Infineon Technologies announced its commitment to set a science-based target. By that the company expands its climate strategy even further. The semiconductor manufacturer is very well on track towards CO2-neutrality by 2030, relating to its direct and indirect energy related emissions in Scope 1 and 2. After having already reduced these emissions by almost 57 percent to date versus the base year of 2019, Infineon now sets itself even more ambitious targets by involving the supply chain in Scope 3 in the company’s climate protection efforts.
“Decarbonization is a guiding principle for Infineon. We have made great progress. With our commitment to set a science-based target, we are taking the next important step, adhering to the widely respected global standard for tackling climate change”, says Elke Reichart, Chief Digital Transformation Officer and responsible for Sustainability at Infineon. “We are actively inviting our suppliers to join us on our journey by setting their own carbon reduction targets. To truly address climate change, collaboration across the entire value chain, transparent and comprehensive data as well as global standards are foundational.”
Infineon has doubled its revenue since 2019 and halved its CO2 emissions (Scope 1 and 2) at the same time. The main drivers for lowering emissions are energy efficiency measures, comprehensive PFC abatement measures and switching its operations to renewable energy, which makes proportionally the largest contribution. In 2023, Infineon reaches another key milestone in this respect. The two largest manufacturing sites in Asia - Kulim and Melaka in Malaysia - have now transitioned to green electricity, following the switch to renewables at its European and North American sites in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) serves as a benchmark for ambitious climate action in the private sector. The initiative provides a clearly defined pathway for companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Targets are considered ‘science-based’ if they are in line with the latest climate science in order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement - limiting global warming to well below two degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degree Celsius. SBTi is a partnership between the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
In 2020, the semiconductor manufacturer had set its carbon neutrality target 2030 (Scope 1 and 2 emissions) already in line with science-based target requirements. With the expansion of its climate strategy to include Scope 3, Infineon is working closely together with supply chain partners and is putting special emphasis on further improvements in data availability and accuracy.
