Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. said it fell short of its sustainability targets as a result of the accelerated production of advanced chips to meet growing world demand.
The company's latest corporate sustainability report showed its water, electricity and raw material usage increased for the third consecutive year in 2020. The report said the increase was a result of the establishment of new manufacturing facilities and more advanced chip manufacturing processes.
TSMC said it fell short of its annual goal of reducing its per-wafer water usage by 10% last year. It reduced usage by 8.9% only. However, overall usage grew to 25% - or 193,000 tons last year.
The company, which works for Apple, Google, Intel and Sony, missed its waste reduction targets for the year. In its report, the company said it fell short of its goal of reducing waste to less than 0.88 kilograms per unit.
TSMC attributed increased waste to the cleaning and optimization necessary for new chip production technologies. The company set a goal of cutting waste to fewer than 0.5 kilograms a unit by 2030.
In energy consumption, the company met its goal of adopting up to 7.6% of its energy needs using renewable sources. The company consumed 16,900 Gigawatts last year - up by 18% from 2019. TSMC said it is still on track to meet its goal of utilizing 25% renewable energy sources by 2030. By the end of this year, the company aims to use renewable energy for 9% of its needs.
TSMC upgraded some of its extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, which now consume 10 times more power. The company acquired the EUV machines from ASML, which it says are the most advanced in the industry.
The company is working to develop more energy-efficient versions - including ones that will consume 5% less power. TSMC will introduce the new models next year.
