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STMicroelectronics Wins Management Award for Sustainable Development in the European Awards for the Environment |
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 Geneva, October 7, 2002 - STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) has announced that its back-end Malta plant has received the Management Award for Sustainable Development as part of the European Awards for the Environment 2002, organized by the European Commission Directorate-General Environment.The prestigious award was presented by Margot Wallström, European Commissioner for the Environment, at a ceremony held on October 3 at the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest. ST's Malta facility, which is engaged in the assembly and testing of semiconductor devices, was one of 3 joint winners of the Management Award for Sustainable Development, selected from 33 entries within the category by a jury of 12 representatives from a cross-section of business, government and academic organizations across a range of European Union member and applicant countries. Under the presidency of Member of the European Parliament, Cristina Garcia-Orcoyen, each member of the jury is a specialist in environmental issues for their respective organizations. The Management Award for Sustainable Development is given to an exceptional organization with the strategic vision and management systems enabling it to continuously improve its contribution to sustainable development. For the past fifteen years, ST has clearly demonstrated a strong commitment to the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability, firmly establishing them as key elements within the Company's mission and objectives. ST Malta was nominated as a candidate for the 2002 European Awards for the Environment after gaining national recognition last year as the first winner of the country's Management Award for Sustainable Development in the Malta Environment Award for Industry, launched in 2001. An adjudicating committee appointed by the Ministry for the Environment in Malta placed emphasis on ST's commitment to environmental protection and management systems through the deployment of the Company's Environmental Decalogue, a set of ten quantified, timed and measurable targets with the aim of achieving environmental neutrality. First published in 1995, the Decalogue outlines the Company's goals for water and energy conservation, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, chemical usage, pollution and waste, and proactively encourages employees, customers and suppliers to be environmentally aware while continuously monitoring progress. On successful completion of the first edition, the revised 1999 version sets even more aggressive targets, in particular the highly ambitious goal to become CO2-neutral by the year 2010, going beyond the targets of the Kyoto Protocol (full Decalogue appendix 1). In line with these Decalogue goals, the Malta site was quick to address a range of environmental issues and has made dramatic improvements in the reduction of water consumption, increase in energy efficiency, and recycling of wastes. For example, the installation of a system of water recycling plants led to savings in the year 2000 amounting to 120,000m3 of mains water and today the site recycles 75% of water against a target of 90% to be met by 2005. These results are highly significant when considered that water is a very scarce resource in Malta. ST takes its impact on the economy, employment and on the social structure of communities in which the Company operates very seriously. With the number of employees at the Malta site totaling more than 2,300, STMicroelectronics is the largest private employer in Malta and as such is a prominent member of the Maltese community and economy, providing 55% of the country's total domestic exports. In addition to its strict adherence to the Decalogue, ST Malta has implemented stringent policies in accordance with the requirements of the European Community Eco Management and Audit Scheme as well as ISO14001, 1996 Environmental Management International Standards aimed at continual improvement of environmental performance to reduce environmental impacts. The site was validated to EMAS regulations in 1995 and gained ISO14001 validation in 1997. Receiving the award on behalf of ST's Malta operation, Gene Gretchen, Group Vice President and Managing Director, ST Malta, said, "As part of a corporate culture that is at the forefront of ecological commitment, not only for ethical and social reasons, but also for financial return and the ability to attract the most responsible and quality people, we are delighted that the achievements of the Malta site have been recognized in these awards. We are continuously assessing our processes to make further steps forward to control and reduce environmental impact and we are confident that by applying the guidelines of the Decalogue, ST in Malta will continue to make a major contribution to sustainable development." Commenting on the awards, Margot Wallström, European Commissioner for the Environment, said, "The winners have developed processes, products or management approaches that have the potential to deliver them well-deserved economic