UMC Leads all Semiconductor Foundries with CDP "Leadership Level" Designation on Global Climate Change Assessment

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) ("UMC"), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced that for the fourth consecutive year, the company has achieved “Leadership Level” status in the annual global CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) Climate Change Program. UMC became the only semiconductor foundry worldwide to receive this award from CDP, which is currently the most widely recognized carbon, water, forest and other natural resource management disclosure system for global companies. CDP has a high degree of indexation, with close to 8,400 companies actively participating in this year's CDP-sponsored climate change project, the highest in years. UMC was awarded four of the highest “A-level” honors among 11 important indicators.

S.C. Chien, co-president of UMC, said: "UMC was invited along with 129 companies from Taiwan to participate in CDP’s latest evaluation. We are honored to be recognized for our climate change leadership for the fourth time, while achieving the highest marks in the categories of Scope 3 emissions , Scope 1 & 2 emissions , Governance , and Emissions Reduction Initiatives.”

UMC announced its climate change policy 10 years ago and was the first in the semiconductor industry to promote a "fluorine-containing greenhouse gas reduction plan" to replace C3F8 with C4F8, which has a higher gas utilization rate, to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the IC manufacturing process. The positive response and follow-up of many partners within the semiconductor industry have enabled C3F8 to be almost fully eliminated from the IC production process.

UMC is leading by example, and has been promoting gas reduction in its manufacturing facilities since 2010, with gas usage having been reduced by more than 20% compared to before the plan’s implementation. In addition, UMC reduced fluorine-containing greenhouse gases by 1.285 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2018, which is equivalent to the carbon absorption of approximately 254 of New York’s Central Park.

After completing the only carbon rights transaction approved by the Environmental Protection Agency in Taiwan, UMC has donated to society with its "Eco-Echo Award" environmental protection fund throughout the past four years. In 2018, more than 20,000 people participated in Eco-Echo Award program-related activities. In 2019, a “Youth Environmental Action Award” was also newly set up, providing young people with the opportunity to actively speak on behalf of environmental issues and protect the ecology under UMC’s initiative.

Co-president Chien continued, "UMC takes sustainable operation and fulfilling corporate citizenship as its top priority and will continue to invest in climate change prevention. After years of efforts, as of 2019, the fluorine content per unit area of greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced by more than 50% compared to 2010. A large number of greenhouse gas reduction equipment is also being added, and carbon assets have been deployed in accordance with the voluntary reduction incentive mechanism announced by the government."

UMC took the lead in responding to the spirit of the CDP, linking industry value chains, inviting partners, suppliers and other global stakeholders to attach importance to the risks and opportunities brought by climate change and to integrate climate issues into overall business decisions. Looking to the future, UMC will also strengthen its own advantages and commit to the three aspects of environment, society, and governance (ESG) to continue to promote the concept of sustainability and exert key influence.

UMC Climate Change Related Initiatives

UMC carries out carbon footprint checks on all its manufactured products and has formulated standards as a reference for downstream manufacturers to promote greenhouse gas reduction. The company also requires that all new fab equipment be installed with high efficiency gas treatment systems that reduce fluorine gas in waste exhaust by more than 90%. In terms of manufacturing technologies, UMC introduced a low-carbon, low power process to reduce power consumption in end products and lessen the impact to the environment. In the supply chain, UMC’s Carbon Partners program was launched in 2010 to encourage suppliers to use carbon management concepts incorporated into the organization's operating system, and then set and achieve annual reduction goals. UMC also launched its "Triple R League " in 2017 to promote the three goals of Reuse, Recycle, and Reduce, and held sharing sessions to invite suppliers for information exchanges.

About CDP

The CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) is an independent non-profit organization, headquartered in London, co-sponsored by 534 investment institutions with a total asset management of US $64 trillion and 60 procurement organizations. The purpose of the CDP is to encourage the public and private sectors to measure and manage greenhouse gas emissions, thereby reducing the impact of climate change, and using the concept of investment risk to promote companies to disclose and reduce greenhouse gas information.

The Climate Change Program, initiated by the CDP, began in 2000 and invites thousands of companies worldwide to disclose their carbon management-related data, risks, and opportunities, and is about to enter its 20th year. At present, CDP represents more than 525 investment institutions that manage more than US $96 trillion and 120 brands that have a total purchase value of more than US $3 trillion. They respectively send invitations to their investment companies and suppliers to respond to the CDP questionnaire to influence and urge enterprises to pay attention to climate change issues, identify related risks and opportunities, and consider integrating climate issues into business decisions, while setting energy saving and carbon reduction goals to jointly combat global warming. Through past efforts, CDP has become the world's most extensive disclosure system for carbon, water, forest and other related natural resource management.

About UMC

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry. The company provides mature and advanced IC production with a focus on Specialty Technologies to serve applications spanning every major sector of the electronics industry. UMC’s comprehensive foundry solutions enable chip designers to leverage the company’s sophisticated technology and manufacturing, which include high volume 28nm High-K/Metal Gate technology, volume production 14nm FinFET, specialty process platforms specifically developed for AIoT and 5G applications and the automotive industry’s highest-rated AEC-Q100 Grade-0 manufacturing capabilities for the production of ICs found in vehicles. UMC’s 12 wafer fabs are strategically located throughout Asia and are able to produce more than 700,000 wafers per month. The company employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide, with offices in Taiwan, China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the United States. UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com.

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