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Materiality Navigator·Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment

Which topics should you investigate first?

Choose a business model to see the candidate sustainability topics most likely to need investigation, and why. Then refine the shortlist, work through each topic and record a preliminary screening decision.

This is an industry-informed hypothesis. Your task is to test it against the organisation's impacts, dependencies, risks, opportunities and stakeholder evidence. Industry relevance does not make a topic material.

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Step 1 Choose the business model you are screening

Candidate topics — Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment

  • Environment
  • Industry baseline
  • Strong industry signal
  • Double materiality

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Management of fab energy demand, renewable electricity procurement, cleanroom and sub-fab energy efficiency, and fluorinated greenhouse gas abatement across semiconductor manufacturing.

How it shows up in this industry

Semiconductor fabrication uses highly energy-intensive cleanrooms, chillers, vacuum pumps, furnaces, photolithography tracks, deposition chambers, etch tools, sub-fab abatement equipment and ultra-pure water systems. Etch and chamber-cleaning steps can emit long-lived, high global-warming-potential gases including perfluorocarbons, nitrogen trifluoride and sulphur hexafluoride, while leading customers and investors increasingly expect renewable electricity sourcing and credible reductions in fab manufacturing emissions.

Why it may be material

Electricity and speciality process-gas consumption are major operating cost drivers in wafer fabrication, and emissions performance increasingly affects customer qualification in consumer electronics, automotive, cloud, artificial intelligence and industrial supply chains. Renewable electricity contracts, energy-efficiency retrofits and fluorinated gas abatement equipment can materially influence operating expenditure, capital expenditure, financing access and customer allocation decisions.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach the atmosphere.
  2. Potential effects may reach future generations.
  3. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Customers / end-users.
  4. The source places the pathway in Own operations, Upstream.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may affect demand, pricing, market access or product and service revenue.
  2. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  3. The topic may require capital expenditure to adapt assets, processes or infrastructure.
  4. The topic may affect access to finance, funding terms or the cost of capital.
  5. The topic may affect asset useful lives, impairment assumptions, valuations or stranded-asset exposure.
  6. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which upstream activities, suppliers or inputs create or concentrate the pathway?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on the atmosphere?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on future generations?
  • What current or proposed regulation could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Emissions, air-quality and atmospheric-impact records linked to the topic
  • Long-term scenario, cumulative-impact and intergenerational analysis
  • Revenue, demand, pricing and market-access analysis linked to the topic
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Capital plans, asset adaptation budgets and investment approvals
  • Funding terms, lender or investor requirements and cost-of-capital analysis
  • Asset valuations, useful-life assumptions, impairment tests and stranded-asset analysis
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Process-map item (assets): Front-end wafer fabrication plants with cleanrooms, photolithography tracks, ion implanters, etch tools, deposition chambers, furnaces and chemical-mechanical planarisation lines
  • Process-map item (assets): Abatement assets for perfluorocarbons, nitrogen trifluoride, sulphur hexafluoride, volatile organic compounds, acid gases and particulates
  • Process-map item (assets): Secure data centres for chip design, manufacturing execution, equipment telemetry, customer design files and intellectual property management
  • Process-map item (customers): Industrial automation, robotics and energy equipment manufacturers buying power devices, analogue ICs, sensors and embedded processors
  • Process-map item (customers): Distributors, contract manufacturers, electronics manufacturing services firms and original design manufacturers that intermediate chip demand

It may be less material when…

  • Organisation-specific evidence does not support significant scale, severity, likelihood or financial effect.
  • The organisation has no meaningful exposure to or influence over the relevant upstream pathway.

Affected stakeholders

  • Customers / end-users

Users of the information

  • Board / management
  • Investors / creditors
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Environment
  • Industry baseline
  • Strong industry signal
  • Double materiality

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Management of high-volume water demand, ultra-pure water resilience, recycling and routine wastewater discharges from semiconductor fabrication and related facilities.

How it shows up in this industry

Wafer cleaning, rinsing, wet benches, chemical dilution and hundreds of front-end process steps require large volumes of ultra-pure water. Fabs rely on ultra-pure water plants, acid waste neutralisation, wastewater treatment and recycled water infrastructure, while effluent can contain acids, bases, fluoride, ammonia, nitrate, metals, solvents, photoresist residues and trace persistent chemicals.