success, whilst at the same time reducing the impact they have on the environment. They have had to find the right balance between the two, and have succeeded." Georges Auguste, ST's Corporate Vice President and Director of Total Quality and Environmental Management, concluded, "The achievements of our Malta site show that the principles of the Decalogue have a major positive impact on the communities in which we operate, as in the wider society. Moreover, we have demonstrated that our investment in environmental initiatives produces considerable savings, reinforcing our conviction that "ecology is free" and validating that a strategy of sustainable development is a viable approach for all companies to adopt in the interests of the earth's protection as well as for the bottom line." Further information on ST and the environment, including the Environmental Decalogue, is available from ST's website www.st.com. About the European Awards for the Environment The European Awards for the Environment (called The European Better Environment Awards for Industry until 2000) were launched in 1987 to stimulate technological developments that will help create a sustainable society. The Awards, which are held every two years, are designed to recognize and promote, as an example to others, organizations that make an outstanding contribution to sustainable development. They aim to highlight policies, practices, processes and products from all sectors of business in the European Union which help achieve economic and social development without detriment to the environment and natural resources upon the quality of which continued human activity and further development depend. The Awards are given in four categories: Management Award for Sustainable Development; Product Award for Sustainable Development; Process Award for Sustainable Development; International Co-operation Award for Sustainable Development. About STMicroelectronics STMicroelectronics, the world's third largest semiconductor company, is a global leader in developing and delivering semiconductor solutions across the spectrum of microelectronics applications. An unrivalled combination of silicon and system expertise, manufacturing strength, Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio and strategic partners positions the Company at the forefront of System-on-Chip (SoC) technology and its products play a key role in enabling today's convergence markets. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, on Euronext Paris and on the Milan Stock Exchange. In 2001, the Company's net revenues were $6.36 billion and net earnings were $257.1 million. Further information on ST can be found at http://www.st.com. Notes to editors: Some examples of achievements at ST Malta within the framework of the Company's Environmental Decalogue include: Water Water plays a critical role in semiconductor manufacturing and ultra-clean water must be used because of the precision required in the process. For example, it takes 1,500 liters to process one complete silicon wafer. In 1996, a new Micro Filtration Plant for the recycling and purification of industrial wastewaters was installed at ST's Malta site. In 1998, a Plating Water Recycling Plant for further recycling of industrial wastewaters was installed, together with the reverse electroplating of metals from the wastewater. As a result, between 1994 and 2000 the total water consumption at the plant decreased from 183,315m3 to 59,258m3, more than a 90% reduction in terms of semiconductor devices produced. Energy Due to measures such as the installation of heat recovery units on air compressors and energy meters on electricity supply lines to identify and control waste energy, the site has reduced its energy consumption (in Watts/pin) by almost 40% in 2000 compared to 1997. Air Emissions The site follows a corporate standard for air emissions covering a broad range of parameters, which the site monitors twice a year. Heat recovery projects have reduced diesel consumption, thus indirectly reducing air emissions derived from burning of diesel fuel. Ozone Depleting Substances In November 1997, ST Malta was awarded the US EPA (Environment Protection Agency) Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award, for corporate leadership in eliminating ozone-depleting substances, in recognition of exceptional contributions to global environmental protection. Since 1993, when ST embarked on a strong program to eliminate all harmful CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons) from plant equipment, the Malta site has achieved a reduction of 85% in the site's inventory of Class 2 substances, i.e. those with less ozone depleting potential. Appendix 1 Second Environmental Decalogue (Released August 1999) At STMicroelectronics we believe firmly that it is mandatory for a TQM driven corporation to be at the forefront of ecological commitment, not only for ethical and social reasons, but also for financial return, and the ability to attract the most responsible and high performing people. Our "ecological vision" is to become a corporation that closely approaches environmental neutrality. To that end we will not only meet all environmental requirements of those communities in which we operate but, in addition, we will strive