TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan is the world's undisputed leader in terms of raw semiconductor manufacturing.

This leadership position is largely due to the work of a single company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). Taiwan's economy depends heavily on semiconductor exports to generate economic growth and in 2022, Taiwan's exports of integrated circuits amounted to US$184 billion (NT$6 trillion), nearly 25% of Taiwan's GDP.

However, semiconductor manufacturing requires massive amounts of water, which leads to major environmental issues within the industry both here in Taiwan and internationally. A large chip fab can use up to 38 million liters of water a day, which is estimated to be the equivalent of the daily water usage for 300,000 households.

At least, TSMC clearly understands the impact its manufacturing process has on water resources. It states in its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report that it strives for comprehensive water cycle management through the following three major strategies: managing water resource risk, developing diverse water sources, and developing preventive measures.

In the report, TSMC also says that its four major water conservation measures are to "Reduce Facility System Water Consumption, Increase Wastewater Recycling of Facilities , Improve Water Production Rate of the System, and Decrease Water Discharge Loss from the System."

These four measures are then integrated with the three water management processes of "Water Supply Diversity, Water Efficiency Management, and Wastewater Resource Recycling." It has developed 38 distribution systems based on the composition and concentration of wastewater from fabrication for wastewater classification and resource management.

TSMC works on achieving this comprehensive management through its membership of the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), which sets the global standard for sustainable water management.

AWS is a global membership collaboration comprising businesses, NGOs, and the public sector. Its members contribute to the sustainability of local water resources through their adoption and promotion of a universal framework for the sustainable use of water. The AWS Standard drives and rewards good water stewardship performance.

The AWS Standard 2.0 is a globally applicable framework for major water users to understand their water use and impacts, and to work collaboratively and transparently for sustainable water management within a catchment context. It is intended to drive social, environmental, and economic benefits at the scale of a water catchment area.

AWS achieves this by engaging water-using sites in understanding and addressing shared catchment water challenges as well as site water risks and opportunities. It asks water-using sites to address these challenges in a way that progressively moves them to best practice in terms of five outcomes of good water governance: sustainable water balance, good water quality status, important water-related areas and safe water, sanitation, and hygiene for all.

Implementation of AWS Standard 2.0 brings benefits for major water usage sites such as a fab. Implementation leads to a better understanding of water dependencies and impacts, mitigates operational and supply chain water risks, and ensures responsible water procedures are in place.

In 2022, TSMC announced it had received AWS Platinum Certification and had the highest score for three consecutive years.

While it is easy to focus on TSMC in Taiwan, it is also important to note that the challenge of providing sustainable solutions for industrial and semiconductor wastewater is a global issue. Recently, Membrion, a U.S. based provider of sustainable solutions, confirmed it is manufacturing ceramic desalination membranes able to recover up to 98% of water in harsh conditions, eliminating the need for thermal treatment, chemical precipitation, or trucking water offsite.

As the global rate of semiconductor manufacturing shows no signs of slowing, it will be essential that all manufacturers adhere to the best global standards, such as AWS Standard 2.0, and take full advantage of advances in sustainable solutions.