Why it may be material

Water availability can constrain fab expansion, yield ramp and customer supply assurance, particularly in drought-prone semiconductor clusters. Water recycling and effluent treatment drive capital and operating expenditure, while discharge non-compliance or perceived competition with community water needs can affect permits and local acceptance.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach affected communities.
  2. Potential effects may reach water bodies.
  3. Potential effects may reach ecosystems.
  4. Potential effects may reach soil and groundwater.
  5. Potential effects may reach future generations.
  6. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Affected communities, Customers / end-users.
  7. The source places the pathway in Own operations.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  2. The topic may require capital expenditure to adapt assets, processes or infrastructure.
  3. The topic may affect demand, pricing, market access or product and service revenue.
  4. The topic may create provisions, penalties, remediation costs, claims or other liabilities.
  5. The topic may affect insurance availability, coverage terms, premiums or claims.
  6. The topic may affect asset useful lives, impairment assumptions, valuations or stranded-asset exposure.
  7. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.
  8. The topic may affect access to finance, funding terms or the cost of capital.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on affected communities?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on water bodies?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on ecosystems?
  • What current or proposed regulation could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Community engagement, grievance and impact records
  • Water withdrawal, discharge, quality and catchment-impact records
  • Biodiversity, habitat and ecosystem-impact evidence
  • Soil and groundwater monitoring, incident and remediation records
  • Long-term scenario, cumulative-impact and intergenerational analysis
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Capital plans, asset adaptation budgets and investment approvals
  • Revenue, demand, pricing and market-access analysis linked to the topic
  • Provision, claim, penalty, remediation and contingent-liability records
  • Insurance coverage, premium, exclusion and claims records
  • Asset valuations, useful-life assumptions, impairment tests and stranded-asset analysis
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Funding terms, lender or investor requirements and cost-of-capital analysis
  • Process-map item (assets): Ultra-pure water plants, wastewater treatment units, acid waste neutralisation systems and solvent recovery systems
  • Process-map item (customers): Automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers buying microcontrollers, power semiconductors, radar chips and safety-critical logic devices
  • Process-map item (customers): Defence, aerospace and space customers buying radiation-hardened, secure and high-reliability semiconductors
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Expansion of export controls and technology restrictions affecting advanced logic, memory, artificial intelligence accelerators and semiconductor manufacturing know-how
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Rising water stress in semiconductor clusters increasing competition for municipal water, groundwater and recycled water allocations

It may be less material when…

  • Organisation-specific evidence does not support significant scale, severity, likelihood or financial effect.

Affected stakeholders

  • Affected communities
  • Customers / end-users

Users of the information

  • Investors / creditors
  • Local authorities
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Environment
  • Industry baseline
  • Strong industry signal
  • Double materiality

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Governance and technical management of PFAS and other restricted or hazardous substances used in semiconductor process chemistries, consumables, advanced packaging and products.

How it shows up in this industry

Semiconductor processes use photoresists, surfactants, developers, strippers, heat transfer fluids, solvents, etch chemistries, metals and packaging materials. Devices and packages may also involve arsenic, gallium, indium, antimony, cadmium compounds, lead, brominated flame retardants or other restricted materials in specific applications or legacy exemptions.

Why it may be material

PFAS restrictions, REACH and RoHS requirements, customer material declarations and compound semiconductor material hazards can affect market access and process qualification. Substitution is difficult because materials influence yield, defectivity, etch selectivity, packaging reliability and customer approval cycles.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach workers.
  2. Potential effects may reach contractors.
  3. Potential effects may reach downstream users.
  4. Potential effects may reach consumers.
  5. Potential effects may reach supply-chain workers.
  6. Potential effects may reach water bodies.
  7. Potential effects may reach soil and groundwater.
  8. Potential effects may reach ecosystems.
  9. Potential effects may reach future generations.
  10. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Affected communities, Customers / end-users, Suppliers.
  11. The source places the pathway in Own operations, Upstream, Downstream, Cross value chain.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may affect demand, pricing, market access or product and service revenue.
  2. The topic may require capital expenditure to adapt assets, processes or infrastructure.
  3. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  4. The topic may create provisions, penalties, remediation costs, claims or other liabilities.
  5. The topic may affect asset useful lives, impairment assumptions, valuations or stranded-asset exposure.
  6. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which upstream activities, suppliers or inputs create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which products, services, customers or end uses create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Where across the value chain is the pathway most significant?
  • What current or proposed regulation could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Workforce, health and safety, engagement and grievance records
  • Contractor working-condition, incident and engagement records
  • Downstream-user outcome, complaint and product-use evidence
  • Consumer outcome, complaint and product-impact records
  • Supplier workforce, audit, grievance and remediation records
  • Water withdrawal, discharge, quality and catchment-impact records
  • Soil and groundwater monitoring, incident and remediation records
  • Biodiversity, habitat and ecosystem-impact evidence
  • Long-term scenario, cumulative-impact and intergenerational analysis
  • Revenue, demand, pricing and market-access analysis linked to the topic
  • Capital plans, asset adaptation budgets and investment approvals
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Provision, claim, penalty, remediation and contingent-liability records
  • Asset valuations, useful-life assumptions, impairment tests and stranded-asset analysis
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Process-map item (assets): Front-end wafer fabrication plants with cleanrooms, photolithography tracks, ion implanters, etch tools, deposition chambers, furnaces and chemical-mechanical planarisation lines
  • Process-map item (assets): Bulk gas farms, speciality gas cabinets, chemical storage rooms, slurry distribution systems and hazardous materials monitoring systems
  • Process-map item (customers): Automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers buying microcontrollers, power semiconductors, radar chips and safety-critical logic devices
  • Process-map item (customers): Defence, aerospace and space customers buying radiation-hardened, secure and high-reliability semiconductors
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Tighter controls on PFAS use, emissions and waste streams affecting photoresists, surfactants, etch chemistries and heat transfer fluids

It may be less material when…

  • Organisation-specific evidence does not support significant scale, severity, likelihood or financial effect.
  • The organisation has no meaningful exposure to or influence over the relevant upstream or downstream pathway.
  • The emerging signal has not yet created a relevant exposure, impact or financial effect for the organisation.

