Sustainability Challenges and Opportunities in the Semiconductor Supply Chain

Main Article Content

Yu-Ting Chen

Abstract

In this article, we discuss the challenges of sustainable development faced by the semiconductor industry, including resource constraints, environmental impacts, worker protection, and ethical issues. The main challenges faced by the semiconductor industry are the increasing demands from environmental regulators and consumers to be more environmentally and socially responsible, to reduce the use of energy and water resources, and to reduce waste emissions.     


The demand for such development has also created many opportunities for the semiconductor industry supply chain, including the use of green engineering technologies, more efficient use of resources and circular economy. Therefore, in this paper we will discuss in detail some of the sustainability issues faced by the semiconductor industry, including ethics, environment, labor protection and resource constraints, as well as environmental damage and impact. Finally, we provide various recommendations in this article regarding the sustainable development of the semiconductor industry and the opportunities it can encounter.


After a brief overview of the current status of the semiconductor supply chain, we pointed out the challenge faced by and strategies that were be deployed by the key companies, such as TSMC and Intel. And finally, the conclusions were drawn.

Article Details

How to Cite
Chen, Y.-T. (2023). Sustainability Challenges and Opportunities in the Semiconductor Supply Chain. Supply Chain and Sustainability Research: SCSR, 1(4), 41–59. https://doi.org/10.14456/scsr.2023.16
Section
Research articles

References

Aelker, J., Bauernhansl, T., & Ehm, H. (2013). Managing Complexity in Supply Chains: A Discussion of Current Approaches on the Example of the Semiconductor Industry. Procedia CIRP, 7, 79-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2013.05.014

Chang, C. P. (2009). The relationships among corporate social responsibility, corporate image and economic performance of high-tech industries in Taiwan. Quality & Quantity, 43, 417-429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-007-9109-7

Cheng, W. L., & Ahmad, J. (2010). Incorporating stakeholder approach in corporate social responsibility (CSR): a case study at multinational corporations (MNCs) in Penang. Social Responsibility Journal, 6(4), 533-548.

Chien, C. -F., Kuo, H. -A., & Lin, Y. -S. (2022). Smart semiconductor manufacturing for pricing, demand planning, capacity portfolio and cost for sustainable supply chain management. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13675567.2022.2076818

Curry, E., Guyon, B., Sheridan, C., & Donnellan, B. (2012). Developing a sustainable IT capability: lessons from Intel's journey. MIS Quarterly Executive, 11(2), 61-74. ISSN 1540-1960.

Ejsmont, K., Gladysz, B., & Kluczek, A. (2020). Impact of Industry 4.0 on Sustainability- Bibliometric Literature Review. Sustainability, 12(14), 5650. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145650

Felsberger, A., & Reiner, G. (2020). Sustainable Industry 4.0 in Production and Operations Management: A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability, 12(19), 7982. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12197982

Frieske, B., & Stieler, S. (2022). The “Semiconductor Crisis” as a Result of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Impacts on the Automotive Industry and Its Supply Chains. World Electr. Veh. J., 13(10), 189. https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj13100189

Haapala, K.R., Zhao, F., Camelio, J., Sutherland, J.W., Skerlos, S.J., Dornfeld, D.A., Jawahir, I.S., Clarens, A.F., & Rickli, J.L. (2013). A Review of Engineering Research in Sustainable Manufacturing. Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 135(4), 041013. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4024040

Harland, J., Reichelt, T., & Yao, M. (2008). Environmental sustainability in the semiconductor industry. In 2008 IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment (pp. 1-6). IEEE. doi: 10.1109/ISEE.2008.4562886.

Huang, C. J., & Liu, J. C. (1999). Precipitate flotation of fluoride-containing wastewater from a semiconductor manufacturer. Water Research, 33(16), 3403-3412. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0043-1354(99)00065-2

Huang, Y.-C. and Huang, C.-H. (2022). Exploring institutional pressure, the top management team's response, green innovation adoption, and firm performance: evidence from Taiwan's electrical and electronics industry. European Journal of Innovation Management, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-03-2022-0126

Hwang, B. -N., Huang, C. -Y., & Wu, C. -H. (2016). A TOE approach to establish a green supply chain adoption decision model in the semiconductor industry. Sustainability, 8(2), 168. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8020168

Intel. (2022a). Corporate Responsibility. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/corporate-responsibility/overview.html

Intel. (2022b). Environmental Sustainability. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/corporate-responsibility/environmental-sustainability.html

Intel. (2022c). Social Impact. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/corporate-responsibility/social-impact.html

Ip, P. K. (2008). Corporate social responsibility and crony capitalism in Taiwan. Journal of Business Ethics, 79, 167-177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9385-5

Kang, J. S., Chiang, C. F., Huangthanapan, K., & Downing, S. (2015). Corporate social responsibility and sustainability balanced

scorecard: The case study of family-owned hotels. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 48, 124-134.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2015.05.001

Knoblich, K., Ehm, H., Heavey, C., & Williams, P. (2011). Modeling supply contracts in semiconductor supply chains. In Proceedings of the 2011 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC), Phoenix, AZ, USA (pp. 2108-2118). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/WSC.2011.6147924.

