UMC Again Leads Semiconductor Foundries in the 2022 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices

By: United Microelectronics Corporation via Business Wire

December 09, 2022 at 21:21 PM EST

In its 15^th straight year in the DJSI, UMC achieved the highest sustainability score among peers

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) (“UMC”), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced it has once again achieved top ranking among semiconductor foundry peers in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), its 15^th consecutive year of inclusion in one of the most important benchmarks for corporate sustainability performance. This year, UMC has been selected as a member of both the DJSI’s World Index and Emerging Markets Index.

Inclusion in the indices is determined by the annual S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), which scores companies based on long-term economic, environmental, and social criteria. The World Index, DJSI’s main global index, represents the top 10% of the 2,500 largest companies in the S&P Global Broad Market Index, while the Emerging Markets Index selects its components from 800 companies across 20 emerging markets.

UMC’s Co-President SC Chien said: “As a leading IC manufacturer, UMC recognizes that we have an important role to play in driving sustainable development within our industry and beyond. Driven by the belief that sustainability and a company’s long-term success go hand in hand, UMC has developed a sustainability blueprint to converge the Company’s business strategy and ESG goals. We are thrilled to deliver another strong performance in the DJSI ranking, demonstrating our commitment to unleash the power of technology for a better, more sustainable future.”

Based on this year’s CSA results, as of December 10, UMC ranked first out of the Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment Industry Group for the Environmental and Governance & Economic dimensions, achieving full scores in categories including policy influence, environmental reporting, and product stewardship. In the Social dimension, the Company performed well in categories including social reporting, human capital development, and privacy protection.

Sustainability in action at UMC:

First semiconductor foundry globally to commit to net zero emissions and to obtain validation of climate targets by the Science Based Targets Initiative
Achieved significant progress in the “Green 2025” initiative, which aims for 15% reduction in water and electricity consumption, and 25% waste reduction from 2015 levels
Comprehensive training programs and diversified employee benefits to attract and retain talent
Longtime sponsor of youth empowerment programs through the UMC Science and Culture Foundation
ESG added to performance metrics for executive compensation, aligning management’s interests with sustainability goals
Ongoing efforts to increase diversity of the board of directors, which currently has the highest proportion of female directors in the foundry industry
Robust system in place for intellectual property protection

About UMC

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry company. The company provides high quality IC fabrication services, focusing on logic and various specialty technologies to serve all major sectors of the electronics industry. UMC’s comprehensive IC processing technologies and manufacturing solutions include Logic/Mixed-Signal, embedded High-Voltage, embedded Non-Volatile-Memory, RFSOI and BCD etc. Most of UMC's 12-in & 8-in fabs with its core R&D are located in Taiwan, with additional ones throughout Asia. UMC has total 12 fabs in production with combined capacity over 800,000 wafers per month (8-in equivalent), and all of them are certified with IATF 16949 automotive quality standard. UMC is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, plus local offices in United States, Europe, China, Japan, Korea & Singapore, with worldwide total 20,000 employees. For more information, please visit: https://www.umc.com.

Note from UMC Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in the foregoing announcement are forward-looking within the meaning of the U.S. Federal Securities laws, including statements about introduction of new services and technologies, future outsourcing, competition, wafer capacity, business relationships and market conditions. Investors are cautioned that actual events and results could differ materially from these statements as a result of a variety of factors, including conditions in the overall semiconductor market and economy; acceptance and demand for products from UMC; and technological and development risks. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in UMC’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. UMC does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.