Affected stakeholders

  • Affected communities
  • Customers / end-users
  • Suppliers

Users of the information

  • Board / management
  • Investors / creditors
  • NGOs / civil society
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Environment
  • Industry baseline
  • Strong industry signal
  • Double materiality

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Management of hazardous waste from wafer fabrication, assembly, packaging and laboratories, including minimisation, segregation, recovery, carrier controls and final treatment or disposal.

How it shows up in this industry

Front-end fabrication, chemical-mechanical planarisation, metrology laboratories and back-end packaging generate spent solvents, contaminated filters, sludges, resins, wipes, absorbents, used chemicals, test wafers, broken quartzware and chemical packaging residues. These streams move through licensed carriers to solvent recovery, incineration, stabilisation, neutralisation or secure landfill.

Why it may be material

Hazardous waste treatment and disposal are recurring operating costs, with exposure to price increases, carrier capacity constraints and liability for mishandling. Solvent recovery, wafer recycling and precious metal reclamation can reduce net cost and improve supply resilience.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach workers.
  2. Potential effects may reach contractors.
  3. Potential effects may reach affected communities.
  4. Potential effects may reach water bodies.
  5. Potential effects may reach soil and groundwater.
  6. Potential effects may reach ecosystems.
  7. Potential effects may reach supply-chain workers.
  8. Potential effects may reach future generations.
  9. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Affected communities, Contractors, Employees, Suppliers.
  10. The source places the pathway in Own operations, Downstream.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  2. The topic may require capital expenditure to adapt assets, processes or infrastructure.
  3. The topic may create provisions, penalties, remediation costs, claims or other liabilities.
  4. The topic may affect insurance availability, coverage terms, premiums or claims.
  5. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which products, services, customers or end uses create or concentrate the pathway?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on workers?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on contractors?
  • What current or proposed regulation could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Workforce, health and safety, engagement and grievance records
  • Contractor working-condition, incident and engagement records
  • Community engagement, grievance and impact records
  • Water withdrawal, discharge, quality and catchment-impact records
  • Soil and groundwater monitoring, incident and remediation records
  • Biodiversity, habitat and ecosystem-impact evidence
  • Supplier workforce, audit, grievance and remediation records
  • Long-term scenario, cumulative-impact and intergenerational analysis
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Capital plans, asset adaptation budgets and investment approvals
  • Provision, claim, penalty, remediation and contingent-liability records
  • Insurance coverage, premium, exclusion and claims records
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Process-map item (assets): Front-end wafer fabrication plants with cleanrooms, photolithography tracks, ion implanters, etch tools, deposition chambers, furnaces and chemical-mechanical planarisation lines
  • Process-map item (assets): Ultra-pure water plants, wastewater treatment units, acid waste neutralisation systems and solvent recovery systems
  • Process-map item (assets): Bulk gas farms, speciality gas cabinets, chemical storage rooms, slurry distribution systems and hazardous materials monitoring systems
  • Process-map item (customers): Automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers buying microcontrollers, power semiconductors, radar chips and safety-critical logic devices
  • Process-map item (customers): Defence, aerospace and space customers buying radiation-hardened, secure and high-reliability semiconductors

It may be less material when…

  • Organisation-specific evidence does not support significant scale, severity, likelihood or financial effect.
  • The organisation has no meaningful exposure to or influence over the relevant downstream pathway.

Affected stakeholders

  • Affected communities
  • Contractors
  • Employees
  • Suppliers

Users of the information

  • Investors / creditors
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Environment
  • Business-model dependent
  • Moderate industry signal
  • Double materiality
  • Cross-cutting

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Prevention and remediation of unintended chemical releases and historical contamination associated with semiconductor fabrication, packaging, chemical storage and wastewater infrastructure.

How it shows up in this industry

Current and historical semiconductor sites can involve chlorinated solvents, acids, metals, photoresist residues, PFAS, fuel, wastewater systems, chemical storage rooms and underground drainage or conveyance infrastructure. Older fabrication and assembly sites may pre-date modern containment and monitoring systems, increasing remediation and litigation exposure.

Why it may be material

Contamination can create long-duration remediation obligations, property value impairment, insurance disputes and reputational harm. Detection of PFAS and solvent plumes can delay fab expansion, permits, subsidies, divestments or site redevelopment where soil and groundwater liabilities are unresolved.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach affected communities.
  2. Potential effects may reach water bodies.
  3. Potential effects may reach soil and groundwater.
  4. Potential effects may reach ecosystems.
  5. Potential effects may reach future generations.
  6. Potential effects may reach workers.
  7. Potential effects may reach contractors.
  8. Potential effects may reach emergency responders.
  9. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Affected communities.
  10. The source places the pathway in Own operations.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may create provisions, penalties, remediation costs, claims or other liabilities.
  2. The topic may require capital expenditure to adapt assets, processes or infrastructure.
  3. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  4. The topic may affect insurance availability, coverage terms, premiums or claims.
  5. The topic may affect asset useful lives, impairment assumptions, valuations or stranded-asset exposure.
  6. The topic may affect access to finance, funding terms or the cost of capital.
  7. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on affected communities?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on water bodies?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on soil and groundwater?
  • What litigation or claims could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Community engagement, grievance and impact records
  • Water withdrawal, discharge, quality and catchment-impact records
  • Soil and groundwater monitoring, incident and remediation records
  • Biodiversity, habitat and ecosystem-impact evidence
  • Long-term scenario, cumulative-impact and intergenerational analysis
  • Workforce, health and safety, engagement and grievance records
  • Contractor working-condition, incident and engagement records
  • Emergency-response plans, incident logs and responder feedback
  • Provision, claim, penalty, remediation and contingent-liability records
  • Capital plans, asset adaptation budgets and investment approvals
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Insurance coverage, premium, exclusion and claims records
  • Asset valuations, useful-life assumptions, impairment tests and stranded-asset analysis
  • Funding terms, lender or investor requirements and cost-of-capital analysis
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Process-map item (assets): Front-end wafer fabrication plants with cleanrooms, photolithography tracks, ion implanters, etch tools, deposition chambers, furnaces and chemical-mechanical planarisation lines
  • Process-map item (assets): Ultra-pure water plants, wastewater treatment units, acid waste neutralisation systems and solvent recovery systems
  • Process-map item (assets): Bulk gas farms, speciality gas cabinets, chemical storage rooms, slurry distribution systems and hazardous materials monitoring systems
  • Process-map item (customers): Automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers buying microcontrollers, power semiconductors, radar chips and safety-critical logic devices
  • Process-map item (customers): Defence, aerospace and space customers buying radiation-hardened, secure and high-reliability semiconductors

