If emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) continue at current rates, global warming will accelerate. Temperature gains above 2 °C (relative to the pre-industrial period) would have catastrophic economic and social consequences.
To address growing demand for decision-useful, climate-related information from organizations across all sectors of the economy, we disclose current and historical information for analysis of our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
Our roadmap to carbon neutrality includes Scope 1 and 2 targets that put NXP on a clearly-defined path to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement goals.
We measure our carbon footprint according to the GHG Protocol, a set of internationally recognized standards for quantifying and reporting GHG emissions. We report on all three of the protocol's defined categories: Scope 1 (direct emissions), Scope 2 (indirect emissions, owned) and partial Scope 3 (business travel and product transportation). The main contributors to our carbon footprint are emissions from purchased electricity, our use of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) and heat-transfer fluids (HTFs).
Semiconductor manufacturing is an electricity-intense process. As a result, Scope 2 emissions from electricity consumption represent the majority of our emissions.
A decade of collective effort has significantly reduced our Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Since 2012, we've lowered normalized emissions by 33%
In 2022, our absolute Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions decreased by 20% from a 2012 baseline.
The GHG Protocol defines Scope 1 emissions as direct emissions from company-owned and controlled resources, including process emissions (from onsite manufacturing) and stationary combustion (fuels, heating sources, etc.).
Our Scope 1 emissions include PFCs, HTFs, emissions from the consumption of fossil fuels and emissions of the Kyoto gases, including Nitrous Oxide (N2O) and Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6).
In 2022, demand for our products increased. As a result, we used larger amounts of processing chemicals that are classified as Scope 1 emissions. Since 2021, our absolute Scope 1 emissions increased by 3%, however, our absolute Scope 1 emissions by 18% since 2012.
Since 2012, our efforts to optimize our processes, upgrade tools, and install abatement equipment have lowered our normalized Scope 1 emissions by 32%. Additionally, our normalized Scope 1 emissions decreased by 6% compared to 2021.
At present, there are no viable alternatives for the PFCs used in the manufacturing process to etch integrated circuitry onto silicon wafers and to clean the internal chambers of deposition equipment. We use a variety of controls to minimize the impact of PFCs* on the environment.
Our normalized PFC emissions increased by 6% compared to 2021. However, our emissions have decreased by 42% compared to 2021.
Compared to 2021, our absolute PFC emissions increased by 16%, but, since 2012, our emissions have decreased by 31%
*We have updated our calculation of PFC emissions and, by extension, the totals of our Scope 1 emissions. We use the IPCC 2006 methodology for data leading up to and including 2020, and the IPCC 2019 methodology for 2021 and all the years following. Please see our 2022 Corporate Sustainability Report for more details.
HTFs are used in manufacturing processes and device testing to maintain a particular temperature. To address HTF emissions, our team members have designed and implemented new tools to create a semi-automated, closed-loop system that collects emissions from vapor-diffusive loss and fluid drag-out.
Our normalized HTF emissions decreased by 45% compared to 2021 and 50% compared to 2013.
Our absolute HTF emissions decreased by 40% compared to 2021 and 43% compared to 2013.
We use fossil fuels, in the form of natural gas, to power furnaces and generators used to heat and control humidity in our clean rooms. In 2022, our manufacturing sites experienced colder weather in addition to our production increases, which resulted in higher consumption of fossil fuels.
Our normalized fossil fuel consumption decreased by 5% compared to 2021 and decreased 16% since 2012.
Our absolute fossil fuel emissions increased by 4% compared to 2021 and increased by 1% compared to 2012.
N2O is used at several points in the manufacturing process, including chemical vapor deposition of silicon dioxide, doped or undoped silicon oxynitride, diffusion, rapid thermal processing and chamber seasoning. For several years, however, we have been installing the most up-to-date abatement technology and upgrading existing process tools.
Our ongoing efforts to upgrade our abatement technology and process tools have yielded a decrease in normalized N2O emissions by 4% compared to 2021 and a decrease in normalized emissions by 16% compared to 2012.
Due to production increases in 2022, we saw an increase of absolute N2O emissions by 5% from 2021, and an increase in absolute emissions by 0.2% from 2012.
The GHG Protocol defines Scope 2 emissions as indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy supplied by a utility provider. At present, all of our Scope 2 energy use consists of electricity. We use our energy providers' actual, market-based emission data when we calculate our Scope 2 emissions.
Our normalized Scope 2 emissions decreased by 12% compared to 2021 and decreased 34% compared to 2012. These improvements reflect our increased focus on energy conservation and the use of renewable electricity.
Although demand for our products increased in 2022 by 9% compared to 2021, causing an uptick in overall electricity use, our absolute Scope 2 emissions decreased by 4%. Since 2012, our absolute Scope 2 emissions have decreased by 21%
The GHG Protocol defines Scope 3 emissions as indirect emissions, not included in Scope 2, that occur in the value chain of the reporting company. Our Scope 3 emissions are currently limited to business travel and product transport. We continue to work with our supply chain to further quantify Scope 3 emissions.
As we return to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels of business travel, we expect to see an increase in Scope 3 emissions. However, compared to 2019, we are still showing a marked decrease. We will continue to explore ways to minimize our Scope 3 emissions.
In 2020 and 2021, the COVD-19 pandemic essentially stopped all travel. In 2022, however, as COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions began to ease, our emissions from business travel began returning to previous levels, totaling 9,098 tons of CO2e.
Emissions from product transportation include transporting semi-finished products between manufacturing sites, and transporting fully finished products to warehouses and customers. In 2022, our CO2e emissions from product transportation were estimated at 20,555 tons CO2e (based on kilograms per kilometer).
Our non-greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which include nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), mostly come from our manufacturing processes, including the use of chemical solvents in the photolithography process, but also from our boilers and emergency generators.
Since 2011, we have seen a significant reduction in non-greenhouse gas emissions. This includes decreases in emissions related to NOx, SOx and VOCs compared to 2021 levels. However, we still have an increase in VOCs since 2012, due in part to the expansion of the Systems on Silicon Manufacturing Company (SSMC) facility in Singapore.
Aligning NXP’s products, operations and engagements with the UN Sustainable Development Goals to combat global challenges related to economic, social and environmental sustainability.
We are here to answer any inquiry regarding our corporate sustainability efforts, including EHS and environmental product compliance.