Environmental/Energy-Efficiency Policy
Intel prioritizes private-public sector collaboration to influence the development of sound public policies related to the environment and energy efficiency.
Intel takes action to measure, reduce, and report on its climate “footprint” as well as increase the positive impact of its products by leveraging opportunities to enable other sectors of the economy to reduce their climate and energy footprints. For more than two decades, Intel has invested in reducing the direct GHG emissions from its operations through energy conservation, renewable electricity, GHG abatement, process optimization, and chemical substitution.
Key Issues
Climate policy
Climate policy should be based upon the latest and best available scientific information; the UN-affiliated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the primary global source of ‘consensus science’ on climate change, its causes and its effects. Governments should facilitate market-based policy approaches wherever possible. Market-based approaches such as cap-and-trade systems and direct or indirect carbon taxes are all means of pricing carbon and providing emissions-reducing incentives at lower cost than many traditional command-and-control approaches. Carbon taxes and adjustment mechanisms need to be designed and implemented effectively, with adequate guidance in place. It is critical for the successful implementation of such adjustment mechanisms that the administrative burden on businesses be proportionate and ensure environmental benefits.
Energy
Intel prefers market-driven approaches to renewable electricity supplies over mandates but recognizes that many countries are pursuing renewable portfolio standards and energy efficiency mandates imposed upon electric utilities in their jurisdiction. Where mandates are considered, they should take into consideration the ability of commercial and industrial customers to realize the benefit of mandated purchasing of attestations for their own voluntary reporting, electricity cost impacts, any potential risk to reliability or quality of service, and balance those to grow the market for renewables.
Essential gases
The semiconductor manufacturing process requires the use of fluorinated gases (F-gases). Government efforts to reduce the use of essential gases should aim to ensure a pragmatic phasedown to consider technical and supply limitations. Governments should consider ways to support industry collaborative efforts to research viable alternatives as well as incentivize abatement systems and innovation due to the complexity and cost of research into replacements and abatement technologies. Even where alternatives exist, it is critical to ensure adequate transition time so that new technologies and equipment using F-gases can be qualified, phased in, and available in sufficient quantities for high-volume manufacturing. This will allow governments to meet their policy objectives to reduce emissions while protecting essential industries like semiconductors in which the majority of their direct GHG emissions result from the use of critical gases in their production processes.
Chemicals Management Policy
Chemicals are essential to the semiconductor industry. Intel is committed to the safe management of chemicals to protect our workers and the environment. Government policy regarding chemicals should align with environmental protection, the safe use of chemicals, and technology innovation.
Given the complex scientific and engineering challenge to identify and replace substances such as PFAS in our high-volume manufacturing facilities, this will require collaborative R&D efforts at the semiconductor industry level. Accordingly, government support to fund such R&D initiatives will be instrumental in our industry’s success in developing alternatives that are more sustainable in parallel to the further development of capture technologies. Government reviews and approvals of chemicals should be performed in a timely fashion, supporting rapid innovation in product development.
Circular economy
Extending the life of products and promoting the use of recycled materials can drive down their carbon footprint. As part of government efforts to transition to a sustainable economy, policies that aim to promote circularity across the product's life cycle should avoid overly prescriptive requirements that might risk stifling future innovation.
Product energy efficiency
Increasingly, governments are imposing energy efficiency requirements on information and communications technology (ICT) products as a way of reducing electricity consumption and GHG emissions in their use-phase. ICT products are a frequent target of such policies due to their widespread proliferation in the marketplace; examples include the US ENERGY STAR program and the European Union’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. Government programs that require or encourage more energy-efficient ICT products should avoid measures that could stifle innovation and limit product functionality. Efforts to reduce passive or network standby power should not discourage the development of so-called “smart grid-ready” or network-connected devices. In addition to setting reasonable efficiency limits, government product efficiency programs should aim to harmonize their testing and compliance provisions with existing programs in other geographies (e.g., the testing procedures set by the US ENERGY STAR program and international standards).
For over a decade, Intel has been one of the top corporate purchasers of renewable electricity in the U.S. and energy-efficient performance is a driving force in the design of our products. Intel has a history of improving the energy efficiency of its products: from transistor to device to platform level. As a part of Intel’s 2030 goals, Intel committed to working with the technology ecosystem to achieve carbon-neutral computing. To achieve this, Intel is partnering with PC manufacturers to create more sustainable and energy-efficient PCs as well as collaborating with its cloud service providers to reduce server and data center energy use and reduce carbon emissions. In 2022, Intel set a goal to achieve a 30% reduction in the client reference system design carbon footprint by the year 2030. These reference systems are used in collaboration with ODMs and OEMs to further reduce the carbon footprint in PC systems that end users purchase.
We set challenging 2030 goals to increase product energy efficiency by 10x for Intel client and server microprocessors to reduce our Scope 3 emissions. Moreover, global climate change concerns have driven policymakers to expand beyond traditional product energy efficiency to focus on a product’s overall environmental sustainability, with a key emphasis on “product circularity.” Specifically, this “circularity” entails improving product durability for a second life, reusability, upgradability, repairability, and software/operating system support, as well as mitigating the use of hazardous chemicals in manufacturing and completed products. Intel supports this broader sustainability focus in support of product circularity.
@IntelPolicy
Ideas and perspectives promoting a thriving innovation economy from Intel’s public policy team.