to comply with the following ten commandments: Appendix 2 Second Environmental Decalogue ( Released August 1999 ) At STMicroelectronics we believe firmly that it is mandatory for a TQM driven corporation to be at the forefront of ecological commitment, not only for ethical and social reasons, but also for financial return, and the ability to attract the most responsible and high performing people. Our "ecological vision" is to become a corporation that closely approaches environmental neutrality. To that end we will not only meet all environmental requirements of those communities in which we operate but, in addition, we will strive to comply with the following ten commandments: 1.0 REGULATIONS 1.1 Meet the most stringent environmental regulations of any country in which we operate, at all our locations. 1.2 Comply with all international protocols at least one year ahead of official deadlines at all our locations. 2.0 CONSERVATION 2.1 Energy : continue to reduce total energy consumption (KWh per K$ of added value) by at least 5% per year, through process and facilities optimization, conservation and building design. 2.2 Water consumption : continue to reduce water draw-down (cubic meters per K$ of added value) by at least 5% per year, through conservation, process optimization and recycling. 2.3 Water recycling : reach a minimum of 90% recycling ratio in two pilot sites by end 2005. 2.4 Trees : reduce office and manufacturing paper consumption (kg per employee) by at least 10% per year, and use at least 95% recycled paper, or paper produced from environmentally certified forests. 3.0 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS 3.1 CO2: reduce total emissions due to our energy consumption (tons of carbon equivalent per M$ of added value) by at least a factor of 10 in 2010 versus 1990, which is a goal five times better than the average of the industries meeting the Kyoto Protocol goal. 3.2 Renewable energies : increase their utilization (wind, photovoltaics and thermal solar) so that they represent at least 5% of our total energy supplies by end 2010. 3.3 Alternative energies : adopt, wherever possible, alternative energy sources such as cogeneration and fuel cells. 3.4 Carbon sequestration : compensate the remaining CO2 emissions due to our energy consumption through reforestation or other means, aiming at total neutrality towards the environment by 2010. 3.5 PFC : reduce emissions of PFC ( tons of carbon equivalent per M$ of added value) by at least a factor of 10 in 2008 versus 1995. 4.0 POLLUTION 4.1 Noise : meet a "noise-to-neighbours" below 60dB(A) at any point and any time outside our property perimeter for all sites, or comply with local regulations (whichever the most restrictive). 4.2 Contaminants : handle, store and dispose of all potential contaminants and hazardous substances at all sites, in a manner to meet or exceed the strictest environmental standards of any community in which we operate. 4.3 ODS : phase out all remaining Class 1 ODS included also in closed loops of small equipment before end 2001. 5.0 CHEMICALS 5.1 Reduce the consumption of the six most relevant chemicals by at least 5% per year ( tons per M$ of added value), through process optimization and recycling (baseline 1998). 6.0 WASTE 6.1 Landfill : reduce the amount of landfilled waste below 5% of our total waste by 2005. 6.2 Reuse or recycle at least 80% of our manufacturing and packing waste by end 1999, and 95% by end 2005. 6.3 Use the "Ladder Concept" as a guideline for all our actions in waste management. 7.0 PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES 7.1 Design products for decreased energy consumption and for enablement of more energy efficient applications. 7.2 Contribute to global environmental control by establishing a database of Life Cycle Assessment of our products. 7.3 Systematically include the environmental impact study in our development process . 7.4 Publish and update information about the chemical content of our products. 8.0 PROACTIVITY 8.1Support local initiatives for sponsoring environmental projects at each site where we operate. 8.2 Sponsor an annual Corporate Environmental Day, and encourage similar initiatives in each site. 8.3 Encourage our people to lead/participate in environmental committees, symposia, groups etc. 8.4 Include an "Environmental Awareness" training course in the ST University curriculum and offer it to suppliers and customers. 8.5 Strongly encourage our suppliers and subcontractors to be EMAS validated or ISO 14001 certified and assist them through training, support and auditing. At least 80% of our key suppliers should be certified by end 2001. 9.0 MEASUREMENT 9.1 Continuously monitor our progress, including periodic audits of all our sites worldwide. 9.2 Cooperate with international organizations to define and to implement eco-efficiency indicators. 9.3 Measure progress and achievements using 1994 as a baseline (where applicable) and publish our results in our annual Corporate Environmental Report. 10.0 VALIDATION 10.1 Maintain the ISO 14001 certification and EMAS validation of all our sites worldwide. 10.2 Certify new sites within 18 months of their operational start-up, including regional warehouses. |
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