August 1, 2012 — Global semiconductor foundry United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC; TWSE:2303) gained LEED-NC (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – New Construction) Gold recognition for its 300mm Fab 12A P3 & P4 in Tainan, Taiwan, from the U.S. Green Building Council.
The semiconductor fab P3 & P4 was awarded the EEWH Gold certification from Taiwan in 2011.
Dr. Shih-Wei Sun, CEO of UMC, noted that the company will “further incorporate green initiatives” on the future P5 and P6 fab builds. Fab 12A manufactures 28nm node semiconductors on 300mm wafers, with capacity for 55,000 wafers/month.
FAB 12A P3 & P4 is UMC’s most advanced 300mm production fab. Green, low-carbon concepts have been introduced into all aspects of the facility, from fab design, construction, and process development to operation. Several structural measures to increase energy efficiency were adopted, including energy-saving vacuum pumps, an advanced solid cooling system that recycles vent gas, state-of-art energy management, monitoring and consolidation systems, etc. Reduction in energy consumption is estimated at 8.5% over Fab 12A P1 & P2, which is a further 29.3% below the standard set by ASHRAE. For water conservation, UMC implemented a sophisticated water recycle design and technique that will raise water recycling rate to 90%. For the Fab 12A complex, recycled water amount reached 6 million tons in 2011, equivalent to the water consumed by 65,000 people over the course of a year.
Environmental co-existence is UMC’s core value within its CSR vision. UMC actively assists the Taiwanese government to establish green building and clean production evaluation systems while continuously promoting green concepts to the public. Going forward, UMC will continue to fulfill its responsibility as a corporate citizen, based on green building concepts to promote the formation of a low-carbon, sustainable society.
IC Insights ranks UMC in the top 20 semiconductor companies globally. UMC (NYSE:UMC, TWSE:2303) is a global semiconductor foundry that provides advanced technology and manufacturing for applications spanning every major sector of the IC industry. UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com.