It may be less material when…

  • The organisation's scale, exposure or effects are below the threshold set for further assessment.
  • The relevant business model, activity, asset or product is not present or is not significant.

Affected stakeholders

  • Affected communities

Users of the information

  • Board / management
  • Investors / creditors
  • Local authorities
  • NGOs / civil society
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Environment
  • Business-model dependent
  • Moderate industry signal
  • Double materiality

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Control of routine non-GHG air pollutants from semiconductor fabrication, facilities operations and abatement systems.

How it shows up in this industry

Photolithography, etching, deposition, cleaning, solvent handling, boilers, emergency generators and point-of-use abatement can emit volatile organic compounds, acid gases, ammonia, particulates and combustion products. Semiconductor fabs depend on scrubbers, oxidisers, filters and permit controls to manage local air quality impacts separate from greenhouse gas management.

Why it may be material

Air permits and abatement reliability are necessary for fab operation and expansion. Poor control of routine air pollutants can trigger permit restrictions, enforcement, odour complaints, community opposition and added abatement expenditure.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach the atmosphere.
  2. Potential effects may reach affected communities.
  3. Potential effects may reach workers.
  4. Potential effects may reach ecosystems.
  5. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Affected communities, Employees.
  6. The source places the pathway in Own operations.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  2. The topic may require capital expenditure to adapt assets, processes or infrastructure.
  3. The topic may create provisions, penalties, remediation costs, claims or other liabilities.
  4. The topic may affect insurance availability, coverage terms, premiums or claims.
  5. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on the atmosphere?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on affected communities?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on workers?
  • What current or proposed regulation could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Emissions, air-quality and atmospheric-impact records linked to the topic
  • Community engagement, grievance and impact records
  • Workforce, health and safety, engagement and grievance records
  • Biodiversity, habitat and ecosystem-impact evidence
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Capital plans, asset adaptation budgets and investment approvals
  • Provision, claim, penalty, remediation and contingent-liability records
  • Insurance coverage, premium, exclusion and claims records
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Process-map item (assets): Ultra-pure water plants, wastewater treatment units, acid waste neutralisation systems and solvent recovery systems
  • Process-map item (assets): Abatement assets for perfluorocarbons, nitrogen trifluoride, sulphur hexafluoride, volatile organic compounds, acid gases and particulates
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Tighter controls on PFAS use, emissions and waste streams affecting photoresists, surfactants, etch chemistries and heat transfer fluids
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Expansion of export controls and technology restrictions affecting advanced logic, memory, artificial intelligence accelerators and semiconductor manufacturing know-how
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Investor and lender scrutiny of Scope 3 emissions from equipment, gases, chemicals, wafers, outsourced assembly and downstream product electricity use

It may be less material when…

  • The organisation's scale, exposure or effects are below the threshold set for further assessment.
  • The relevant business model, activity, asset or product is not present or is not significant.

Affected stakeholders

  • Affected communities
  • Employees

Users of the information

  • Investors / creditors
  • Local authorities
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Environment
  • Business-model dependent
  • Moderate industry signal
  • Double materiality
  • Cross-cutting

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Adaptation of semiconductor fabrication and assembly assets to physical climate hazards that can disrupt cleanrooms, water supply, chemical controls, logistics and emergency systems.

How it shows up in this industry

Front-end fabs contain multi-billion-pound cleanrooms, lithography tools, gas cabinets, chemical storage, ultra-pure water plants and point-of-use abatement systems. Flood, heat, drought, fire, storm or earthquake disruption can contaminate cleanrooms, interrupt water and power supply, damage high-value tools and impair just-in-time wafer and equipment logistics.

