To meet the international environmental regulations and to provide clients/customers with innocuous products, PSMC has established a hazardous-substance management system, both of which ensure that no prohibited substances are used in or mixed with our products and that no products are polluted by hazardous substances. All these efforts are made to reduce the possible impacts of our products on the environment, and, furthermore, to fulfill our corporate social responsibility.

PSMC not only implements the control of hazardous substances in the purchase of raw materials, product manufacturing and transportation, but also guides suppliers and outsourced processors to join in on the implementation, and work together to create a green product supply chain.

In order to maintain the environmental quality, PSMC strictly controls the emission of pollutants and has complied with the regulatory standards over the years. The air pollutants in the semiconductor manufacturing industry are divided into two categories: acid-base and volatile organic gases, which are discharged after treatment of acid-base exhausts by wet scrubber, and organic exhausts are discharged after adsorption and concentration by zeolite concentrator rotor and incineration by burner. The pollution prevention is carried out using the best feasible technology, and the content of pollutants discharged meets or exceeds the legal requirements.

In 2023, the overall average volatile organic waste gas (VOC) removal rate of PSMC has reached 97.14%, which is better than the best control technology conditions for semiconductor manufacturing processes in the "Best Available Control Technology for Stationary Pollution Sources" (≧ 92%).

In addition to taking measures to strengthen in-factory air pollution control equipment against possible polluting species, PSMC also regularly evaluates whether to add or improve control equipment for the manufacturing process. Relevant improvement plans are carried out in accordance with the planning schedule, including such as Local Scrubber (L/S) operation optimization and treatment efficiency verification, Central Scrubber (C/S) treatment efficiency verification, efficiency improvement, addition or replacement of control equipment, and white smoke improvement projects, etc. The air pollution improvement projects and results in 2023 are as follows:

PSMC has dedicated staff at each of its plants to manage the waste in the plants, and the relevant departments of Plant Services, General Affairs and Property Management have also assisted in the implementation of related activities. The waste removal and treatment costs in 2023 were approximately NT$97.94 million. The total waste that was generated in 2023 was approximately 13,071 metric tons, and the overall waste generated was approximately 23.41% lower than that in 2022. The total waste recovery rate was 93.11%, achieving the 2023 target of a recovery rate of ≧ 90%. The waste landfill rate was 0.33%, also achieving the 2023 target of a landfill rate of ≦ 0.5%. In the future, PSMC will continue to adopt measures to monitor, verify, or replace machines, pipeline valves, etc., to reduce waste generation and achieve the overall waste reduction target.

PSMC diligently attends to the waste generated on site and evaluates the adequacy of the waste disposal market with the concepts of reduction, recycling, and reuse at the core of waste management. PSMC also provides employees with education and training on waste reduction to ensure that employees can correctly handle the waste produced in the factory, reducing waste generation and reducing environmental risks. The plant's safety, health, and environmental committee compares the reasonableness of waste production (raw material volume vs. waste) every quarter, and completes internal management review procedures in accordance with the ISO 14001 environmental management system, and conducts PDCA effectiveness evaluations on emission management.

PSMC’s four major objectives are:

Objective 1. Source Reduction:

Items include: Replacing isopropyl alcohol (IPA) raw material, Reusing concentrated isopropyl alcohol (IPA), Reducing photoresist usage, Establishing monitor system, Extending part cleaning & recycling frequencies

Objective 2. End of Process Waste Reduction:

Ammonia Nitrogen Wastewater Treatment, Sludge reduction, Adjusting chemical mechanical polishing/planarization (CMP) operation mode, Activated carbon reduction, Landfill treatment for waste reduction

Objective 3. Enhancement of Waste Reuse Value

The major constituents of PSMC's waste are waste solvent, waste acid, and sludge. Through improved front-end classification, continued efforts to enhance the value of waste, and collaboration with vendors to carry out recycling and reuse feasibility assessments, we can ensure that there is no concern about backend products' destinations. The actual reuse rate has increased to 93.11% in 2023.

Objective 4. Proper Disposal and Tracking of Waste Flow

The waste generated at PSMC is accurately classified according to categories and disposal methods, and is entrusted to qualified waste vendors for cleaning and reuse. It is strictly required that waste cleaning should comply with the provisions of the Waste Cleaning Law and international regulations. The nickel-cadmium batteries used in DC chargers and SUPS systems need to be replaced every 3 to 4 years. Therefore, approximately 4.01 metric tons are generated in 2023, accounting for 0.031% of the overall waste volume. All cross-border transfers of waste strictly follow and shall be handled in compliance with the Basel Convention and are transported by sea to advanced countries for recycling.

PSMC develops a waste manufacturer audit plan every year, cooperates with industry associations and its own factory audit schedules, regularly visits industrial waste removal and treatment vendors, and takes legality and treatment compliance as the primary audit items. In 2023, PSMC conducted audits on a total of 43 waste vendors (including joint audits by public associations), and found a total of 34 deficiencies to be improved. All of them were tracked and improved through the company's electronic auditing system (E-Auditing) by issuing audit reports, and improvements have been completed within the deadline, and vendors are required to strengthen the implementation and management of environmental, safety and health/fire protection regulations to avoid the risk of illegal cooperation by cooperative vendors.

In order to ensure that the overall process and flow of waste disposal and reuse are well documented and ready for effective inspection at all times, and to ensure that no deliberate violation of laws or pollution of the environment occurs, PSMC signed the TSIA Convention for Waste Disposal and Reuse by High-Tech Industries initiated by the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association. The company continues to cooperate with the Association to implement the Waste Disposal Vendor Counseling and Evaluation Program and to appoint a third party to conduct source-side audits of waste disposal companies to confirm that the management operations meet the requirements of the Self-Regulation Convention. The Company has always complied with environmental protection laws and regulations, and the primary goal of environmental protection work at each plant is to reduce pollution emissions. In recent years, PSMC has not suffered any losses due to environmental pollution incidents and has not experienced any disputes due to pollution related incidents since its establishment.

Being a green enterprise is one of PSMC's goals. The Company conforms to the hazardous substance management policy, from obeying the law to mitigating risks, in hopes of improving its Hazardous Substance Process Management (HSPM) and satisfying the needs and expectations of its stakeholders. As such, the Company has attained the certification of IECQ QC080000, and on the existing basis of ISO9001, constructed the technological management process of QC080000 to control hazardous substances. These measures ensure legal compliance and satisfy its customers, proving it prioritized and committed to the systematic management of hazardous substances. In the second quarter of 2020, all five plants of the Company passed the IECQ QC080000 certification.

PSMC is committed in its social responsibility in environmental protection, thus pledges that its manufacturing facility and process has complied with international standards and regulations on environmental protection issues, which means meeting customer requirements on environmental protection specifications for products without the expense on the environment. Since 2003, PSMC has been actively promoting green design, green procurement, green manufacturing, and green packaging. Also, the Company has been approved by all customers and has obtained the certification of SONY to become a Green Partner. The company's products are in compliance with the requirements of relevant international regulations listed in the IEC62474 material declaration list. Through customer's investigation, the proportion of PSMC’s product containing IEC 62474 substances is 0%.

To ensure the sustainable development of the environment and society, governments from various countries and environmental groups (e.g. the EC member states) have constructed related regulations for environmental protection. The governments then enact laws and impose penalties in ways that corporations and non-governmental environmental groups can practice. Below is a table with summarized common international regulations: