Our Vision: Do more while using less.
Our shared natural resources are essential to human and environmental health. They’re also critical in fueling Lam’s innovation pipeline. To continue delivering benefits for our company and society over the long term, we seek to find ways to conserve these resources, even as Lam’s business grows.
In our R&D and manufacturing processes, we practice responsible water and waste management. We also focus on energy efficiency as we expand our operations and design new products. These factors serve as building blocks to achieve our sustainable operations goals, which include achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
Focus areas
Climate & energy
Together, we seek to accelerate Lam’s path to net zero. Along our path to net zero, we strive to address emissions across Lam’s value chain. This includes emissions generated by our supply chain, our operations, and the use and impact of our products.
Water
Our business relies on high-quality water. By investing in new water-saving technologies and efficiency upgrades, we’re finding ways to make better use of this precious resource.
Waste
Through collaboration, we aspire to improve manufacturing efficiency and employ strong waste management practices. We seek to embed sustainable design principles to move toward a circular future.
Biodiversity
We recognize that biodiversity and ecosystem services enable our business to operate and that there is potential for our direct operations and supply chain to have impacts on biodiversity.
Climate & energy
Together, we are accelerating Lam’s path to net zero.
Along our path to net zero, we strive to address each aspect of Lam’s value chain emissions. This includes emissions generated by our supply chain, our operations, and the use and impact of our products.
As we accelerate climate action, we aspire to align with science-based best practices. Lam was the first U.S.-based semiconductor equipment manufacturer to receive the Science Based Targets Initiative’s (SBTi) approval for our near-term greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions-reduction goals. The SBTi’s Target Validation Team re-validated Lam’s Scope 1 and 2 target as being in line with a 1.5°C trajectory—the most ambitious SBTi designation available. We also strive to engage our suppliers and customers worldwide to support them in setting science-based targets (SBTs) of their own.
Lam is a founding member of the Semiconductor Climate Consortium, the first global, ecosystem-wide collaborative of semiconductor companies dedicated to reducing the industry’s GHG emissions.
We are also a founding member of the Energy Collaborative (EC), a joint initiative created by SEMI and the Semiconductor Climate Consortium.
Addressing each scope
Each part of Lam’s value chain presents unique emissions-reduction challenges and opportunities to make progress toward our net zero goal. To achieve progress on all fronts, we emphasize innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Here’s how we’re driving reductions across each scope:
Our Scope 1 (direct) emissions make up a relatively small part of our carbon footprint and are a result of Lam’s operational activities, such as R&D, customer demonstrations, and manufacturing. Key contributors include process chemistries, natural gas consumption, and refrigerants. To address them, we’re focused on optimizing our processes, products, and facilities to make them more energy- and resource-efficient.
Goal: By the end of 2030, reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) GHG emissions by 46.2% from a 2019 baseline ✓ SBTi approved1
Our Scope 2 (market-based, indirect) emissions make up a relatively small portion of our carbon footprint and occur from electricity purchased to power Lam’s offices, manufacturing facilities, and labs. To address them, we are maximizing energy efficiency through capital and strategic energy management projects. We are also investing in large-scale projects to transition to renewable electricity—such as installing solar panels, as we have done at several sites—and purchasing renewable energy credits to offset our current emissions.
Goal: By the end of 2030, source 100% renewable electricity ✓ SBTi approved
Our Scope 3 (indirect) emissions make up the largest portion of our carbon footprint and are generated by activities in Lam’s supply chain and through product use. Because we have less control over these activities, it’s more difficult to measure and mitigate emissions. We also estimate that our products have an average lifetime of 25 years, and while a long lifetime supports circularity, it increases our emissions related to product use. To address them, we are closely engaging with our suppliers and customers to encourage and support them in establishing SBTs, reducing their climate impacts, and identifying opportunities to reduce energy and emissions associated with the use of our products.
Lam is a member of RE100, a global corporate renewable energy initiative led by the Climate Group that unites 400 large businesses for 100% renewable electricity.
Goal: 46.5% of suppliers and 83% of customers by emissions have SBTs by the end of 2025 ✓ SBTi approved2
Water
We make the most of this precious resource.