Why it may be material

Asset concentration and long customer qualification cycles make climate-related downtime financially severe. Insurers, lenders and customers scrutinise business interruption, water stress, flood and fire exposure because semiconductor supply interruptions can affect automotive, medical, cloud and industrial production chains.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach workers.
  2. Potential effects may reach contractors.
  3. Potential effects may reach affected communities.
  4. Potential effects may reach water bodies.
  5. Potential effects may reach emergency responders.
  6. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Affected communities, Contractors, Customers / end-users, Employees.
  7. The source places the pathway in Own operations, Upstream, Downstream.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may require capital expenditure to adapt assets, processes or infrastructure.
  2. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  3. The topic may affect insurance availability, coverage terms, premiums or claims.
  4. The topic may affect asset useful lives, impairment assumptions, valuations or stranded-asset exposure.
  5. The topic may affect demand, pricing, market access or product and service revenue.
  6. The topic may affect access to finance, funding terms or the cost of capital.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which upstream activities, suppliers or inputs create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which products, services, customers or end uses create or concentrate the pathway?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on workers?
  • What scientific evidence or consensus could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Workforce, health and safety, engagement and grievance records
  • Contractor working-condition, incident and engagement records
  • Community engagement, grievance and impact records
  • Water withdrawal, discharge, quality and catchment-impact records
  • Emergency-response plans, incident logs and responder feedback
  • Capital plans, asset adaptation budgets and investment approvals
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Insurance coverage, premium, exclusion and claims records
  • Asset valuations, useful-life assumptions, impairment tests and stranded-asset analysis
  • Revenue, demand, pricing and market-access analysis linked to the topic
  • Funding terms, lender or investor requirements and cost-of-capital analysis
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Expansion of export controls and technology restrictions affecting advanced logic, memory, artificial intelligence accelerators and semiconductor manufacturing know-how
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Rising water stress in semiconductor clusters increasing competition for municipal water, groundwater and recycled water allocations
  • Process-map item (external_impacts): Air emissions of volatile organic compounds, acid gases, ammonia and combustion products from fabs, boilers and emergency generators
  • Process-map item (financial_channels): Capital expenditure for new fabs, advanced nodes, cleanrooms, lithography tools, water recycling, wastewater treatment and emissions abatement systems
  • Process-map item (financial_channels): Operating expenditure driven by electricity prices, ultra-pure water production, speciality gases, chemicals, maintenance contracts and cleanroom consumables

It may be less material when…

  • The organisation's scale, exposure or effects are below the threshold set for further assessment.
  • The relevant business model, activity, asset or product is not present or is not significant.
  • The organisation has no meaningful exposure to or influence over the relevant upstream or downstream pathway.
  • The emerging signal has not yet created a relevant exposure, impact or financial effect for the organisation.

Affected stakeholders

  • Affected communities
  • Contractors
  • Customers / end-users
  • Employees

Users of the information

  • Investors / creditors
  • Local authorities
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Environment
  • Business-model dependent
  • Moderate industry signal
  • Double materiality

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Management of downstream end-of-life and circularity considerations for semiconductor products, packages, returned parts and embedded chips in electronic equipment.

How it shows up in this industry

Chips, chiplets, substrates, solder finishes, packages, sensors and modules are embedded in electronic equipment that later enters repair, reuse and recycling channels. Semiconductor companies also manage failed devices, qualification samples, scrap wafers, spent photomasks and returned parts through rework, recycling, precious metal recovery or controlled destruction.

Why it may be material

Semiconductors are small components within broader electronic products, but their material content, rapid node obsolescence and critical mineral value influence downstream e-waste burdens and customer expectations. WEEE-related customer requirements, product lifecycle management and circularity claims can affect market access and reputation.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach downstream users.
  2. Potential effects may reach consumers.
  3. Potential effects may reach supply-chain workers.
  4. Potential effects may reach ecosystems.
  5. Potential effects may reach water bodies.
  6. Potential effects may reach soil and groundwater.
  7. Potential effects may reach future generations.
  8. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Business partners, Customers / end-users, Suppliers.
  9. The source places the pathway in Own operations, Downstream, Cross value chain.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may affect demand, pricing, market access or product and service revenue.
  2. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  3. The topic may create provisions, penalties, remediation costs, claims or other liabilities.
  4. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which products, services, customers or end uses create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Where across the value chain is the pathway most significant?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on downstream users?
  • What current or proposed regulation could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Downstream-user outcome, complaint and product-use evidence
  • Consumer outcome, complaint and product-impact records
  • Supplier workforce, audit, grievance and remediation records
  • Biodiversity, habitat and ecosystem-impact evidence
  • Water withdrawal, discharge, quality and catchment-impact records
  • Soil and groundwater monitoring, incident and remediation records
  • Long-term scenario, cumulative-impact and intergenerational analysis
  • Revenue, demand, pricing and market-access analysis linked to the topic
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Provision, claim, penalty, remediation and contingent-liability records
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Process-map item (assets): Back-end assembly, packaging and test facilities for dicing, wire bonding, flip-chip, advanced packaging, burn-in and final electrical test
  • Process-map item (assets): Ultra-pure water plants, wastewater treatment units, acid waste neutralisation systems and solvent recovery systems
  • Process-map item (assets): Photomask libraries, process recipes, electronic design automation toolchains, layout data, device models and proprietary process integration know-how
  • Process-map item (assets): Secure data centres for chip design, manufacturing execution, equipment telemetry, customer design files and intellectual property management
  • Process-map item (customers): Distributors, contract manufacturers, electronics manufacturing services firms and original design manufacturers that intermediate chip demand

It may be less material when…

  • The organisation's scale, exposure or effects are below the threshold set for further assessment.
  • The relevant business model, activity, asset or product is not present or is not significant.
  • The organisation has no meaningful exposure to or influence over the relevant downstream pathway.

