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2007 GHG Reduction Goal Achievers
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) pledges to reduce global GHG emissions by 33 percent per manufacturing index from 2006 to 2010. AMD achieved its initial goal by reducing global GHG emissions by 53 percent per manufacturing index from 2002 to 2006.
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is a leading global provider of innovative processing solutions in the computing, graphics, and consumer electronics markets. AMD is dedicated to driving open innovation, choice, and industry growth by delivering superior customer-centric solutions that empower consumers and businesses worldwide.
Ensuring a Corporate Commitment
As a charter member of Climate Leaders since 2002, AMD has demonstrated a significant corporate-level commitment to managing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The company follows an international environmental health and safety policy, AMD Green, which integrates environmental considerations into every aspect of its business—from energy-efficient products and sustainable manufacturing and operations, to corporate leadership initiatives. Since 2001, AMD has published an annual Global Climate Protection Plan, which highlights its commitment, strategies, and progress in achieving its goals. AMD’s Global Climate Protection Plan is available at www.amd.com/climate.
AMD designs multiple energy efficiency features into its products, which reduce the electricity use and GHG emissions associated with their use. AMD has introduced new microprocessors that significantly increase performance-per-watt by transitioning from dual-core to quad-core within the same power and thermal envelopes. A founding member of The Green Grid™, AMD works closely with companies across the IT spectrum, as well as with government authorities, such as the European Union Commission, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, to identify solutions to the challenges faced by datacenter power and cooling demands.
Achieving the Climate Leaders Goal
AMD reduced its emissions through several measures, including the following:
- Increased manufacturing efficiency by implementing alternative chemistries and processes, optimizing processes, and abating process effluents.
- Applied best practices and lessons learned in the construction of new production facilities and only utilized low-PFC-emitting process technology.
- Partnered with tri-generation facilities so that two semiconductor fabrication plants (Fab) in Dresden, Germany, use waste heat from electricity production to generate heat and cooling.
AMD has been a leader in the reduction of PFC emissions associated with wafer fabrication, and was among the first businesses to join EPA’s voluntary PFC Reduction Partnership for the Semiconductor Industry in 1996. In support of the World Semiconductor Council’s worldwide reduction goal, AMD set a voluntary goal to reduce total PFC emissions by 50 percent by 2010 from a 1995 base year. AMD’s 2006 PFC emissions were more than 95 percent below 1995 levels. For the design of its first state-of-the-art 300mm Fab, in Dresden, AMD integrated several cutting-edge best practices and lessons learned from the operation of its manufacturing facilities around the globe. Fab 36 has very low PFC and other GHG emissions, thanks in part to cleaning processes and abatement units that remain in standby mode when not in use, reducing electricity demand.
In 2005, the AMD Sunnyvale, California, facility applied a number of energy efficiency improvements, including installing variable frequency drives, new chillers, upgraded temperature control systems, and other heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) adjustments, which saved 1,072 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity. The company also converted three existing process vacuum loops in a laboratory into a single loop, resulting in combined annual energy savings of 80 MWh.
Continuing the Commitment
AMD is continuing its climate commitment by setting a second Climate Leaders goal to reduce emissions intensity by 33 percent from 2006 to 2010. To meet this goal, AMD is implementing many cutting-edge efficiency projects. The new corporate campus in Austin, Texas, for which the company is seeking LEED® Gold Certification, has committed to operate using 100 percent green power from Austin Energy’s GreenChoice program through 2015. AMD was an early member of the semiconductor industry to join EPA’s Green Power Partnership, and received the Green Power Leadership award in 2002.
The new Austin campus incorporates numerous innovative energy-saving features, such as adjustable task lighting that reduces the need for overhead lighting, photosensors that automatically shut off lights, raised flooring that allows individual climate control, and roofs that collect rainwater for supplying the energy efficient cooling towers, as well as for irrigation. AMD is also planning to complete comprehensive energy audits at its North American corporate campuses in Austin, Silicon Valley and Markham, Ontario. As AMD converts its facility in Dresden into the 300mm Fab 38, it will upgrade the facility, by installing energy efficient exhaust ventilators, which will save about 40 MWh of electricity per year, and energy efficient vacuum pumps, which are expected to save about 175 MWh of electricity consumption annually.
Roche Group U.S. Affiliates
Roche Group U.S. Affiliates pledges to reduce total U.S. GHG emissions by 15 percent from 2001 to 2010. Roche Group achieved its initial goal by reducing total U.S. GHG emissions by 11 percent from 2001 to 2006.
Roche Group, one of the world's top 10 pharmaceutical companies, is a global market leader in diagnostics and a leading supplier of prescription medicines in selected therapeutic areas such as oncology, virology, and transplantation. Roche’s U.S. operations mirror the global Roche Group’s focus on both diagnostics and pharmaceuticals, which address the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease.
Ensuring a Corporate Commitment
A member of EPA Climate Leaders since 2004, the Roche Group’s participation in the Climate Leaders program is just one component of the company’s strong commitment to the principles of sustainable development.
Roche Group’s approach to sustainable development includes the establishment of energy and GHG reduction policies, goals, and directives at the corporate level. Actual implementation is more decentralized, with local site personnel empowered to drive reductions based on optimal solutions for each individual site. Roche’s director of energy management provides technical and management support to each of the sites. In addition, mechanisms for sharing best practices among sites, including annual “energy summit” meetings, leverage the benefits of project successes and challenges.