Water serves many purposes in semiconductor manufacturing. Water, in particular, is essential for Lam’s business, since we use it for our chillers, house scrubbers, process cooling water systems, and soft water treatment plants. We share our water resources with communities and ecosystems that exist near Lam’s facilities around the world. With this in mind, we strive to managing water responsibly and sustainably.
Identifying water-stressed regions
Lam operates in areas across the world, all of which have unique water-related risks, regulations, and challenges. In 2019, we used the World Resources Institute Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas to identify which of our facilities are in water-stressed regions. Through this process, we identified two California sites, and our manufacturing facility in South Korea. In 2021, we updated the list to include our new manufacturing facility in Malaysia, our leased facilities in India, and our new Korea Technology Center. Due to the changing climate and global human distribution, water-stressed regions shift over time. As such, we will continue to periodically review and update this list.
Practicing strong water stewardship
The first key to strong water stewardship is to ensure compliance, so we monitor our industrial wastewater and stormwater discharges in accordance with local regulatory requirements. Additionally, our Global Workplace Solutions (GWS) team regularly explores new water-saving technologies and guides our facilities to invest in efficiency upgrades based on the results of water audits and emerging best practices. Often, we are able to repurpose process-based wastewater to support other areas of our operations.
Through sustainable water management initiatives, we find new ways to do more while using less. For example, we recycle treated wastewater for house scrubbers and point-of-use abatement units and use brackish water for landscaping and fire suppression. We have implemented water recovery units in several of our abatement systems in California, and at our Lam subsidiary, Silfex—in Eaton and Springfield, Ohio—we have reduced wastewater through advanced cleaning and reclamation projects. Our Fremont, California, facility and our Korea Technology Center leverage systems for wastewater reclamation and recycling, as well as acid waste neutralization.
Goal: By the end of 2025, achieve 80 million gallons of water savings in water-stressed regions from a 2019 baseline ✓ Achieved one year early
Waste
We’re exploring new ways to reduce and manage operational waste.
Lam generates both non-hazardous and hazardous waste in the process of researching, developing, and manufacturing products. We actively monitor this waste and engage in collective industry efforts to raise the bar on industry management practices. Additionally, our ISO 14001 multi-site certification drives us to reduce our environmental impact by using materials efficiently.
Embracing circularity to manage non-hazardous waste
Most of the waste that Lam generates consists of non-hazardous materials such as wood pallets, cardboard and packaging, and municipal waste. With an eye toward circularity, we regularly explore new ways to reduce, recover, reuse, and recycle these waste materials. We also work with a third party to audit and optimize our waste processes and engage our employees to support and advance waste-reduction practices. Examples of practices we have explored and implemented include the use of receptacles, signage, composting, and compacting.
Responsibly handling hazardous waste and diverting it from landfills
Hazardous waste that we generate primarily results from chemicals used in R&D. This waste can include lab debris and other corrosive or flammable byproducts. We manage hazardous waste carefully in our operations. Our preference is to recycle the waste where possible and divert it from landfills. Where feasible, we install onsite pretreatment systems to reduce the generation of hazardous waste. These systems typically require industrial wastewater permits before they discharge wastewater into publicly owned treatment facilities. In addition, as part of our environmental due diligence, we audit new and existing offsite hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs). We integrate the audit results into our overall TSDF selection and risk assessment process.
Proactive chemical management
We formed a working group led by Lam Environmental Health and Safety to develop a process for reviewing new chemicals that may pose high or unknown risks. This process includes conducting a process hazard analysis (PHA) when necessary. As part of the PHA, we identify chemicals and uses that have the potential to pose risks to facility employees, workers, the community, and the environment. We identify any current safeguards and controls and create a list of recommended actions to mitigate the significant risks.
Lam’s chemical approval process proactively identifies, assesses, and controls risks associated with installing new process modules or tools, introducing new chemicals or processes, and modifying existing modules or tools. Our chemical information management system comprehensively tracks inventory, movement, and consumption of onsite chemicals. We are committed to continuous improvement in chemical management to minimize associated environmental impacts and uphold safety and compliance standards.
Lam works with our suppliers and chemical management systems to underscore our ongoing compliance and preparedness for changes in regulation.
Goal: By the end of 2025, achieve zero waste to landfill for hazardous waste
Biodiversity
We recognize that biodiversity and ecosystem services enable our business to operate, and that there is potential for our direct operations and supply chain to have impacts on biodiversity.