Affected stakeholders

  • Business partners
  • Customers / end-users
  • Suppliers

Users of the information

  • Investors / creditors
  • NGOs / civil society
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Environment
  • Emerging issue
  • Moderate industry signal
  • Double materiality

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Management of electricity capacity, quality and curtailment constraints as semiconductor fabrication expands to serve artificial intelligence, cloud, electric vehicle and industrial electrification markets.

How it shows up in this industry

Leading-edge fabs and memory sites require continuous, high-quality electricity for cleanroom air handling, lithography, vacuum systems, chillers, ultra-pure water plants and tool control. Rapid demand from artificial intelligence, cloud, electric vehicles and industrial electrification can create grid connection constraints, curtailment exposure and increased reliance on back-up generation.

Why it may be material

Power scarcity is becoming a site-selection and permitting issue for new fabs. Unreliable or carbon-intensive grid supply can cause yield losses, production interruption, diesel generator use and conflict with local grid decarbonisation or community energy needs.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach the atmosphere.
  2. Potential effects may reach affected communities.
  3. Potential effects may reach future generations.
  4. Potential effects may reach workers.
  5. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Affected communities, Customers / end-users.
  6. The source places the pathway in Own operations.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may require capital expenditure to adapt assets, processes or infrastructure.
  2. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  3. The topic may affect demand, pricing, market access or product and service revenue.
  4. The topic may affect asset useful lives, impairment assumptions, valuations or stranded-asset exposure.
  5. The topic may affect insurance availability, coverage terms, premiums or claims.
  6. The topic may affect access to finance, funding terms or the cost of capital.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on the atmosphere?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on affected communities?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on future generations?
  • What evidence shows that customer demand is changing?

Evidence to collect

  • Emissions, air-quality and atmospheric-impact records linked to the topic
  • Community engagement, grievance and impact records
  • Long-term scenario, cumulative-impact and intergenerational analysis
  • Workforce, health and safety, engagement and grievance records
  • Capital plans, asset adaptation budgets and investment approvals
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Revenue, demand, pricing and market-access analysis linked to the topic
  • Asset valuations, useful-life assumptions, impairment tests and stranded-asset analysis
  • Insurance coverage, premium, exclusion and claims records
  • Funding terms, lender or investor requirements and cost-of-capital analysis
  • Process-map item (customers): Consumer electronics brands buying application processors, memory, sensors, power management ICs and connectivity chips
  • Process-map item (customers): Automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers buying microcontrollers, power semiconductors, radar chips and safety-critical logic devices
  • Process-map item (customers): Industrial automation, robotics and energy equipment manufacturers buying power devices, analogue ICs, sensors and embedded processors
  • Process-map item (customers): Distributors, contract manufacturers, electronics manufacturing services firms and original design manufacturers that intermediate chip demand
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Customer pressure for fab-level renewable electricity procurement, product carbon footprints and low-carbon wafer starts

It may be less material when…

  • The organisation's scale, exposure or effects are below the threshold set for further assessment.
  • The emerging signal has not yet created a relevant exposure, impact or financial effect for the organisation.

Affected stakeholders

  • Affected communities
  • Customers / end-users

Users of the information

  • Board / management
  • Investors / creditors
  • Local authorities
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Social
  • Industry baseline
  • Strong industry signal
  • Double materiality

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Protection of employees and contractors from routine occupational hazards in semiconductor fabrication, assembly, packaging, testing and maintenance work.

How it shows up in this industry

Cleanroom operators, maintenance technicians and contractors work around wet benches, ion implanters, lasers, furnaces, gas cabinets, vacuum systems, dicing, wire bonding, flip-chip and burn-in equipment. Exposure pathways include solvents, acids, bases, ionising radiation sources, lasers, heat, manual handling and ergonomically demanding repetitive tasks.

Why it may be material

Skilled technicians and contractors are essential to yield, tool uptime and fab ramp-up. Routine injury, illness or exposure failures can cause worker harm, enforcement, compensation costs and loss of scarce operational expertise.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach workers.
  2. Potential effects may reach contractors.
  3. Potential effects may reach emergency responders.
  4. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Contractors, Employees, Trade unions.
  5. The source places the pathway in Own operations.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  2. The topic may create provisions, penalties, remediation costs, claims or other liabilities.
  3. The topic may affect insurance availability, coverage terms, premiums or claims.
  4. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on workers?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on contractors?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on emergency responders?
  • What current or proposed regulation could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Workforce, health and safety, engagement and grievance records
  • Contractor working-condition, incident and engagement records
  • Emergency-response plans, incident logs and responder feedback
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Provision, claim, penalty, remediation and contingent-liability records
  • Insurance coverage, premium, exclusion and claims records
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Process-map item (assets): Front-end wafer fabrication plants with cleanrooms, photolithography tracks, ion implanters, etch tools, deposition chambers, furnaces and chemical-mechanical planarisation lines
  • Process-map item (assets): Back-end assembly, packaging and test facilities for dicing, wire bonding, flip-chip, advanced packaging, burn-in and final electrical test
  • Process-map item (assets): Bulk gas farms, speciality gas cabinets, chemical storage rooms, slurry distribution systems and hazardous materials monitoring systems
  • Process-map item (customers): Automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers buying microcontrollers, power semiconductors, radar chips and safety-critical logic devices
  • Process-map item (customers): Defence, aerospace and space customers buying radiation-hardened, secure and high-reliability semiconductors

It may be less material when…

  • Organisation-specific evidence does not support significant scale, severity, likelihood or financial effect.

