Increasing sustainability from the inside out

As we expand our operations around the world, we continue to implement the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) methodology. We chose green building materials wherever possible—including low-VOC paint and recycled products which are further recyclable, such as ceiling tiles, vinyl composition floor tile, systems furniture, carpet, fabrics and more. By sourcing, designing and building with sustainable products, we minimized waste and helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2011, we applied for LEED certification for two facilities:

• We applied for LEED Commercial Interiors Certified status for our 9,300-square-foot expansion space in Shenzhen, China. The preliminary review was completed, and sufficient points have been awarded for this leveling goal. We have additional points pending that would allow us to reach the LEED Commercial Interiors Silver rating. If approved, this will be our second building in China that has earned this distinction. Our first was the Qualcomm Kerry Centre in Beijing.
• We worked toward LEED Gold Certification for our manufacturing facility in Longtan, Taiwan, a 1.3 million-square-foot factory set to begin receiving tools for the production of Mirasol displays in 2012. We expect the facility to be our second LEED Certified facility outside the United States. The other is our LEED Silver Certified facility in Bangalore, India, a 127,000-square-foot tower. Our 1 million-square-foot campus in San Diego, CA, was certified LEED Gold in 2008.

Five of our San Diego office sites are adjacent to Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, protected home to more than 500 plant species, 175 types of birds and a variety of reptiles, amphibians and mammals. We work closely with the City of San Diego and San Diego County to ensure that our impact on this important sanctuary is minimal.

Improved packaging and material handling at our Singapore distribution center continued to reduce waste and carbon emissions. Reuse of pallets and boxes, recycling of corrugated cardboard and using steel cages and trolleys in place of disposable palettes and cartons are just some of the ways we’re cutting waste.

Since our Singapore distribution center introduced slimmer shipping boxes for our integrated circuit (IC) products in 2008, we’ve saved thousands of metric tons of cardboard. We also expect to reuse more than 30,000 cartons per year, further reducing our consumption.

As an engineering company, we depend on a robust information technology (IT) infrastructure. We take steps to minimize energy consumption and waste in our IT system, keeping both costs and environmental considerations in mind. Our Green IT Committee meets regularly to look for opportunities to cut waste, such as using their procurement teams to leverage consolidated purchasing to reduce the number of shipments we receive, saving transportation fuel and encouraging vendors to minimize packing materials.

The following are some of our new and continuing measures:

We strive to keep our buildings exceptionally clean and to minimize the use of chemicals as we do so. In 2011, our San Diego Building Services Team earned ISO 9001:2008 certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). In awarding the certification, the third-party auditor called our team a “benchmark of excellence.”

The program delivers cost efficiencies as well. Among our “green” cleaning practices:

• A system for reducing potential for cross contamination of cleaning tools that exceeds requirements for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance.
• Green Seal Certified chemicals for daily-use cleaning products.
• Use of neutral pH (@ +-7) carpet-cleaning chemicals listed by OSHA as having zero toxic hazard, zero flammable hazard, zero reactive hazard and zero corrosive hazard.
• Limited use of ammonia, peroxide and other toxic chemicals.
• Use of an ergonomic, four-level filter vacuum system proven to reduce dust particles to virtually no detectable emission.
• Use of flat microfiber mops and two-sided buckets that reduce water usage for cleaning by 75 percent.
• A just-in-time inventory system for cleaning products that reduces the amount of product disposed.
• Use of chemical cleaning concentrates that has reduced waste sent to landfills by 97 percent.