Back to Technology & Communications

Audit-Ready Carbon Reporting for Semiconductor Manufacturers

Track fab facility energy, process gas emissions, cleanroom systems, and chip lifecycle carbon for semiconductor operations.

The Industry Hotspot: Fab Energy and Process Gas Emissions

Fab energy and process gases dominate

Semiconductor manufacturing emissions concentrate in fab electricity consumption and process gases. Cleanroom HVAC systems operate continuously maintaining temperature, humidity, and air quality. Lithography, deposition, and etching equipment consume substantial electricity. Process gases including fluorinated compounds have very high global warming potential. Small mass emissions create large CO2-equivalent impact. Abatement systems capture and destroy process gases reducing emissions. NetNada tracks fab facility energy per wafer, monitors process gas consumption and abatement, calculates cleanroom HVAC overhead, and reports product carbon intensity.

SASB Industry Definition

The Semiconductors industry designs and manufactures integrated circuits, memory chips, processors, and fabrication equipment. Semiconductor fabs are energy-intensive facilities requiring cleanroom environments, high-purity chemicals, and precise process control. Emissions include electricity for fab equipment, process gases with high global warming potential, and facility HVAC. Product use-phase efficiency gains often offset manufacturing footprint.

View SASB Standard →

Industry-Specific Carbon Accounting

No generic solutions. Metrics, data sources, and reporting aligned to Semiconductors operations.

Fab Facility Energy Intensity

Semiconductor fabs consume substantial electricity for process equipment and cleanrooms. Lithography tools, deposition chambers, and etching systems operate continuously. Cleanroom HVAC maintains precise environmental conditions. Track facility energy per wafer produced. Benchmark fabs by technology node. Implement energy efficiency and renewable procurement.

Energy per wafer tracked

Process Gas Emissions and Abatement

Fluorinated gases used in etching and cleaning have very high global warming potential. Even small emissions create large CO2-equivalent footprint. Abatement systems thermally destroy gases reducing emissions. Track process gas consumption and abatement efficiency. Calculate emissions per wafer accounting for abatement. Report process gas emission intensity trends.

Process gas emissions tracked

Cleanroom HVAC Optimization

Cleanroom air handling systems filter and condition air maintaining particle counts and environmental specs. HVAC can represent substantial portion of fab energy. Optimize air change rates and temperature controls. Implement free cooling where climate permits. Track cleanroom energy separately from process equipment.

Cleanroom energy tracked

Product Lifecycle Benefit

Energy-efficient chips reduce electricity consumption in customer devices and data centers. New processor generations deliver better performance per watt. Customer energy savings over product life can exceed manufacturing emissions. Model customer use-phase energy savings from efficient chips. Calculate lifecycle benefit versus manufacturing footprint. Report product efficiency trends.

Product efficiency improvements

Materials and Chemical Supply Chain

Silicon wafers, photoresists, gases, and chemicals have manufacturing emissions. Supply chain transparency improves through supplier engagement. Track material sourcing and supplier carbon data. Apply emission factors for chemicals and materials. Calculate material footprint per wafer.

Material supply chain tracked

SASB TC-SC Metrics Automation

Auto-generate disclosure including Scope 1 and 2 emissions, energy consumption, process gas emissions, water consumption, percentage renewable energy, and product efficiency metrics. Footnotes cite fab locations and production capacity.

SASB TC-SC compliant

Product Features for Semiconductors

Use Carbon Data Uploader to import fab utility data, process gas consumption, abatement rates, and wafer production for semiconductor emissions. Learn more →

The Activity Calculator applies factors for electricity, process gases, materials, and cleanroom overhead—calculating semiconductor product carbon footprints. Learn more →

Semiconductors Case Studies

How entities in this industry use NetNada to solve carbon accounting challenges.

Semiconductor Manufacturer (Advanced logic and memory production, Multiple fab facilities, Energy-intensive operations)

Challenge

Process gas emissions with high global warming potential created substantial CO2-equivalent footprint. Fab energy consumption growing with advanced node complexity. Customers requested chip carbon footprints for device lifecycle assessments.

Solution

Implemented comprehensive fab emissions tracking separating energy, process gases, and chemicals. Installed process gas abatement systems reducing fluorinated compound emissions. Executed renewable energy procurement for fab electricity. Calculated product carbon footprint per chip.

Result

Achieved process gas emission reductions through abatement technology deployment. Scaled renewable energy matching substantial portion of fab electricity. Generated chip-level carbon footprints supporting customer device assessments. Demonstrated product efficiency benefits offsetting manufacturing footprint over device lifetime.

SASB Disclosure Topics for Semiconductors

Material sustainability topics beyond emissions that investors and stakeholders expect disclosed per SASB standards.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

environment

Track Scope 1 from process gas emissions and fuel combustion. Report Scope 2 from fab electricity. Calculate Scope 3 from materials, chemicals, and equipment. Report emissions per wafer or per chip.

Energy Management

environment

Monitor fab energy consumption and intensity per wafer. Track cleanroom HVAC efficiency. Report renewable energy procurement percentage.

Process Gas Management

environment

Track fluorinated gas consumption and abatement rates. Monitor process gas emissions intensity. Report transition to lower-GWP alternatives where available.

Water Management

environment

Monitor ultrapure water consumption for wafer processing. Track water recycling and reuse rates. Report water stress risk assessment.

Product Energy Efficiency

business model

Report chip energy efficiency improvements across generations. Track power performance per transistor. Disclose customer energy savings from efficient processors.

Materials Sourcing

social

Track silicon wafer and chemical supplier sustainability. Monitor conflict minerals compliance. Disclose responsible sourcing programs.

NetNada tracks all SASB material topics, not just emissions. Our platform supports disclosure across environmental, social, governance, and business model topics relevant to your industry.

Semiconductors FAQs

Common questions about carbon accounting for this industry

Why are process gases significant despite small mass?
Fluorinated gases used in semiconductor etching and cleaning have global warming potential thousands of times higher than CO2. Small mass emissions create large CO2-equivalent footprint. Abatement systems thermally destroy gases reducing emissions substantially.
Do efficient chips offset manufacturing emissions?
Energy-efficient processors reduce electricity consumption in devices and servers over years of operation. Use-phase energy savings can exceed manufacturing emissions depending on deployment and grid intensity. Report lifecycle analysis showing net benefit from product efficiency improvements.

Track Semiconductor Fab Energy, Process Gases, and Product Efficiency

See how chip manufacturers monitor fab emissions, optimize process gas abatement, and generate SASB-aligned disclosures—automated from fab operations data.