Affected stakeholders

  • Contractors
  • Employees
  • Trade unions

Users of the information

  • Board / management
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Social
  • Industry baseline
  • Strong industry signal
  • Double materiality

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Assurance of semiconductor reliability, thermal performance, traceability, functional safety and product-level security for downstream equipment, especially in safety-critical and security-sensitive applications.

How it shows up in this industry

Semiconductors are embedded in vehicles, medical devices, industrial automation, energy equipment, telecommunications networks, cloud infrastructure, defence, aerospace and connected consumer devices. Wafer sort, burn-in, reliability laboratories, failure analysis, yield management, statistical process control and authorised distribution controls determine whether defects, overheating, counterfeit chips or hardware vulnerabilities reach downstream systems.

Why it may be material

Product failures can cause recalls, warranty costs, litigation, design losses and loss of customer qualification, especially in automotive, medical, aerospace, defence and industrial control markets. Reliability and traceability performance also affect long-term design-ins and supply assurance contracts.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach downstream users.
  2. Potential effects may reach consumers.
  3. Potential effects may reach workers.
  4. Potential effects may reach affected communities.
  5. Potential effects may reach emergency responders.
  6. Potential effects may reach future generations.
  7. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Affected communities, Business partners, Customers / end-users.
  8. The source places the pathway in Own operations, Downstream, Cross value chain.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may affect demand, pricing, market access or product and service revenue.
  2. The topic may create provisions, penalties, remediation costs, claims or other liabilities.
  3. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  4. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.
  5. The topic may affect asset useful lives, impairment assumptions, valuations or stranded-asset exposure.
  6. The topic may affect insurance availability, coverage terms, premiums or claims.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which products, services, customers or end uses create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Where across the value chain is the pathway most significant?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on downstream users?
  • What evidence shows that customer demand is changing?

Evidence to collect

  • Downstream-user outcome, complaint and product-use evidence
  • Consumer outcome, complaint and product-impact records
  • Workforce, health and safety, engagement and grievance records
  • Community engagement, grievance and impact records
  • Emergency-response plans, incident logs and responder feedback
  • Long-term scenario, cumulative-impact and intergenerational analysis
  • Revenue, demand, pricing and market-access analysis linked to the topic
  • Provision, claim, penalty, remediation and contingent-liability records
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Asset valuations, useful-life assumptions, impairment tests and stranded-asset analysis
  • Insurance coverage, premium, exclusion and claims records
  • Process-map item (assets): Back-end assembly, packaging and test facilities for dicing, wire bonding, flip-chip, advanced packaging, burn-in and final electrical test
  • Process-map item (assets): Reliability laboratories, failure analysis laboratories, metrology tools, yield management systems and statistical process control platforms
  • Process-map item (assets): Secure data centres for chip design, manufacturing execution, equipment telemetry, customer design files and intellectual property management
  • Process-map item (customers): Consumer electronics brands buying application processors, memory, sensors, power management ICs and connectivity chips
  • Process-map item (customers): Automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers buying microcontrollers, power semiconductors, radar chips and safety-critical logic devices

It may be less material when…

  • Organisation-specific evidence does not support significant scale, severity, likelihood or financial effect.
  • The organisation has no meaningful exposure to or influence over the relevant downstream pathway.

Affected stakeholders

  • Affected communities
  • Business partners
  • Customers / end-users

Users of the information

  • Board / management
  • Investors / creditors
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Social
  • Industry baseline
  • Strong industry signal
  • Double materiality
  • Cross-cutting

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Prevention of acute hazardous materials incidents at semiconductor sites through containment, detection, interlocks, abatement, maintenance, emergency planning and response readiness.

How it shows up in this industry

Fabs store and distribute toxic, pyrophoric, corrosive and oxidising gases such as arsine, phosphine, silane, chlorine, hydrogen chloride, ammonia and fluorocarbons, as well as acids, bases, solvents, ion implantation sources, lasers and high-energy tools. Bulk gas farms, speciality gas cabinets, wet benches, furnaces, etch tools, deposition chambers and abatement systems require robust barriers and emergency controls.