Knoblich, K., Heavey, C., & Williams, P. (2015). Quantitative analysis of semiconductor supply chain contracts with order flexibility under demand uncertainty: A case study. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 87, 394-406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2015.05.004

Lee, K. H., & Kim, J. W. (2011). Integrating Suppliers into Green Product Innovation Development: an Empirical Case Study in the Semiconductor Industry. Business Strategy and the Environment, 20(5), 280-294. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.714

Lin, F., Lin, S. W., & Lu, W. M. (2019). Dynamic eco-efficiency evaluation of the semiconductor industry: a sustainable development perspective. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 191(7), 435. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019- 7598-6

Liu, C.H., Lin, S.J., & Lewis, C. (2010). Life cycle assessment of DRAM in Taiwan's semiconductor industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 18(5), 419-425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2009.10.004

Lou, C. C., Lee, T. P., Gong, S. C., & Lin, S. L. (2010). Effects of technical innovation on market value of the U.S. semiconductor industry. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 77(8), 1322-1338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2010.04.016

Lu, W. M., Wang, W. K., & Lee, H. L. (2013). The relationship between corporate social responsibility and corporate performance: evidence from the US semiconductor industry. International Journal of Production Research, 51(19), 5683-5695. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2013.776186

Macher, J. T., Mowery, D. C., & Simcoe, T. S. (2002). e-Business and Disintegration of the Semiconductor Industry Value Chain.Industry and Innovation, 9(3), 155-181. https://doi.org/10.1080/1366271022000034444

Marić, J., & Opazo-Basáez, M. (2019). Green Servitization for Flexible and Sustainable Supply Chain Operations: A Review of Reverse Logistics Services in Manufacturing. Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, 20(Suppl 1), 65-80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40171-019-00225-6

MediaTek. (2020a). Sustainability Report. https://d86o2zu8ugzlg.cloudfront.net/mediatek-craft/reports/CSR/2021-MediaTek-Sustainability-Report.pdf

MediaTek. (2020b). Corporate Social Responsibility Report. https://d86o2zu8ugzlg.cloudfront.net/mediatek- Corporate-Social-Responsibility-Report.pdf

Mullen, E., & Morris, M. A. (2021). Green Nanofabrication Opportunities in the Semiconductor Industry: A Life Cycle Perspective. Nanomaterials, 11(5), 1085. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11051085

Ntabe, E. N., LeBel, L., Munson, A. D., & Santa-Eulalia, L. A. (2015). A systematic literature review of the supply chain operations reference (SCOR) model application with special attention to environmental issues. International Journal of Production Economics, 169, 310-332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2015.07.026

Panwar, R., Pinkse, J., & De Marchi, V. (2022). The future of global supply chains in a post-COVID-19 world. California Management Review, 64(2), 5-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/00081256211073355

Park, D. (2016). Optimal Plus The Quest for the Quality of Things: Can the Internet of Things deliver a promise of the quality of things? IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine, 5(2), 35-37. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCE.2016.2519058

Price, J.K. (2015). Transforming learning for the smart learning environment: lessons learned from the Intel education initiatives. Smart Learning Environments, 2(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-015-0022-y

Santharm, B. A., & Ramanathan, U. (2017). Supply chain transparency for sustainability – an intervention-based research approach. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 37(1), 80-97. ISSN: 0144-3577.

Shang, K.-C., Lu, C.-S., & Li, S. (2010). A taxonomy of green supply chain management capability among electronics-related manufacturing firms in Taiwan. Journal of Environmental Management, 91(5), 1218-1226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.01.016

TSMC. (2022). Sustainability Report. Retrieved from https://www.tsmc.com/english/sustainability/index.htm

Van Den Brink, S., Kleijn, R., Tukker, A., & Huisman, J. (2019). Approaches to responsible sourcing in mineral supply chains. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 145, 389-398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.02.040

Vanany, I., Zailani, S., & Pujawan, N. (2009). Supply Chain Risk Management: Literature Review and Future Research. International Journal of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management (IJISSCM), 2(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.4018/jisscm.2009010102

Wang, C.-T., & Chiu, C.-S. (2014). Competitive strategies for Taiwan's semiconductor industry in a new world economy. Technology in Society, 36, 26-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2013.12.002