Throughout the manufacturing process, from designing new processes to shipping finished products, safety is our top priority–safety for our employees, safety for our community, and safety for the environment. We strive to provide a safe and healthy workplace, to conserve natural resources, and to minimize the impact our manufacturing operations have on the environment.
An important part of Intel's corporate culture is that we're never satisfied with the status quo. We strive for excellence in our Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) programs, but we know we can always improve. To ensure that we achieve those improvements, we set challenging goals for ourselves every year, and we make ourselves publicly accountable by reporting on their status.
2007 New Mexico EHS report
Introduction
Intel New Mexico is committed to providing a safe working environment, conserving natural resources, and reducing the environmental burden of waste generation, air emissions, and wastewater discharges. Every year, we set aggressive goals to meet these commitments and present our performance against these goals in this annual report. View Intel's Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) policy, at http://www.intel.com/intel/other/ehs/policy.htm.
Status of 2007 goals
Goal: Develop and promote a "health and well–being culture" for Intel employees.
Status: Met goal. In 2007, the free 3–step Health for Life Wellness program was a favorable employee offering. 1,237 New Mexico employees were informed of their personal risk profile by utilizing the Mayo Clinic Health Risk Assessment (HRA). Based on year-over-year health risk assessment data, site employees are making positive health changes with the aid of personalized health coaching sessions.
Goal: Work with state and Federal agencies and the local community to establish a National Safety Council (NSC) chapter for the state of New Mexico.
Status: Not met. A NSC chapter was not established. Intel continued its relationship with state and federal agencies and the local community with participation in the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program and sharing best known safety practices with surrounding industries.
Goal: Recycle at least 75% of the chemical waste generated from the New Mexico site.
Status: Exceeded goal. A chemical waste recycling rate of 99% was achieved in 2007.
Goal: Continue water recycling and conservation to maintain fresh water use at or below historic usage levels.
Status: Met goal. Water consumption continues to remain below our historic usage levels.
Goal: Sustain ISO 14001 registration by maintaining excellent environmental management systems.
Status: Met goal. Intel conducted regular self audits and uses a third party registrar to conduct periodic reviews of our site.
Goal: Jointly identify, pursue, and communicate continuous improvements through the Community Environmental Working Group (CEWG).
Status: Met goal. Since the CEWG began meeting in August of 2004, it has made progress in identifying areas where Intel could make environmental improvements. See CEWG annual report below for details.
Health and safety
Every year, Intel puts forth great effort in promoting a safe and healthy workplace, and 2007 was no exception. Our vision is a culture in which employees and their families actively seek to live healthy lifestyles. Our Health for Life wellness program, now in its second year, is a three-step program that includes a baseline health evaluation, completion of an online Health Risk Assessment, and a confidential meeting with an on-site personal health coach to develop an individual health action plan. In 2007, 1,237 New Mexico employees participated in the program. The National Business Group on Health recognized the program by presenting Intel with its Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyle Gold award.
Intel New Mexico is part of the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program which is an elite recognition granted by OSHA to worksites with exemplary systems to manage worker safety and health. In 2007 we received OSHA's VPP Star recertification.
Intel continues to maintain its world class safety performance by fostering an Injury and Incident Free culture. Being safe is part of how we do business and is also expected of our contractors. State officials have been impressed by the outstanding safety performance achieved by the trades at the NM Intel site, compared to the rest of NM. All contract employees are embraced under Intel's Incident and Injury Free umbrella.
Each year, Intel compares the company's health and safety performance with established benchmarks, relative to the latest data available for all U.S. Semi conductor manufacturers. Intel continues to outperform both benchmarks in terms of injuries and illnesses.
Environmental performance
Intel strives to meet or exceed all environmental compliance. We also continue to focus on maintaining strong solid and chemical waste recycling programs. In 2007, we recycled 99% of our chemical waste and 89% of our solid waste, exceeding our goals.
We continue to conduct extensive stack testing as required by our minor source air permit, and our emissions remain well below our permit limits.
For 2006-2007, Intel NM received the Industrial Pretreatment Gold Award by the City of Albuquerque for complete and consistent compliance with our wastewater permit. Industrial Pretreatment Gold Awards are given to permit holders for 100% compliance with the reporting requirements and discharge limits of their permits and for going above and beyond the requirements of the permit. Since 1996, we have received eleven Pretreatment Awards from the City of Albuquerque.
Water is one of many resources Intel is committed to conserving. In fact, our goal is to maintain water consumption below our historic usage levels despite significant growth of Intel's site.
Environmental projects
Continuously improving our facility is the way we do business. In 2007, capital ($2 million) was put in place for a redundant thermal oxidizer. Emissions are currently treated by two Durr units, which will continue to operate along with the new units. The new units (brand name: Munters) have a record of better reliability, meaning less downtime than the existing Durr oxidizers. The new thermal oxidizers are expected to be in operation by the end of 2008.
Biocide feed to the cooling tower was automated with chemical dispense based on continuous feedback loop reducing the amount of biocide usage.
As part of our continual focus on energy reduction, in 2007, Intel NM had energy reduction projects that reduced our energy consumption by 8.59 million KWHs/year.
