We’re committed to net-zero global operational emissions by 2040
Our EHS policy highlights our commitment to minimize our environmental footprint by preventing pollution, reducing our consumption of resources on a per capita basis, and consuming and disposing of materials in a responsible and sustainable manner.
We are working to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in our operations and value chain. Our goals, approved by the Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) Business Ambition for 1.5°C, are: Reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50 percent by 2030 from 2020 base year, reducing absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions by 25 percent by 2030 from 2020 base year, and to reach net-zero global operational emissions for Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2040.
We also achieved our 2025 Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) goal of reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30 percent compared to a 2014 base year.
Our environmental footprint
We aim to conduct our operations and activities in a manner designed to provide and maintain safe, healthy, and productive working conditions and to conserve natural resources. We work to continually improve our established environment, health and safety (EHS) management systems to maintain compliance with applicable legal and other requirements, monitor and improve EHS performance, eliminate hazards and risks, and incorporate industry best practices.
Our three manufacturing facilities in China, Germany, and Singapore are certified by the internationally recognized ISO 50001 standard for energy management and by the ISO 14001 standard for environmental management.
We use different methods to drive investment in emissions reduction activities and environmental responsibility measures. These include the below:
Cutting waste from operations
We manage our waste through a structured, multifunctional approach that prioritizes reduction, reuse, and responsible disposal. Guided by our Environmental Program Management Standard, we identify activities, services, and processes that generate waste, and we implement practices that minimize the impacts of such waste.
Our waste strategy focuses on working to reduce our overall waste footprint by promoting less hazardous, more durable, reusable, and recycled materials across our operations. We also maintain programs aimed at increasing reuse and recycling, with the goal of diverting waste from landfills and encouraging circular practices.
Energy efficiency measures
We continue to evaluate our operations globally to explore opportunities for increasing our renewable energy purchases. We have continued to advance on the execution of our net-zero strategy through efforts such as installing solar panels at key manufacturing sites, continued efforts to drive our colocation data centers to utilize renewable energy and procuring renewable energy in locations we have a significant operational footprint.
Assessing climate-related risk
We conduct a CSA every three years to evaluate the projected financial materiality of physical and transition risks in the regions where the Company and its key suppliers operate. Qualcomm’s quantitative methodology reflects an in-depth understanding of our fabless business model and available data, and it aligns to our financial materiality thresholds.
In 2023, we performed a quantitative CSA of climate-related physical risks. We also performed a qualitative and quantitative analysis of climate-related transition risks and opportunities. The results of our 2023 CSA can be found in our latest Corporate Responsibility Report.
Making every drop count
As we continue to manage our water-related risks and impacts, we work on projects to minimize our usage. We leverage an internal price for water at our manufacturing sites to reflect the true cost of water usage and water treatment. This incentivizes the development of resource-efficient processes. Additionally, we strive to regularly conduct water audits to identify areas for water optimization and implement conservation projects accordingly. In our office spaces, we continue to use reclaimed water instead of potable water for irrigation and our cooling plant systems. Approximately 75 percent of water used at our San Diego headquarters is non-potable reclaimed water. We have continued our water stewardship efforts in our offices and facilities across India, which is classified among the most water-stressed countries in the world.
We use different methods to drive investment in emissions reduction activities and environmental responsibility measures. These include:
- Internal finance mechanisms: Using electricity more efficiently helps us minimize our carbon footprint while avoiding millions of dollars in costs. Energy-efficient lighting, heating and cooling systems, data centers, and information technology (IT) equipment all help lighten our load. When feasible, we build new buildings according to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) methodology. By sourcing, designing, and building with sustainable products, we minimize waste and water usage, improve indoor air quality, and help reduce GHG emissions.
At our manufacturing sites we have established a sophisticated internal carbon pricing mechanism. This gives our engineers guidance in developing efficient manufacturing processes, while reducing our Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions.
- Energy efficiency measures: Our energy efficiency savings across our building space in California and Bangalore have realized approximately $7.5 million in avoided costs each year. As we continue to evaluate our operations globally to explore opportunities for increasing our renewable energy purchases. We reduced our GHG emissions in India alone by approximately 22,485 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) through the purchase of solar energy for our Bangalore offices. This represents the first year of output from our 10-year power purchase agreement signed in 2018 to increase our renewable energy consumption. We also own and operate several on-site solar generating systems in San Diego and Bangalore, which are helping us achieve our GHG emissions reduction goal.
