Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer TSMC has laid out a road map to achieve net-zero carbon status by 2050, and to eventually cut its emissions by 450,000 metric tons.

In an April 22 release from the company, TSMC highlighted a series of benchmarks it hopes to accomplish leading up to 2050, starting with a goal to peak its carbon emissions in 2025, and then reduce its emissions to 2020 levels by 2030.

"Corporate engagement is one of the key drivers of change in the global pursuit of environmental commitments and low-carbon transformation," said TSMC CEO Dr. C.C. Wei. "We are committed to setting ambitious goals and taking action to strive for a sustainable future."

According to a 2023 analysis from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), more than 80% of the semiconductor's industry's emissions come from electricity consumption alone. TSMC hopes to address this by transitioning to 100% renewable energy consumption by 2040, and reported 14% renewable energy usage in 2024 on the path to its "medium-target" goal of 60% by 2030. In 2024, TSMC also launched a supply chain subsidy project aimed at funding first-tier suppliers of raw materials, so that they could upgrade or replace outdated equipment to cut their own emissions. 

BCG estimates that carbon emissions from semiconductor production could rise by as much as 8% annually at the industry's current pace of growth, and would not peak until around 2045. That's largely driven by a rising demand for chips used in everything from supercomputers to household appliances, with the group warning that wider industry-wide commitments to minimize manufacturing emissions "are as yet insufficient" to reach net-zero by 2050. Even so, BCG noted that actions taken by a handful of companies "have substantially improved the outlook."