Examples of Intel's environmental management system that allow for environmental excellence are the ongoing cross-site environmental teams that focus on air, water, and waste. Intel Water Conservation Working Group currently has a roadmap that will allow Intel to grow while maintaining fresh water use at or below historic usage levels. Items identified on the roadmap to help us reach our water goal include designing water segregation in the future technologies and purifying water for reuse.
Other examples of environmental stewardship at the NM site are the recent completion in 2007 of a 247,885 sf xeric landscape improvement project. With this latest xeric improvement, we anticipate reducing our current landscaping water usage by 64%.
Community relations
Intel is committed to working with the communities surrounding the Rio Rancho facility and throughout New Mexico. Intel has been active in supporting environmental improvements in the community during the past year.
In 2007, we collected 572,000 pounds of used computer equipment, cell phones and electronics at our fourth annual Electronic Waste Recycling Event co-sponsored by Intel, City of Albuquerque and KOAT-TV.
For the past five years, Intel has sponsored the Water Conservation & Xeriscape Conference (presented by the Xeriscape Council of New Mexico). Our sponsorship has provided one open (free) day for the general public. The conference focus has been on water conservation which Intel considers to be an important component of what we do. Intel wants to help promote the message of responsible water use and supporting the conference is one way to do that.
Intel continues to sponsor the WERC (Consortium for Environmental Education and Technology Development) environmental design contest. This is the tenth year that Intel has sponsored this event. It is an annual design contest for universities from around the world held at NMSU Las Cruces in which college student teams throughout the country compete to create innovative design solutions for five real–world environmental projects.
2008 EHS Goals
Goal:
Influence Intel's Culture to move to a preventive health and safety model.
Goal:
Drive safety as a value with the vision of a world class safe and healthy workplace for all employees.
Goal:
Continue water recycling and conservation to maintain fresh water use at or below historic usage levels. As a corporation Reduce water use per chip by 2012 from 2007 levels.
Goal:
As a Corporation, reduce absolute global–warming gas footprint by 20% by 2012 from 2007 levels.
Goal:
As a Corporation, reduce energy consumption per chip 5% per year from 2007 through 2012.
Goal:
As a Corporation, reduce generation of chemical waste per chip by 10% by 2012 from 2007 levels.
Goal:
As a Corporation, recycle 80% of chemical and solid waste generated per year.
Goal:
As a corporation, achieve engineering and design milestones to ensure that Intel products keep the energy–efficiency lead in the market for our next two product generations.
Goal:
Jointly identify, pursue, and communicate continuous improvement through the Community Environmental Working Group.
The sharing of information is critical as we strive to open out doors and exchange information with our neighbors.
The Community Environmental Working Group (CEWG) continues to strive for continuous environmental improvements at Intel and improve open dialogue with the community.
The members of the CEWG are made up of Intel EHS and Corporate Affairs, representatives from the New Mexico Citizens for Clear Air and Water, and concerned citizens.
Below are the 2007-2008 CEWG accomplishments
REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY
Community Environmental Working Group: Accomplishments (August 2007 - July 2008) "Striving for Continuous Environmental Improvements at Intel"
Note: Accomplishments in this report that go beyond the law -- that is, steps that environmental and health regulatory agencies cannot currently require – are marked with an arrow (→).
(→) Sandoval County purchased an automated system for public emergency notification.
The CEWG publicized the new system and its use in emergencies per national standards.
For improved coordination, the CEWG initiated a tour of Intel for city emergency officials.
(→) Two new, improved pollution controls (thermal oxidizers) were purchased by Intel, one for regular operation and one for backup during downtime.
Emissions are currently treated by two Durr units, which will continue to operate along with the new units. The new units (brand name: Munters) have a record of better reliability, less downtime than the existing Durr oxidizers.
A redundant (backup) USD 2 million unit was added, a first step long sought by some citizens.
The new units are not yet in operation, but are scheduled for operation by end of 2008.
(→) The design stack height was raised on the new thermal oxidizers.
After closely detailed study, the CEWG recommended a height of 38.2 meters or 40 meters
The height was raised from 23.2 meters, the height of many old stacks, to a 30-meter height
The differing positions (CEWG's and Intel's) are detailed in a joint report entitled: Determining Stack Height at Intel: A Joint Summary of Common Ground and Differing Views. The purpose of the document was to jointly report differing views and the broad context of the topic – a step in providing a more complete account of the way in which a public issue (stack height) was handled. Air emissions from cooling towers were further reduced.
Biocide use in the towers was automated and optimized.
Use of recycled water in the towers was halted, and with it possible chemical emissions (reason for change was rules about water quantities related to the shutdown of Fab 11).
(→) Special CEWG reports were created and posted on the regular website. (http://www.intel.com/community/newmexico/cewg.htm)
The conclusions of a panel of non-Intel specialists on the local geohydrology (aquifers).
Air dispersion models & history, as explained by three modelers before stack height study.
(→) In a public meeting, the methods and difficulties of learning public health effects of emissions were explained by two professors of epidemiology from UNM.
The complexity and costs of such work are the reasons the CEWG focuses its efforts on continuous environmental improvements, including reducing chemical emissions at Intel.
