austriamicrosystems announces aggressive plan to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2015

UNTERPREMSTAETTEN, AUSTRIA: austriamicrosystems announced ambitious plans to reach full carbon neutrality by 2015 and become the first semiconductor manufacturer worldwide to do so.

In its aggressive, ongoing efforts to be environmentally responsible, austriamicrosystems has been actively reducing its carbon footprint since 2004, achieving a reduction of 50 percent of CO2 equivalents or 31,000 tons until 2010 since implementing actions. Over the last two years austriamicrosystems has completely mapped the CO2 generation of all company activities including its employees. In 2011, the company will further reduce CO2 emission equivalents by more than 9,000 tons by switching to 100% green electricity based mainly on water generated sources.

John Heugle, austriamicrosystems’ CEO, stated: “At austriamicrosystems we consistently review the impact of our business on the environment and take steps to reduce pollution on the planet. Focused on clean technology to reduce our CO2 impact, we are proud to announce that we are making significant progress towards the zero carbon footprint goal we have set for the company. Investments into energy savings, sustainable energy projects and CO2 reduction programs not only help our environment, but also provide significant economic advantages to us which create benefits to our customers. austriamicrosystems has taken a leadership role in this important effort and hopes other companies in the semiconductor industry will follow.”

As a world-class design and manufacturing organization, austriamicrosystems continuously invests in the efficient use of energy and natural resources for environmental excellence. Programs in operation or in development include thermo solar cooling, state-of-the-art cleaning of waste water and exhaust air, creating products for renewable energy applications, and biomass plant construction to enable the use of renewable fuel sources for heating and chilling requirements.

The implementation of these programs has already reduced the company’s use of coal and oil generated electricity and will soon free austriamicrosystems from dependency on imported natural gas as a key step towards the carbon neutrality target.