- Compliance with regulatory standards: We have complied with California's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) since January 2010, contributing to a reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions. Our provider is also on track to ramp up to approximately 60% renewable energy by 2030, in line with California’s RPS goals.
- Technology improvements: We continue to invest in leading-edge technology. Many of these technologies offer increased capability while, at the same time, attain power consumption efficiencies. Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets are industry-leading in their power consumption optimizations, also enabling longer battery life and Increase renewable energy purchases.
- Cutting waste from operations:Qualcomm depends on a robust IT infrastructure for all aspects of our daily operations. We take steps to minimize energy consumption and waste in our IT system, keeping costs and environmental considerations in mind. Measures like powering down printers, connecting through wireless backhaul, and deploying modular and performance optimized data centers have made a significant difference. Our office kitchens and cafes have active recycling and food composting programs which help reduce waste to landfills from our corporate offices. We also engage employees in conservation efforts by conducting regular on-site events for personal e-waste collection and recycling.
- Making every drop count: As water sources around the world become increasingly stressed, we are acutely aware of the need to treat water as the precious resource it is. We prioritize assessing our water footprint and conserving water, particularly in California, the location of our headquarters and a state perennially challenged by water scarcity. In our facilities, we make our greatest gains in water conservation by using reclaimed water instead of potable water for irrigation and our cooling plant systems, whenever possible.
At our manufacturing sites we conduct water audits to assess usage and share best practices between our locations. Additionally, we also have an internal price for water which makes the real cost of water usage and water treatment transparent and evident. This facilitates a strong motivation for our engineers to develop cost effective and water efficient processes.
- Promoting water conservation and transparency in our supply chain: As a member of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), we expect our manufacturing suppliers to reduce water waste and to treat wastewater according to regulatory standards prior to any discharge or disposal. Because semiconductor processing is water intensive, we work closely with the suppliers that make our integrated-circuit products to promote efficient water use. We ask our key semiconductor manufacturing suppliers to report their water use via the CDP water disclosure survey or the RBA Environmental Reporting Initiative.
- Usage of hazardous substances / risk assessments: Processing wafers demand a certain usage of hazardous substances. To mitigate any risks from these substances and to control any other risks from any manufacturing activities, we conduct risk assessments for all workplaces and our production sites. Any applicable threshold of dangerous substances is regularly monitored. This applies to workstations of our employees as well as emissions to our environment. In addition, we are continuously checking possibilities and options for substitution of hazardous substances with materials of lower risk characteristics. Regardless, any new substances undergo extensive review and approval processes before application can begin.
Assessing climate related risks through Climate Scenario Analysis.
In 2020, we conducted our first company-wide climate scenario analysis (CSA), which included a qualitative evaluation of 1.5°C, 2°C and 4°C warming scenarios. Our analysis included a limited set of risks: price of carbon (transition risk), coastal flooding, high heat days, water stress, extreme cold days, average temperature and air pollution (physical risks).
As we evaluated the impacts to our business under these three scenarios, we focused on the potential for increased operating costs and increased business interruption across our operations. We leveraged standardized, third-party climate modeling data, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), and applied internal data sources such as our global greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and facilities data. For more information on our climate scenario analysis, please refer to our 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report.
Reporting our GHG emissions.
Qualcomm has achieved Climate Registered™ Platinum status. We earned this recognition by publicly reporting a third-party verified GHG emissions inventory for our operations. This data will enable us to continue to track and credibly report our climate initiatives and GHG reductions over time.
At Qualcomm, as part of being accountable around our environmental performance and GHG emission reduction efforts, we have been responding to CDP Climate Change survey on an annual basis since 2010. Read our disclosures to the CDP Climate Change surveys found at the bottom of this page.
Beyond GHG emissions.
In addition to tracking our GHG emissions, we track emissions of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic chemicals that are generated as by-products of three cogeneration turbine plants at our corporate headquarters. These highly efficient turbines are fueled by natural gas and enable us to produce some of our own electricity, reducing costs and GHG output. We use heat captured in the turbines to power large chillers in our corporate campus’ air-conditioning system, further saving electricity, and reducing carbon emissions.
