Case Study: Applied Materials, Inc. Makes Water Conservation Part of Its Success
Northern California: Sunnyvale — Recently, the Silicon Valley Water Conservation Awards Program presented the best-in-class business award to semiconductor technology experts, Applied Materials, Inc. The company’s comprehensive approach to water conservation is saving 40 million gallons a year — reducing its overall consumption by 16 percent.
No strangers to conservation efforts or the marvels of technology, a committee of volunteers representing employees from the Facilities Group, the Apps Lab Group, and EHS/Sustainability came up with a complement of high- and low-tech conservation solutions to benefit AM’s 3,800 California employees. Improvements were made in all three of the company’s California campuses: Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and Fairfield.
Simple software changes were orchestrated at AM’s R&D facility in Sunnyvale so that when wet process lab tools (used when water polishes silicon wafers) were in idle mode they would not require continuously-running water. This reduced water consumption by 25 percent, and is now saving millions of gallons of water annually.
The facility in Sunnyvale supports semiconductor manufacturers as they transition to new technologies. Here, they can test, customize and pre-integrate these new technologies for various device requirements. At the center recycled water is used to feed cooling towers and scrubbers and de-ionized water is being reclaimed as well. AM consolidated its tools and adjusted critical technological settings so the facility now saves 10.5 million gallons of water each year. In this regard, AM’s savings are trickling down to its customers.
Other modifications included installing sensor-activated faucets and low-flow toilets, as well as introducing xeriscaping, which incorporates drought-resistant native plants and shrubs in the landscape. In total, AM is using 51 million gallons of water less per year than it did in 2006. That’s enough water to fill 2,500 swimming pools.
Bruce Klafter, head of Applied Materials’ Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Group, says environmental stewardship is in the company’s DNA. “The employees have really gotten behind our efforts,” he explains. “It is these sustainability issues that people really seem to care about.”
Klafter goes on to say that, “In full-scale production facilities, the amount of water we consume is considerable, and the attention we’re giving water is on the rise. Whether the motivation is one of corporate responsibility or economics, water is taking center stage in today’s business environment.”
Applied Materials has been inspired to set a global water conservation goal to reduce consumption by at least ten percent in its facilities around the world by the year 2012. “Overseas, only so much water can be consumed,” Klafter says. “It’s up to them — correction, it’s up to all of us — to use it wisely.”