Lam Research Corp. (Nasdaq: LRCX) today published its annual Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report detailing the company’s progress in reducing its environmental footprint, driving a healthy and safe workforce, advancing inclusion and diversity, and contributing positively to the broader community.
“The world’s response to the devastating pandemic has illuminated how we can transform our planet and intensify the best in humanity when we all work together towards a common goal,” said Tim Archer, president and chief executive officer of Lam Research. “I could not be prouder of the incredible efforts of Lam’s workforce to deliver for our customers and answer the call from our communities in need under the most challenging of circumstances. And in that spirit, I’m pleased to announce our goals detailed in the ESG Report include operating 100% on renewable energy by 2030 and becoming carbon net zero by 2050 to contribute to a more sustainable world.”
The company is proactively implementing environmental measures throughout its operations, from operational practices to the design of its products. In 2020, Lam made advances toward its 2025 sustainable operations goals in energy savings, water conservation, waste abatement, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. This includes goals of reducing scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 25% from a 2019 baseline; achieving 12 million kWh in energy savings; conducting waste audits at applicable factory sites; reducing waste to landfill to 0%; and saving 17 million gallons of water in water stressed areas.
The recently released report provides an in-depth review of Lam’s ESG goals and strategies, as well as accomplishments in 2020. Key highlights include:
- COVID-19 Relief and Recovery: As part of the company’s $25 million commitment for global COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts, Lam designated $7 million for assistance in communities where employees live and work. Funds were localized to each community’s specific needs, such as food security, shelter, education, personal protective equipment for local hospitals, and longer-term recovery efforts. This included a 2-for-1 matching gift campaign for employee monetary donations to COVID-19 relief programs. More than 200 organizations were supported through the company’s efforts in 2020, and Lam’s commitment continues into 2021.
- Workplace Health and Safety: In response to the pandemic, Lam deployed measures to ensure the health and safety of its employees. The company’s incident management teams implemented administrative, engineering, and environmental controls at each company site to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In 2020, Lam’s global recordable incident rate was 64% less than the industry average.
- Inclusion and Diversity: Inclusion and diversity (I&D) is a strategic focus area for Lam, and the company invested in I&D practices across the employee experience, including training, engagement, and company policy. This past year, 98% of all employees took part in a web-based microinequities training, fostering a more inclusive culture. Lam continues to activate eight employee resource groups connecting more than 1,100 employees and has ongoing relationships with industry partners and leading organizations in the I&D community.
- Responsible Products: The Sense.i® product family’s new innovations in RF power and controls technology not only improve performance but also increase efficiency and enable customers to reduce the RF power used by 10-20% for each wafer etched. With new design and advanced manufacturing approaches, Lam eliminated 15,000 pounds of aluminum raw material per Sense.i tool. This reduces the resources consumed in the initial production of the unnecessary aluminum plate and in the recycling stream of 1.5 million pounds per year.
In collaboration with ASML and imec, Lam introduced a groundbreaking dry photoresist technology for extreme ultraviolet patterning that uses five to ten times less chemistry and two times less energy to create the same result, delivering significant cost savings and a more sustainable solution for chipmakers.
- Extending the Equipment Lifecycle: Many of the technical advances Lam introduces in its newest products are available as upgrades through its Customer Support Business Group (CSBG), providing customers with a cost-effective strategy for extending the performance and capabilities of their existing installed base. Additionally, CSBG provides refurbished previous-generation equipment for applications that do not require the most advanced wafer processing capability, which results in avoiding the environmental impacts of manufacturing a new tool.
Lam’s Spares offerings enable the re-use of high value spare parts through a variety of re-cleaning, repair, refurbishment and re-coating services. Part lifetime extension, enabled by re-cleaning services, translates to approximately $400 million of reduction in materials consumption per year. Part re-use enabled by repair and refurbishment services translates to approximately $150 million of reduction in materials consumption per year.
Last week, Lam also announced the closing of an inaugural $1.5 billion sustainability-linked credit facility, demonstrating the importance of the company’s ESG goals. Over the credit facility term, Lam will receive a pricing adjustment if the company is above or below performance targets around annual energy savings and maintaining its high standard of employee safety.