- Catalyze’s primary mission is to foster collaboration among suppliers across the semiconductor industry
- The program gains more momentum with the addition of three prominent tech companies as founding sponsors
Schneider Electric’s Catalyze program has been joined by Google, ASM and HP. The agenda is to accelerate access to renewable energy across the global semiconductor value chain and IT supply landscape, as new global sponsors.
In a groundbreaking initiative first unveiled in July, Intel and Applied Materials stepped up as initial sponsors of a pioneering program known as “Catalyze.” Now, as the COP28 United Nations Climate Change Conference unfolds in Dubai, the program gains even more momentum with the addition of three prominent tech companies as founding sponsors.
Catalyze’s primary mission is to foster collaboration among suppliers across the semiconductor industry ecosystem. Their aim is to facilitate a transition towards renewable energy sources in their value chain. The program urges participants to commit to decarbonization efforts and unite in collective actions, such as procuring renewable energy, and leveraging the combined purchasing power of buyer groups.
This shift in energy sources within the semiconductor value chain is critical. According to a recent study conducted by the SEMI Semiconductor Climate Consortium, the semiconductor industry was responsible for a carbon footprint equivalent to 500 million tons of CO2 in 2021, with 16% originating from the supply chain. By guiding suppliers toward lower-carbon energy sources and supporting broader decarbonization initiatives like electrification, the industry can significantly reduce its overall Scope 3 emissions.
“We welcome Google, ASM, and HP to the Catalyze program. Their decision to join supports the ambition to accelerate the decarbonization of supply chains,” said Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman, from Schneider Electric. “Scope 3 emissions have proven a challenge to track and manage, but the Catalyze program enables companies and their suppliers to engage and collaborate in their energy transition and decarbonization.”
“Transitioning to carbon-free semiconductor manufacturing is critical to reducing global emissions, and no company can do it alone,” said Michael Terrell, Senior Director of Energy and Climate, Google. “We are excited to become a founding sponsor of the Catalyze program and look forward to working with our fellow sponsors and suppliers to expand the use of clean energy across this critical area of Google’s supply chain”
“The planet needs urgent and decisive action to reduce the impacts of climate change. That’s why HP has committed to cut our end-to-end value chain emissions in half this decade, while still delivering innovative technology to our customers,” said Ernest Nicolas, Chief Supply Chain Officer, HP. “We’re proud to sponsor the Catalyze program to help drive industry progress toward decarbonization of the semiconductor and IT supply chain.”
“Collaboration is critical in reducing global emissions, no one company nor one industry alone can do it all. That is why Catalyze is so important, it enables companies to come together to make one plus one equal three,” said John Golightly, VP of Sustainability, ASM. “If we tried to do this alone with our suppliers it could never equal the impact and scale of the Catalyze program, and for that we are excited to be a founding sponsor.”