Achieving the Climate Leaders Goal
The Roche Group significantly reduced its emissions when the company replaced two combustion turbine generators with new, more efficient combustion turbine generators in the cogeneration plant at Roche’s Nutley, New Jersey, facility. As a result, the site has increased electricity and steam production with lower fuel consumption, resulting in an annual reduction of approximately 10,000 tons of GHGs annually.
Other capital investments have been made to improve efficiency, specifically in chiller and hot water plants:
- The Nutley site is served by two central chilled water plants containing almost 20,000 tons of chiller capacity. Several projects have resulted in overall improved chilled water plant efficiencies, including the installation of a water-side economizer, which has completely eliminated the need for mechanical refrigeration when ambient temperatures are below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Also at Nutley, the company installed the interconnection of the two chilled water distribution systems, which allowed for optimal chiller dispatch, more effective chiller loading, and reduced pumping horsepower.
- At the company’s Palo Alto, California site, Roche reduced its chilled and hot water plant electricity consumption by more than 50 percent, through improvements such as replacing old units with energy efficient units equipped with variable speed controls and adding an automation system to reduce equipment operating hours.
In addition to capital infrastructure projects, Roche Group has taken steps to improve the efficiency of the company’s buildings:
- At three of its sites, Roche Group retro-commissioned buildings and installed control systems and alarms. These projects have resulted in significant improvement in building energy efficiency and comfort, at very low cost.
- Most Roche facilities made improvements to building automation systems. These improvements included nighttime setbacks, economizer cycles, and building controls that allowed for trending reports for evaluating future energy efficiency projects.
- As is common at research-based pharmaceutical sites, Roche laboratory HVAC systems typically use 100 percent outside air to ensure the air quality of laboratory spaces. Conditioning once-through supply air requires a large amount of energy, so several Roche facilities have implemented projects to safely reduce the amount of air and energy required at the laboratories. These projects have included equipment upgrades to provide variable air flow through fume hoods and/or general exhaust, reduced air changes to match space requirements, and off-hour ventilation reductions.
- At several Roche facilities, the company upgraded lighting systems by replacing T12 fluorescent fixtures with T8 and T5 fixtures, replacing high-intensity discharge lights with high-bay fluorescent fixtures, and placing stickers on lighting switches to alert cleaners and security personnel to turn off unnecessary lighting after hours.
- Roche Group installed cool roof coatings on buildings at the Pleasanton and Palo Alto, California, sites.
Employee energy reduction opportunities extend to every facet of the company’s operations. Sales personnel have been encouraged to use hybrid vehicles or the most fuel-efficient vehicles when hybrids are not available. Approximately 20 percent of the fleet is composed of hybrid cars, and more fuel efficient vehicles are being phased in as vehicles are replaced.
Continuing the Commitment
In an effort to reduce future energy needs and GHG emissions, Roche Group is working to integrate energy efficiency into new construction projects. For the company’s existing facilities, both retro-commissioning and continuous commissioning efforts will continue.
Xerox Corporation
Xerox Corporation pledges to reduce total global GHG emissions by 25 percent from 2002 to 2012. Xerox achieved its initial goal by reducing total global GHG emissions by 18 percent from 2002 to 2006.
A Fortune 500 company with $16 billion in sales worldwide, Xerox Corporation is a leader in innovative technologies, products and services that customers can depend upon to improve business results.
Achieving the Climate Leaders Goal
Xerox joined Climate Leaders in 2003. In the first two years of the program, Xerox defined its organizational boundaries (all emissions under Xerox’s operational control) and completed a comprehensive GHG inventory. In 2005, the company developed an inventory management plan (IMP), set an aggressive GHG reduction goal, and launched a flagship corporate-wide program, Energy Challenge 2012, to involve the entire company in meeting the goal. That year, Xerox began reporting emissions to the Carbon Disclosure Project, showcasing the company’s confidence in its emissions inventory and reduction strategy. Xerox recently expanded its efforts by joining the California Climate Action Registry and the U.S. Climate Action Partnership. The Partnership is an alliance of business and environmental leaders working together to protect the climate and spur legislation and regulation aimed at reducing GHG emissions.
Xerox achieved its goal several years early as a result of the clear framework the company developed from the Lean Six Sigma methodology. Fundamental program elements that have enabled Xerox’s success include leadership commitment, clear roles and accountability, full value chain engagement, integration into core business strategies and practices, appropriate funding, communication and rewarding of successes, and strong program management. A core team was established that included both business and environmental, health, and safety (EH&S) professionals to lead, guide, and implement the program, and a communications program was launched to engage employees at all levels of the company. A user-friendly global energy and GHG database was developed to collect and retain high quality inventory data and provide an analytical basis for decision-making.
Despite the company’s achievement of such significant GHG reductions, Xerox sees opportunities for additional cost-effective reductions. In fact, Xerox has set a new Climate Leaders goal that will build upon the company’s commitment to innovation, which helped the company to successfully achieve its first goal.
Note: Xerox’s GHG reduction projects were featured as a best practice case study in the Carbon Copy Fall 2006 edition (PDF) (10 pp, 718K, About PDF) and includes information on the specific technologies Xerox implemented to meet its goal.