Micron is making progress in energy savings by focusing on the areas where our potential is greatest, such as new buildings. We consider sustainable building attributes, such as Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED), the world’s top rating system for green buildings, as part of design. Many of our newest buildings have achieved LEED Gold status, including our newest wafer fab expansion in Singapore, our assembly and test facility in Taiwan, and our site in Vimercate, Italy, and we design and build all new construction to meet or exceed that standard.
Our approach to GHG management begins with collecting, analyzing and reporting data specific to these emissions. We report on GHG emissions through CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project. CDP is the primary international organization enabling standardized environmental data reporting on GHG emissions and other environmental criteria for companies, cities, states and regions. In 2019, we received a score of C on CDP’s climate list and B- on its water security list, and we will continue to strengthen our performance and disclosures.
The semiconductor industry is working to reduce emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-GHG), a potent source of emissions that result from manufacturing processes. Despite years of research into alternatives for F-GHG, few suitable substitutes exist that would apply to all uses. We do, however, focus on reduction of F-GHG emissions through point-of-use abatement and demonstrate more than a 75% reduction of F-GHG emissions to achieve the IEEE P1680.1 Standard for Environmental and Social Responsibility Assessment of Computers and Displays.
Micron also focuses on reducing our emissions by upgrading building controls in new construction with state-of-the-art systems. For an administrative building in Singapore, updating HVAC systems, adding light sensors, replacing aging equipment, and installing solar panels will reduce grid power demand. And as part of a series of expansions at our facility in Hiroshima, Japan, we are integrating specialty chillers with waste heat recovery systems into the new construction, an improvement that will annually avoid nearly 60,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
As we implement programs and targets to support our aspirational environmental goals over the course of 2020, we look forward to documenting these and reporting on our progress.