To better understand our potential impacts, we conducted the company’s first high-level biodiversity assessment, which analyzed dependency and potential impact-related risks for our key manufacturing facilities, lab operations, and offices, as well as supplier locations. The assessment used a location-based approach, following the Locate, Evaluate, Assess, and Prepare (LEAP) methodology from the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures.
Amplifying our impact through employee-led action
Lam employees have a talent for sparking innovation. Across multiple continents, we engage our employees to support environmental action. From North America to Asia to Europe, employees drive initiatives forward to develop more efficient products and processes while minimizing waste.
In their local communities, employees join causes to help protect biodiversity, plant trees, and advocate for climate action. Many do so through the Lam Employee Sustainability Community (LESC), a global employee resource group (ERG) that empowers participants to support sustainable change. By engaging and educating colleagues and increasing the visibility of Lam’s sustainability initiatives, LESC plays a significant role in realizing best-in-class environmental stewardship at Lam. We also hold annual Environmental Stewardship Awards to recognize employees’ sustainability-focused efforts and the important outcomes they have achieved.
Caution regarding forward-looking statements
Statements made on our Company webpage that are not of historical fact are forward-looking statements and are subject to the safe harbor provisions created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements relate to, but are not limited to: our goal to be net zero by 2050, our ESG strategy and related goals, our renewable electricity goals, our continued commitment to business integrity, the strength and effectiveness of our ethics and compliance framework, our environmental footprint, sustainability in our industry, our social impacts, and the sustainability of our products and operations. Some factors that may affect these forward-looking statements include: trade regulations and tariffs, export controls, trade disputes, and other geopolitical tensions may inhibit our ability to sell our products; business, political and/or regulatory conditions in the consumer electronics industry, the semiconductor industry and the overall economy may deteriorate or change; the actions of our customers and competitors may be inconsistent with our expectations; supply chain cost increases and other inflationary pressures have impacted and may continue to impact our profitability; supply chain disruptions or manufacturing capacity constraints may limit our ability to manufacture and sell our products; and natural and human-caused disasters, disease outbreaks, war, terrorism, political or governmental unrest or instability, or other events beyond our control may impact our operations and revenue in affected areas; as well as the other risks and uncertainties that are described in the documents filed or furnished by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including specifically the Risk Factors described in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and our quarterly report on Form 10-Q. These uncertainties and changes could materially affect the forward-looking statements and cause actual results to vary from expectations in a material way. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Additionally, while we leverage various frameworks and other standards in our disclosures, such standards are ultimately only used to inform our disclosures and we cannot guarantee (and no language of “alignment” or similar should be understood to mean) complete adherence to such standards or any particular stakeholders’ interpretation of same. Our disclosures based on standards may change due to revisions in framework requirements, availability or quality of information, changes in our business or applicable governmental policies, or other factors, which may be within or outside of our control. Similarly, some of the information in this Report is reliant on third-party information or methodologies. Any inaccuracies or changes in such information or methodologies, whether within or outside of our control, could cause results and performance to differ from what is reported. In addition, various aspects of this report are based on processes and procedures that we believe apply appropriate levels of support to address issues in scope and, while these statements may use words such as “ensure”, “prevent”, or similar language, such terms should not be considered to mean (as there can be no guarantee) that such efforts will be successful in all situations.
Separately, certain information included in this Report may be used for compliance with various legal obligations; however, this Report is necessarily broader than certain legal requirements, and any such use shall not be deemed to incorporate portions of this Report that are not responsive to such obligations or references to same. It is not intended, and we hereby disclaim, any legal relations, rights or obligations to any third-party in connection with these disclosures. Moreover, by providing this information, neither we nor any of our affiliates are conceding any specific item is required or applicable under any legal obligation, nor are we conceding any particular interpretation of such legal requirements. Moreover, in certain circumstances, information included in this Report may differ from information included in regulatory reporting due to differences in methodologies for the calculation of certain metrics or other factors, which may be within or outside of our control.
- We have revised our 2030 Scope 1 and 2 emissions-reduction target, due to ongoing due diligence revealing a need to adjust our baseline. The revised goal remains in line with SBTi expectations.
- For more information on our methodology, please see the About this Report page of our 2024 Global Impact report.