Environmental Sustainability

Water and Recycled Water

The water withdrawal of Wafer Works has no significant impact on the local area. Both our Yangmei Fab and Longtan Fab are located in Taoyuan City. According to the "Water Resources Risk Assessment Tool" of the World Resources Institute, the water pressure in the region where Wafer Works is located is a medium-low risk area. The water source of Longtan Fab is tap water. Also, the plant is equipped with rainwater harvesting system, which rainwater is recovered and used after treated by sedimentation tank; the water sources of Yangmei Fab are tap water and groundwater well with water rights. When the plants were built and expanded, water use plans were submitted and approved by the relevant competent authority, and the water demand was assessed by the Second District Management Office, Taiwan Water Corporation. The water is sourced from the Shimen Reservoir, which had an average annual water supply of 556,730,000 metric tons from 2018 to 2022. In 2022, the Company's water withdrawal amounted to 2,353,790 metric tons, accounting for 0.42% of the total water withdrawal, which is below 5%. The Company's water use is not expected to have a significant impact on the local water supply.

The water resource management plan is based on three strategies of reduce, reuse and recycle. Wafer Works uses water-saving faucets or water-saving devices and water-saving toilets to reduce water consumption; the wastewater discharged from the water purification device is recycled to use for cooling towers and washing towers; at the same time, rainwater is collected for watering trees and plants. In addition, Wafer Works also recycles wastewater discharged from cutting and grinding equipment.

Energy Policy

Wafer Works is a professional semiconductor material supplier. In order to create a work environment that complies with the requirements of energy conservation and carbon reduction and fulfill our CSR of environmental health safety and continuous improvement, Wafer Works is committed to fully implementing energy management system. In order to demonstrate our determination in supporting the overall goal of energy management, and convey correct message to employees and all stakeholders, we commit ourselves to the following:

During the reporting period, energy use at Wafer Works' Longtan Fab was as shown in the table below. In terms of electricity used, our Longtan Fab used 15,137,600 more kWh in 2022 than in 2021, or an increase of 20.75%. This was primarily caused by construction of the 12-inch R&D production line and cleanroom at the Longtan Fab, and expanded production as a result of this. Due to successful energy-saving efforts at our Yangmei Fab, 5,230,800 fewer kWh of electricity was used there in 2022 than in 2021; the Yangmei Fab saw energy reductions of 18,975 GJ in 2022 as compared to 2021. The two fabs' overall 2022 electricity performance was 39.94 GJ per NT$1 million in revenue; performance in 2021 was 45.52 GJ/NT$1 million, so 2022 showed a 12.26% improvement in energy efficiency. In the future, Wafer Works will continue to implement a variety of energy-saving measures aimed at energy sustainability.

Energy Intensity

Energy Conservation Achievements

氣候變遷因應

合晶科技設有內控制度及內稽制度，也有風險管理相關辦法，因全球暖化導致的極端氣候，以及近年來環保節能、安全衛生及保育意識高漲，合晶科技需善盡其企業社會責任，方能於產業界有立足之地。合晶科技依據氣候相關財務揭露建議(Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, TCFD) 的架構，可分為治理、策略、風險管理、指標和目標等，由永續發展委員會下各委員進行鑑別氣候相關的風險與機會，擬定後續的因應策略，並且每年定期向董事會報告，由董事會監控執行成效。

2023 年度短中長期氣候風險與機會表

氣候相關衝擊

GHG Inventory

ESH (Environment, Safety and Health) Policy

Wafer Works is a professional semiconductor material supplier. In order to create a work environment that complies with the requirements of environmental protection and occupational safety and health and fulfill our CSR of environmental health safety and continuous improvement, Wafer Works is committed to fully implementing EMS and OSHMS. In order to demonstrate our determination in supporting the overall goal of ESH, and to convey correct message to employees and all stakeholders, we commit ourselves to the following: 

Wafer Works has established operation and maintenance (O&M) manuals for air pollution prevention and control, water pollution prevention and control, waste management, etc. Relevant units are actually implemented in accordance with requirements to ensure that all facilities are able to achieve their maximum effectiveness. At the same time, there are various monitoring systems installed at the discharge ports of the pollution control facilities. If the monitoring value exceeds the alarm threshold, the operators will immediately handle the incident according to the emergency response and notification procedures. We conduct emergency response drills for air pollution prevention and control and water pollution prevention and control every year and strengthen the environmental awareness of our internal staff to avoid environmental pollution and violation of regulations. With a comprehensive monitoring and management of pollution prevention and control, Wafer Works has not violated relevant environmental laws and regulations in 2022.

Air Pollution Prevention and Control

The air pollution control equipment strategies of Wafer Works are firstly, to reduce emissions of air pollutants through process rationalization, secondly, to use high-efficiency equipment to treat pollutants in exhaust gas, and the pollutant concentration emitted into atmosphere must comply with government requirements. The air pollution control equipment used by Wafer Works varies depending on the types and properties of air pollutants to be treated, which are basically divided into alkali gases, acid gases, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and the air pollutant emission complies with the regulatory standards of EPA, Executive Yuan. Wafer Works also attaches great importance to the rights and interests of neighboring companies and local community residents. Therefore, the operation status of all equipment is integrated into the central monitoring system, which is monitored 24 hours a day by personnel on duty, particularly for VOCs, which are equipped with continuous monitoring devices to continuously monitor the emission concentration to ensure all changes of operating conditions are within the continuous monitoring range, and notification will be immediately sent if the deviation exceeds the preset limit value.

Wafer Works also entrusts a third-party testing firm to perform air pollutant emission testing in accordance with regulations every year to ensure that the total plant emissions of VOCs and mineral acids comply with the standards of the total plant emissions, 0.6 kg/hr as specified in the "Air Pollution Control and Emissions Standards for the Semiconductor Industry" by EPA, Executive Yuan.

Waste Management and Circular Economy

Wafer Works adheres to the circular economy-based recycling model, focusing on waste reduction at the source. In 2021, it obtained the BS 8001 certification for circular economy (verified by SGS) and achieved Business Model Maturity: Optimizing. In 2022, it continues to maintain its operational performance, making an effort to contribute to waste reduction and circular economy.

Wafer Works has a comprehensive waste treatment and recycling mechanism. Municipal solid waste is transported to the government-designated incinerators by garbage collection vendors; while industrial wastes such as sludge, oil sludge are handled by local qualified waste treatment vendor after classification and collection. According to the waste treatment methods, the waste of Wafer Works can be divided into resource waste, general industrial waste by incineration, and general industrial waste by recycling. The following is the waste generation of various wastes from 2020 to 2022:

Wafer Works generates several types of industrial waste, including general industrial waste, hazardous industrial waste, empty containers of toxic substances, and recyclable waste. These waste types are stored and transported in compliance with relevant laws and regulations. The disposal methods for industrial waste at Wafer Works are as follows: 86% recycling, 10% incineration, and 4% resource recovery. Please refer to the "Waste Disposal Method Breakdown Chart" for more details. Wafer Works is committed to reducing pollution and waste through a focus on recycling and proper disposal practices. The main source of hazardous industrial waste at Wafer Works is chemical drums generated during the production process. Annual audits are conducted, and waste monitoring is carried out for each waste shipment, along with relevant data tracking. The 86% of waste recycled in 2022 includes not only general industrial waste but also hazardous industrial waste (chemical drums). For hazardous industrial waste, Wafer Works collaborates with waste disposal service providers to recycle waste chemical drums according to the following treatment process: cleaning, neutralization, testing, qualification, crushing, and plastic recovery. The Company has obtained approval from the competent authorities for casespecific reuse of waste chemical drums.