Sustainable Operations

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 are a result of Lam’s operational activities, such as R&D, customer demonstrations, and manufacturing. For example, some of these emissions stem from process gasses that we use to develop and demonstrate our products. The challenge: Throughout the semiconductor industry, increasing technical tools tend to come with greater chemical and energy use. Adjusting these processes is also a highly complex and challenging problem, as even a small change in chemistry can have a substantial effect on the semiconductor product. Our solution is to continually explore ways to optimize the products we sell, the chemicals we use to test them, and the recipes our customers use in their own manufacturing. We also invest in leading emissions-control technologies, such as point-of-use abatement devices and house abatement systems, which break down high global warming potential gases and reduce our impact on the planet.

Our Scope 2 (market-based, indirect) emissions occur from electricity purchased to power Lam’s offices, manufacturing facilities, and labs. The challenge: As we expand our operations to keep pace with customer demands, our Scope 2 emissions increase. Our solution is to invest in solar panels to generate our own electricity, which we have already successfully implemented at several sites. This also enables us to generate renewable energy credits to offset our current emissions. As we make the transition toward renewable energy, we are also optimizing our facilities to make them more energy efficient. Recent initiatives include installing motion sensors for our lighting, upgrading our HVAC systems with variable frequency drives, and various other projects that are completed or underway.

Our Scope 2 (indirect) emissions are generated by activities in Lam’s supply chain and through product use. The challenge: 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. Our solution is to closely engage with suppliers and customers to encourage and support them in establishing SBTs. We are also developing more energy-efficient product and process solutions and establishing a baseline for our products’ energy consumption and GHG footprint.

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 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 sites in Springfield and Eaton, Ohio, we have implemented a brine recovery system that achieves approximately 40,000 to 45,000 gallons of water savings per day. Similarly, our Fremont, California, facility and our Korea Technology Center leverage systems for wastewater reclamation and recycling, as well as acid waste neutralization.

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
Our manufacturing processes use chemicals that produce hazardous waste, such as lab debris and waste that is corrosive or flammable. We follow strict controls to responsibly handle each of these streams and aim to divert hazardous waste from landfills by finding alternative methods of disposal.

We continue to divert most of our hazardous waste to offsite wastewater treatment and recycling facilities, which use treatment methods including fuel blending, solvent recovery, metal recycling, and deep-well injection. We also conduct a periodic risk assessment of our hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDF). Lam also works with CHWMEG—a nonprofit trade association whose members strive to efficiently steward waste—to perform comprehensive TSDF audits, the results of which we integrate into our risk assessment process.

Proactive chemical management
Our careful approach to waste management includes the chemicals people encounter during manufacturing. We use a chemical information management system to track and monitor our chemical inventories and facility chemical-use approvals for each site. Chemical management is also part of Lam’s EHS standards, which include guidelines related to the secondary containment of chemicals, spill prevention control (e.g., safe valves, sumps, leak detection), the prohibition of direct buried chemical tanks and pipes regardless of controls, fall protection tie-off points, and confined space safety features.

Lam employees have a talent for sparking innovation—a talent many of them leverage to help contribute to our ESG goals. 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 ESG 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.