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[SEMICON EUROPA] Emphasizing the critical role that “Technology” and “Collaboration” plays to building a sustainable supply chain

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On November 14th, Samsung Semiconductor participated in the 2023 SEMICON EUROPA held at Messe München Germany. Themed “Shaping a Sustainable $1T Era”, this year’s SEMICON EUROPA invited key players across the semiconductor value chain to discuss the building of a long-lasting value market. Samsung Semiconductor was also invited to the event with VP Hosong Hwang, Head of the Environment Team, speaking at the event’s sustainability session, the “ITF toward NetZero” (Powered by imec*) forum, on "Building a Sustainable Semiconductor Value Chain with Technology and Collaboration." The keynote address highlighted the company’s environmental progress and sustainable technology as well as the importance of collaboration across the value chain.
□ Technology that makes Technology Sustainable In September 2022, Samsung Electronics announced its "New Environmental Strategy" outlining its ambition for future sustainability. In line with this, Samsung Semiconductor has set carbon, water, waste, and pollutant reduction targets, visioning to achieve them with "Technology that makes Technology Sustainable.” A year after, at SEMICON EUROPA, Samsung Semiconductor shared progress and efforts to discover and develop new environmental technology. Moreover, by establishing dedicated future technology R&D institutions such as the Air Science Research Center, Samsung Semiconductor looks into future technologies such as Carbon Capture & Utilization (CCU) to utilize emitted carbon. Furthermore, it to not only adopt such technology for itself but to expand to partners so that the supply chain can comprehensively achieve Net Zero. □ Diversifying Collaboration The IT industry, which Samsung Semiconductor is a part of, is a high-energy and resource consuming industry, making collaboration with various stakeholders such as customers, governments, and local community partners essential. As such at the event, Samsung Semiconductor went on to share various collaboration cases aimed at making sustainability a reality. A notable example highlighted during the session was the business agreement on water resource recycling between Samsung Semiconductor, the Ministry of Environment, and municipal governments. This initiative aims to suppress water consumption by reusing discharged sewage water from local cities for industrial purposes, generated considerable interest among the event’s participants. Samsung Semiconductor also shared various carbon reduction efforts, such as utilizing aluminum extracts from discarded smartphones to produce the Company’s Portable SSD products. Considering the growing significance of supply chain emissions, Samsung Semiconductor addressed the role of tier 1 material suppliers and opened its sustainable material cycle, emphasizing its commitment to building a sustainable semiconductor value chain.
□ ESG Leadership within the Global Semiconductor Value Chain Samsung Semiconductor actively fulfills its role as an ESG leader within the semiconductor value chain by participating in various global initiatives, consortiums, and programs. In November 2022, the company joined the Semiconductor Climate Consortium (SCC) organized by SEMI*** and is actively engaged as a member of the consortium's Governing Council. During the session, Samsung Semiconductor highlighted its participation in SCC’s Working Groups and the importance of communication and collective idea shaping to derive solutions to tackle climate challenges. Furthermore, Samsung Semiconductor discussed its involvement in Sustainable Semiconductor Technologies & Systems (SSTS) program led by imec, host of the event’s sustainability session. Continuing to demonstrate the commitment to minimizing environmental impacts throughout the semiconductor value chain. Lastly, during the subsequent panel discussion, Samsung Semiconductor sat with industry peers, representing research institute, equipment manufacturer, customer, and material supplier, to discuss tangible solutions and strategies to tacking climate issues. Panels agreed to the significance of collaboration across the supply chain where every players have a role to play to achieve industry’s sustainability. To this, Samsung Semiconductor expressed its determination to continuously lead the semiconductor value chain toward sustainability by collaborating with various stakeholders and harnessing sustainable future technologies.
*imec : headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, the imec is known for its expertise in semiconductor technology and is leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies **SEMI: founded in 1970, SEMI serve as a platform for collaboration, advocacy, and advancing interest of members within the semiconductor, display, and related electronic part supply chain. The association hosts over 2,500 members companies, including Samsung Electronics, and 1.3million experts in the association. It host major regional semiconductor events such as SEMICON Korea/West/EUROPA to promote and advocate members. With interest to sustainability on the rise, SEMI also host and moderates related discussions to which Samsung Semiconductor actively participates in.