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Sustainable manufacturing
Eliminating hazardous substances | Education Technology
Semiconductors – the chips or integrated circuits we sell – are manufactured through a multistep process that involves photographing and etching patterns to build electronic circuits on wafers of pure semiconductor material. The wafers are usually silicon, and the process involves using large amounts of water, as well as some hazardous chemicals and acids.
Sustainable manufacturing – using benign chemicals where possible and incorporating smart reuse and recycling practices – delivers products without exhausting resources, at a lower cost and a reduced environmental impact. TI employs numerous controls to manage our impact on the environment. Some examples include:
- Collecting, recycling and reusing water.
- Segregating and recycling solvents and metal-based solutions from our wastewater system.
- Treating industrial wastewater.
- Collecting and recycling scrap paper, metal, cardboard, wood, plastics and silicon.
- Improving energy efficiency to reduce electric use.
- Installing air emission control systems.
- Scrubbing corrosive and caustic exhausts to adjust pH.
- Installing "cool" white roofs on buildings.
- Improving the indoor environment by using low-emitting adhesives, sealants, paint, carpet and composite wood.
Our manufacturing processes are managed based on internationally recognized standards established by the International Standards Organization 14001 and the Occupational Safety Health Assessment Series (click here for a listing of TI manufacturing sites and their status relative to ISO 14001). To ensure that our internal manufacturing standards adequately reflect the chemicals and materials targeted by regulators and/or customers for elimination, TI is working toward IECQ 080000 certification as well.
Our customers are increasingly setting their own criteria for environmentally responsible manufacturing. In these cases, TI custom manufactures products to meet these standards while still meeting or exceeding government-mandated, stringent chemical use guidelines.
Eliminating hazardous substances
All incoming chemicals are screened before incorporating them into our manufacturing processes. Screening includes a review of customer concerns and regulatory standards, in addition to any health, safety and environmental controls required for their use. If concerns about a chemical or material arise during review, the matter is elevated to a chemical and material review board staffed by company experts.
If a chemical or material is thought to be necessary for manufacturing, but still raises concerns, the company's manufacturing leaders review the issue, and in some cases, authorize additional time and resources to seek a safer alternative or more stringent use controls.
Customers can assess the compliance of our products with national and international standards throughout the supply chain at TI's Eco-Info and Pb-free Web site. The site includes downloadable reports that depict both the amount and type of substances within our finished integrated circuit products. The information demonstrates global compliance with regulations and managing other controlled substances.
Europe and China's banned substances
Both the European Union (EU) and China have issued stringent standards for product content and have banned some chemicals altogether. The EU banned any new electrical or electronic equipment containing lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl and polybrominated diphenyl ether flame-retardants beyond a specified threshold. The steps TI took to comply with this standard are detailed below.
China also published a new set of production requirements, the China Management Methods for Controlling Pollution by Electronic Information Products (China RoHS). Although our components are not required to meet China RoHS labeling requirements (which apply primarily to end-equipment manufacturers), we have changed our shipping labels and released the information to our customers so they can meet their compliance needs.
Lead
Long before legislation required such measures, TI led the industry in developing lead (Pb)-free alternatives for products. In 1989, we introduced our first Pb-free alternative, the nickel-palladium finish, many years before the EU passed its Restriction on Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) regulation. We completed most component conversions well ahead of the EU deadline.
In addition, TI's Pb-free products also meet China RoHS requirements. For products not identified for conversion, we work with customers to find suitable RoHS-compliant or other "green" solutions.
Although most of our customers have shifted to using Pb-free products, we continue to manufacture a few applications that contain lead for customers who require it. Upon request, we can provide certification and analytical data from our suppliers to independently verify the content of the materials that our products.
Halogens, antimony and red phosphorous
One of the current challenges facing TI and the technology industry today is determining how to reduce or eliminate two halogens from our products: bromine and chlorine. These materials are integral to semiconductor processing.
Although halogen products themselves pose no risk, improper and unsafe recycling practices could cause harm to human health and the environment.
The semiconductor industry recognizes that we have little control over what happens to products once they are incorporated in end equipment. However, many electronic product distributors are under increasing pressure from environmental groups to eliminate this potential risk. Currently, no regulations exist that ban these halogens at the levels we use in manufacturing.
TI continues to educate customers about the challenge of developing halogen-free products and the potential risk to product integrity. As part of this effort, we conducted an internal inventory of halogens used in our existing product line and evaluated our plans for halogen use in the future. In 2008, TI shared initial results of our halogen use analysis with customers.
TI's "green"-defined integrated circuit products, which address environmental concerns beyond government regulations, meet Pb-free requirements and also are bromine-free and antimony-free (meaning the material does not exceed 0.1 percent by weight of homogeneous material). We completed the majority of our conversion to green compounds at the end of 2005 and continue to convert more today.
Additionally, we do not supply integrated circuit components that use a mold compound containing inorganic (red) phosphorous as an alternative flame-retardant system.
Education Technology
TI's quest to integrate sustainable design principles into our technology does not stop with semiconductors. Our complex graphing calculators, which help engineers worldwide design and build better communities, are just one of our Education Technology (ET) offerings that strive to be eco-friendly. In fact, our first "green" calculator, made from 100 percent recycled plastic, is solar-powered. Even its instruction manual is produced on recycled paper.
At every stage of the life cycle, ET teams design and test our products to ensure compliance with applicable international product safety and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) standards. We restrict the use of certain hazardous chemicals and compounds, test all new materials during development using stringent internal design standards, and conduct annual audits to ensure ongoing compliance.
Currently, about 98 percent of the company's ET products can be recycled, reused or recovered. To learn more about what our ET division is doing to be environmentally friendly, see the Education Technology Product Stewardship Web site.
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