Micron Technology, Inc. today announced that the World Economic Forum (WEF) has named its facility in Singapore as a Sustainability Lighthouse – the first front-end semiconductor fab in the world to have received this recognition.
The designation demonstrates Micron’s leading position in driving the future of sustainable manufacturing and acknowledges Micron’s proactive approach to eco-efficient operations that are good for its business and the planet. Micron’s manufacturing facilities in Singapore and Taiwan were first awarded WEF Global Lighthouse Network (GLN) status in 2020 for their elite facilities that are leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“Sustainably operating leading edge semiconductor manufacturing facilities at scale requires sophisticated artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques that can efficiently analyze and process data,” said Manish Bhatia, executive vice president of Global Operations at Micron Technology. “We’re proud to be recognized by the World Economic Forum for our industry leadership in paving the future for smart and sustainable factories.”
“Members of the Global Lighthouse Network – a unique global community of like-minded peers – are exploring synergies and collaborating to share insights and best practices on how to unlock not only efficiency, productivity and growth, but also new levels of sustainability and workforce engagement, to lead towards a cleaner and more inclusive future of manufacturing,” said Francisco Betti, head of Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains, World Economic Forum. “Micron as a leader in its approach to environmental stewardship, will be able to share knowledge and best practices with peers, support new partnerships and help other manufacturers deploy technology, adopt sustainable practices and transform their operations.”
Micron’s manufacturing approach includes implementation of AI tools, smart control systems and predictive maintenance to improve production efficiency and automation. The company leverages data analytics, smart-controlled systems, predictive maintenance and deep learning technologies to improve automation, reduce energy use and emissions. Micron Singapore has been ramping up its production in line with industry demand growth and produced the world’s first 232-layer 3D NAND- the most advanced NAND technology in the industry. At the same time, it has grown sustainably by reducing resources used per gigabyte produced by 45% from 2018 to 2021.
Micron has committed to spending $1 billion by 2028 to meet its environmental targets. These goals include achieving 75% water conservation and 95% waste diversion globally in 2030, and commits to net-zero emissions from its operations and purchased energy (scopes 1&2) by 2050 with 42% absolute emissions reduction across the company’s global operations (scope 1) from 2020 levels by 2030 as a milestone on the way. The company also focuses on procuring renewable energy globally to support its net zero objective and continues to target 100% renewable energy in the U.S. by the end of 2025. Through this combination of short-term targets and long-term commitments, Micron seeks to align its goals to the objective of the Paris Agreement on climate change to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees C.