TSMC Sets Another Record High Score for Evaluation by Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), with Fab 15 Receiving Platinum Certification

TSMC implements the world’s only sustainable water management standard (AWS Standard) for a sustainable water resources management in the upstream and downstream river basins. Following the official certifications achieved by Fab 6 and Fab 14B in 2019, the Fab 15 received the AWS Platinum Certificate with an evaluation result of 117 points. TSMC has become the world's first semiconductor company that receives AWS Platinum Certification with the highest score for two consecutive years.

Five Major Improvements for AWS Resulting in Better Water Management

TSMC established its AWS Task Force in 2019, summarizing successful experiences of Fab 6 and Fab 14B in the AWS Blue Book. The Blue Book serves as a guideline to promote Fab matching on water management. In 2020, following this standard, TSMC’s Fab 15 has practiced “Smart Copy” method and implemented the five major improvements for AWS based on the data of Fab water consumption and the water resources distribution in adjacent river basins to continuously implement the practice of sustainable management.

TSMC’s AWS Achievements

Promote Natural Ecological Restoration Resulting in Successful Firefly Habitat Recovery

Regional cooperation is a key indicator of AWS evaluation. Collaborating with the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau, the Fab 15 helped to solve the problem of leaking pipes in the park and made efforts to the construction of park's intelligent sewage treatment plant management system. Furthermore, the Fab 15 implements an independent water quality inspection for Wuxi's discharge outlet on a regular basis, sharing and managing the regional water resource information to achieve mutual benefits both internally and externally.

Since the location of Fab 15 is close to the foothills of Dadu Mountain in Taichung, building a green ecological plant area is one of the key aspects of TSMC's plan for AWS. The Dadu Mountain forest was restored in a close-to-nature forest environment at the initial stage of Fab construction to maintain the native species diversity in the area. The first aquatic yellow firefly was found in the plant area in July 2020, and over 150 Lusheng Window Fireflies are currently being cultivated as of the end of February 2021. This has well demonstrated how to achieve co-prosperity benefiting both company operation and environmental ecology.

Implementation of Environmental and Ecological Education to Inherit the Concept of Water Resources Protection

Thanks to its excellent water conservation technology and adherence to the principle of ecological maintenance, TSMC Fab 15 has become the first domestic semiconductor company to be certified as “Environmental Education Institution” by the Environmental Protection Administration in March 2018. To inherit the principle of sustainable water resources management, Fab 15 rolled out many education courses such as "Green Factory" and "Travel to Manufacturing Plant with Drop Baby" to increase the awareness of water resources protection and environmental sustainability among young kids. As of March 2021, Fab 15 has held 57 environmental education courses with 2,075 teachers and students participated.

Continuously Promote each Manufacturing Plant Certification and Implement Sustainable Management

TSMC continues to roll out water management plans based on the five major AWS achievements. The certification for other fabs including Advanced Backend Fab 3, Fab 12A, Fab 5 plant B are expected to complete in 2021 to optimize the water-use efficiency and fulfill our responsibility of environmental sustainability.