NGOs call out TSMC over chip-making energy usage, supply chain emissions amid low use of renewables

Greenpeace International, Stand.earth and 350 Asia said the world’s largest chip maker should target 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030

Renewables made up 9 per cent of TSMC’s energy usage in 2021, the groups said, as chip supply chain emissions have come under increasing scrutiny

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An aerial photo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s factory in Nanjing on August 10, 2022. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:00am, 8 May 2023

Environmental group Greenpeace and two other NGOs have launched a website that calls on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chip maker, to reduce its massive carbon footprint.

The semiconductor giant’s energy consumption and reliance on fossil fuels are concerning, according to the website titled “Time to Chip In”, published by Stand.earth, 350 Asia and Greenpeace International on Monday. The company’s “unambitious” climate pledge is “becoming a major roadblock to preventing the climate disaster”, the groups said.

Jude Lee, deputy executive director at Greenpeace East Asia, said TSMC should target 100 per cent renewable energy worldwide by 2030, 20 years earlier than the company’s existing commitment, and should publish a clear road map for achieving this goal.

“TSMC has fallen behind its peers in the fight against climate change, when it should be an industry leader,” she said in a statement on Monday. “TSMC has the potential to purchase and install rooftop solar, and to leverage its influence to accelerate Taiwan’s energy transition.”

TSMC’s outsized role in chip manufacturing has come under increasing scrutiny amid growing concerns about the environmental impact of the semiconductor supply chain. As the supplier of more than 90 per cent of the world’s most advanced chips, it contracts with the biggest tech companies in the world, including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and many top gadget brands.

The global semiconductor manufacturing industry is projected to consume 286 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity globally by 2030, more than double its power usage in 2021, and is on track to emit 86 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2030, more than double Portugal’s total emissions of 40.8 million tons in 2021, according to a Greenpeace report last month.