations and markets. We work to better understand and address these through collaboration among our sustainability, enterprise risk management, environmental health and safety, and responsible sourcing programs. Current efforts include improving operational energy efficiency, reviewing our climate-related risks aligned with financial disclosure standards and exploring additional science-based goals and targets. More about how these efforts are being used to build resilience into our strategy, processes and decisions can be found in the Enterprise Risk Management section below.
Our customers are increasingly focused on the environmental, social and governance performance of their suppliers, including Micron. Many customers use sustainability as one of the criteria to evaluate Micron’s overall performance as part of their own management of supply chain and reputation risks, looking at transparency, risk management, environmental and social performance, responsible sourcing and other related topics. Customers include this information in supplier performance evaluations and purchasing decisions, alongside quality, delivery, technology, service and price. In 2018, sustainability became a fully integrated sales performance metric at Micron. Our sales team leaders, account managers and sustainability leaders work closely with our customers to share information about our sustainability efforts and performance, drive action and build trust.
Micron’s sustainability program continues to make significant strides in transparency and accountability through a cross-functional sustainability council composed of senior leaders from across the company, as well as a dedicated sustainability team. As the following diagram illustrates, sustainability is managed throughout the company with oversight extending to the highest level, the Micron Board of Directors.
Our enterprise risk management (ERM) program has a unified approach to identifying and monitoring risks, opportunities and responses. Micron’s goal is to integrate ERM practices companywide to improve decision-making in governance, strategy, objective-setting and daily operations. We do this by providing tools and knowledge, facilitating open global communication and continuously monitoring and reporting our findings. Our risk committee is appointed by our CEO and reports major findings to the Board of Directors and the Board’s audit committee.
When risks are identified, risk management personnel conduct formal assessments and analysis based on business intelligence and trends. Risks are classified into four categories: strategic, operational, internal and external compliance, and financial. In each of these categories, there is a defined tolerance range. We prioritize issues based on the company’s overall risk exposure. The risk management team then recommends actions, and Micron leaders are accountable for managing risks affecting their areas of responsibility. As part of our alignment of ERM and sustainability, we have incorporated sustainability risks from our materiality assessment, including climate, energy and water, into our ERM portfolio.
Crisis and business continuity management supports our ERM program by preparing our critical operations to respond, recover and restore operations if a disruption occurs. Business continuity plans are in place for all critical operations and take an all-hazards approach, meaning we prepare for a disruption to all elements of our value chain, such as workforce, facilities, information technology or supply chain.
Learn moreabout Micron’s materiality assessment process.
Underpinning our sustainability strategy, the work of our sustainability council, and the topics covered in this sustainability report are insights from a materiality assessment.
Once every three years, Micron conducts a materiality assessment, an exercise that organizations use to ensure that the issues customers, investors, employees, policymakers, community members and other stakeholders care about are reflected in sustainability initiatives, goals and reporting (learn more about our stakeholders). A materiality assessment begins with an extensive list of sustainability issues that covers all aspects of our business. Internal and external Micron stakeholders review this list and then answer two questions:
The results are calculated and plotted on a matrix to visualize the relationship of the issues most important to our stakeholders and most important to our business success. We use this map as a tool to identify those areas where we have the greatest potential to drive meaningful change and enhance transparency.
Micron conducted our latest materiality assessment in FY18, and the priorities identified are:
