A few years ago TI injected a sustainable challenge into the semiconductor industry when we completed the first LEED Gold certified wafer fab in the world in Richardson, TX. It was followed fairly quickly by TSMC’s LEED Gold fab in Taiwan. Several other semiconductor manufacturers have LEED projects completing or in development and the industry players are collaborating on green semiconductor practices via the International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI).
TI recently garnered another first – the first LEED certified building of any type in the entire country of the Philippines. TI’s new building addition to the 20 year old site in Baguio City was just awarded LEED Silver certification. TI Baguio is an assembly / test facility where the chips are cut out of the wafers, packaged, tested, and shipped to customers around the world. The new building features excellent energy and water efficiency and enhances the good sustainable practices that the TI Baguio team already had in place. With a history of 85% mass transit ridership at the site they already had the right attitude about balancing what is good for people, profit, and the planet.
Paul Westbrook
Sustainable Development Manager, SMTS, LEED AP
Original publication date: 03/31/2009
