Industry groups deserve a round of applause for EHS initiatives
09/01/2002
Once considered a "fringe" issue fostered by a minute faction, the environ mental health and safety (EHS) issue has made its way into the mainstream-and U.S. industry is being held accountable.
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I had the opportunity to sit in on SEMI's Executive EHS luncheon during SEMICON West in San Francisco. The room, clad in traditional dark-wood paneling, gave off the stench of a prehistoric "old boys" pow-wow; however, the messages being delivered from the podium were enlightened, fresh-signals that SEMI and its members are cutting a clean path to increased environmental stewardship.
Two years ago, SEMI launched an initiative, or "framework," entitled Global Care, an information-sharing program that encourages its members (semiconductor equipment and materials suppliers) to make a firm commitment to worker health and safety, resource conservation, product stewardship, community service and overall excellence in managing EHS practices. (See Sheila Galatowitsch's article on page 11).
Each member company applies these five core principles and appoints a liaison to share the company's practices and findings with other members. According to SEMI, companies large and small will work in tandem to build a sound responsibility model across the semi industry that will demonstrate an environmental commitment to employees and the global community.
Ten years ago this may have sounded like a lot of lip service. But in today's IBM-cancer-case, forward-thinking, nearly-enlightened climate, the initiative has been a quick success, with CEOs of 42 companies already signed up to willingly share EHS know-how.
Keynote speaker David J. Hayes, former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior in the second Clinton administration, who is currently practicing environmental law with Latham & Watkins (Washington, DC), was eager to offer SEMI a hearty pat on the back for their work on Global Care.
"As the chip making industry rose to the forefront, environmental issues became mainstream-and now you are under the spotlight," said Hayes to the more than 40 SEMI executives in attendance. "You are called to develop systems and practices designed with good environmental stewardship in mind from front-end to back-end, and Global Care should be providing a roadmap."
Along with building awareness of Global Care's five core principles, Hayes added that these critical SEMI members needed to be well aware of four trends currently driving U.S. industry to sharpen its collective EHS focus: producer responsibility for full life-cycle of products; the public's right to know; documentation of verification of performance; and "chemicals, chemicals, chemicals."
"Historically, this was a back-end issue, a discharge issue," said Hayes. "This is no longer the focal point. Industry needs to pay up front and take full life-cycle responsibility by designing back-end control into the manufacturing systems. These systems will need to be documented and validated because most of the time the public just needs to know that proper systems exist."
Hayes' intense message was piped through an almost light-hearted tone- harbinger for business in the new, "post-old-boy" millennium. Initiatives like Global Care, said Hayes through an honest smile, "...is just good business."
Michael Levans
Chief Editor