Water Management
To cope with the high volume of process water consumption, making good use of water resources is the policy that ChipMOS has been actively promoting. Because of the extreme climate change has prolonged the impact of the dry season, we are facing the risk of water shortage. Therefore, it is more important to manage water resources effectively and identify relevant risks and opportunities.
Identification of Water Risks and Opportunities
In 2023, ChipMOS’ ESG Committee members jointly discussed, reviewed and maintained the outcome of the 2021 water risks and opportunity identification: There were a total of 51 water risks, including 2 major water risks and 9 moderate water risks; a total of 19 water opportunities, including 3 major and 2 moderate opportunities. These add up to a total of 70 risk and opportunity items.
Water Resources Risk Management
ChipMOS actively implements the ISO 46001 water efficiency management system to establish systematic data on the change of water flow and water volume. and use big data to analyze possible water risks within the fab. The Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas of the World Resources Institute (WRI) is used to identify the risk level of water supply in the area where the fab is located; through the analysis of internal and external information, it is more helpful for ChipMOS to perform Risk management of water resources. Currently, all fabs of ChipMOS are in the low or mid-low area of water resource pressure. However, in response to the risks gradually brought about by climate change, we still adopt enhancement of water saving as our main water use strategy. According to the data of water resources access sources and total water intake, the water impact of the Tainan fab. came to 0.186%, which is relatively higher compared to other facilities in terms of the impact on water source areas. This is primarily due to the larger water demand resulting from the packaging process characterized by the fab’s products.
Introduction of ISO 46001
Zhubei fab. and the Tainan fab. introduced the ISO 46001 Water Resource Efficiency Management Systems in 2023. Through systematic management, they conduct investigation of current water usage status, identify significant water consumption equipment, set up performance indicators and baselines, identify water saving potential, and launch feasible water saving measures and improvement countermeasures. Specific measures in the water saving measure plane include water systems, air conditioning systems, and water consumption of process equipment to maximize water use efficiency.
Note: Considering the production process characteristics of the products, Zhubei fab. and the Tainan fab. have high water demand and complex processes, so the implementation of the ISO 46001 management system is prioritized.
Recycling of Process Water
Since Tainan fab. is the main water consumption factory of ChipMOS and has higher impact on the water source area than other fabs, it has been investing in the construction of grinding and cutting process water recycling equipment since 2008. Through collaboration with equipment suppliers and external organizations, the plant utilizes ultrafiltration membranes to filter and recycle process water for reuse in the manufacturing processes. In 2023, the water efficiency reached to a level at which 1 drop of water was used 2.4 times. In 2023, the reclaimed process water at Tainan fab. reached 134.68% of the tap water consumption. The water saved through the process water recycling equipment effectively facilitated the reduction of the impact on the water source area by 0.03% and minimized the impact on the environment.
In 2023, ChipMOS installed the process water recycling equipment in Zhubei fab., with a recycled water volume of 122.02 million liters. Over the past 16 years, the accumulated recovered water has reached 12,547.111 million liters, equivalent to nearly 5,019 international standard swimming pools saved.
Note 1: Calculated with reference to the water use efficiency of the industry: (tap water consumption + reclaimed water volume)/ tap water consumption = the number of water use per drop of water
Note 2: Through the use of process water recycling equipment, Tainan fab. has improved its water efficiency and reduced water intake, resulting in a decrease in water impact on the water source area from 0.214% to 0.186%
Note 3: Calculated based on 2.5 million liters of an international standard swimming pool (data sourced from International Swimming Federation, which was renamed to World Aquatics (FINA) in 2023)
Wastewater Treatment and Discharge
The most direct impact of climate change on water resources is the change of rainfall patterns and even extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, and melting glaciers. Therefore, ChipMOS has spared no effort in protection of water sources. We use continuous monitoring equipment 24 hours a day, conduct water quality testing and personnel environmental education and training to effectively implement water resource management and ensure that discharged water complies with relevant laws and regulations.
Under strict control and thorough environmental education and training of ChipMOS, the wastewater discharged at each production site meets the effluent standards required by applicable laws and regulations. We regularly commission an external qualified testing organization to conduct inspection and conduct inspection and testing every day. Hsinchu fab. and Zhubei fab. 2 and Hukou fab. have no process wastewater. Hsinchu and Tainan fabs are located in the Science Park, and Hukou fab. is located in the industrial zone, where the wastewater is discharged after unified treatment by the park sewage treatment plant and the industrial zone sewage treatment center. Zhubei fab. is also treated by the wastewater treatment plant. After confirming to meet the discharge water standard, the waste water is discharged to the receiving water body approved by the Environmental Protection Authority.
In addition, Zhubei and Tainan fabs set up on-line monitoring of effluent quality to ensure that aquatic environment and ecology are protected. Related targets are set and controlled strictly. In 2023, a total of 981.693 million liters of wastewater were discharged, indicating a decrease of 20.19% compared to 2022. This is mainly due to the optimization and stabilization of wastewater treatment technology in Tainan fab. As a result, the average process wastewater recycling rate in 2023 reached 86.02 %, showing a significantly reduction of wastewater discharge.
Water Management Precautionary Alerts and Contingency Actions
With reference to the data of the AQUEDUCT Water Risk Atlas data of the World Resources Institute (WRI), we identify the water stress of ChipMOS' main fabs (Hsinchu and Tainan) as medium to low risk level. Considering the risk of extreme climate change, we use digitized real-time information of water conditions to monitor the water supply situation 24 hours a day, track and observe the reservoir water storage capacity for each fab, and keep abreast of water conditions with reference to the relevant meteorological information of the Central Weather Administration. In addition to the early source water waring, we monitor the water supply equipment of each fab in a real-time manner. If the water storage volume of the tap water tank falls below the warning value, we immediately make sure whether the source water and water supply equipment are normal to facilitate subsequent response measures.
In response to the water shortage crisis, the Company has implemented three major contingency measures
ISO 14046 Water Footprint
About water resources management, in addition to saving water and recycling water, we also improve the water resource efficiency of the supply chain through the water footprint check mechanism. Moreover, we conduct a check in accordance with ISO 14046 and undergo third-party verification, in order to improve the reliability of data. Since 2014, ChipMOS has completed the ISO 14046 water footprint verification of its products, and has passed the third-party certification, so as to effectively master the water resource status of production and provide customers with reference. The products that completed their check include: LCD Driver IC (bare crystal flip chip), LCD driver IC (COF), 8 "and 12" au bumped wafer, ball grid array package (BGA), quad flat non-lead package (QFN), etc.