Why it may be material

A serious loss of containment or fire can injure workers, affect emergency responders and nearby communities, shut down cleanrooms, contaminate wafers, trigger regulatory action and jeopardise customer supply commitments. Safety performance also influences permitting, equipment acceptance and insurance for new fabs and advanced nodes.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach workers.
  2. Potential effects may reach contractors.
  3. Potential effects may reach affected communities.
  4. Potential effects may reach emergency responders.
  5. Potential effects may reach soil and groundwater.
  6. Potential effects may reach water bodies.
  7. Potential effects may reach ecosystems.
  8. Potential effects may reach the atmosphere.
  9. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Affected communities, Contractors, Customers / end-users, Employees.
  10. The source places the pathway in Own operations.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  2. The topic may require capital expenditure to adapt assets, processes or infrastructure.
  3. The topic may create provisions, penalties, remediation costs, claims or other liabilities.
  4. The topic may affect insurance availability, coverage terms, premiums or claims.
  5. The topic may affect demand, pricing, market access or product and service revenue.
  6. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.
  7. The topic may affect asset useful lives, impairment assumptions, valuations or stranded-asset exposure.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on workers?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on contractors?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on affected communities?
  • What current or proposed regulation could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Workforce, health and safety, engagement and grievance records
  • Contractor working-condition, incident and engagement records
  • Community engagement, grievance and impact records
  • Emergency-response plans, incident logs and responder feedback
  • Soil and groundwater monitoring, incident and remediation records
  • Water withdrawal, discharge, quality and catchment-impact records
  • Biodiversity, habitat and ecosystem-impact evidence
  • Emissions, air-quality and atmospheric-impact records linked to the topic
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Capital plans, asset adaptation budgets and investment approvals
  • Provision, claim, penalty, remediation and contingent-liability records
  • Insurance coverage, premium, exclusion and claims records
  • Revenue, demand, pricing and market-access analysis linked to the topic
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Asset valuations, useful-life assumptions, impairment tests and stranded-asset analysis
  • Process-map item (assets): Front-end wafer fabrication plants with cleanrooms, photolithography tracks, ion implanters, etch tools, deposition chambers, furnaces and chemical-mechanical planarisation lines
  • Process-map item (assets): Bulk gas farms, speciality gas cabinets, chemical storage rooms, slurry distribution systems and hazardous materials monitoring systems
  • Process-map item (customers): Automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers buying microcontrollers, power semiconductors, radar chips and safety-critical logic devices
  • Process-map item (customers): Defence, aerospace and space customers buying radiation-hardened, secure and high-reliability semiconductors
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Tighter controls on PFAS use, emissions and waste streams affecting photoresists, surfactants, etch chemistries and heat transfer fluids

It may be less material when…

  • Organisation-specific evidence does not support significant scale, severity, likelihood or financial effect.

Affected stakeholders

  • Affected communities
  • Contractors
  • Customers / end-users
  • Employees

Users of the information

  • Board / management
  • Investors / creditors
  • Local authorities
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Social
  • Business-model dependent
  • Moderate industry signal
  • Double materiality

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Management of direct community impacts and social licence issues associated with semiconductor fab construction, operation, local infrastructure demand and emergency preparedness.

How it shows up in this industry

Large semiconductor fabs and packaging facilities can reshape local areas through construction traffic, noise, land conversion, workforce influx, water demand, grid upgrades, chemical storage concerns and emergency response planning. Public subsidies and localisation commitments also heighten community expectations for jobs, training, infrastructure and transparent engagement.

Why it may be material

Community acceptance can affect permitting, expansion timing, public funding credibility and customer perceptions of supply resilience. Local concerns are particularly salient where fabs compete for water, grid capacity or emergency response resources in established semiconductor clusters.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach affected communities.
  2. Potential effects may reach workers.
  3. Potential effects may reach contractors.
  4. Potential effects may reach emergency responders.
  5. Potential effects may reach water bodies.
  6. Potential effects may reach future generations.
  7. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Affected communities, Contractors, Employees.
  8. The source places the pathway in Own operations.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may affect demand, pricing, market access or product and service revenue.
  2. The topic may require capital expenditure to adapt assets, processes or infrastructure.
  3. The topic may create provisions, penalties, remediation costs, claims or other liabilities.
  4. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.
  5. The topic may affect asset useful lives, impairment assumptions, valuations or stranded-asset exposure.
  6. The topic may affect access to finance, funding terms or the cost of capital.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on affected communities?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on workers?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on contractors?
  • What current or proposed regulation could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Community engagement, grievance and impact records
  • Workforce, health and safety, engagement and grievance records
  • Contractor working-condition, incident and engagement records
  • Emergency-response plans, incident logs and responder feedback
  • Water withdrawal, discharge, quality and catchment-impact records
  • Long-term scenario, cumulative-impact and intergenerational analysis
  • Revenue, demand, pricing and market-access analysis linked to the topic
  • Capital plans, asset adaptation budgets and investment approvals
  • Provision, claim, penalty, remediation and contingent-liability records
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Asset valuations, useful-life assumptions, impairment tests and stranded-asset analysis
  • Funding terms, lender or investor requirements and cost-of-capital analysis
  • Process-map item (assets): Ultra-pure water plants, wastewater treatment units, acid waste neutralisation systems and solvent recovery systems
  • Process-map item (customers): Industrial automation, robotics and energy equipment manufacturers buying power devices, analogue ICs, sensors and embedded processors
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Customer pressure for fab-level renewable electricity procurement, product carbon footprints and low-carbon wafer starts
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Rising water stress in semiconductor clusters increasing competition for municipal water, groundwater and recycled water allocations
  • Process-map item (external_impacts): Large withdrawals of municipal water, groundwater or surface water for ultra-pure water production, with concentrated reject streams and wastewater discharges

It may be less material when…

  • The organisation's scale, exposure or effects are below the threshold set for further assessment.
  • The relevant business model, activity, asset or product is not present or is not significant.

Affected stakeholders

  • Affected communities
  • Contractors
  • Employees

Users of the information

  • Investors / creditors
  • Local authorities
  • NGOs / civil society
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Social
  • Business-model dependent
  • Moderate industry signal
  • Double materiality
  • Cross-cutting

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Safety and emergency controls for transport of semiconductor speciality gases, high-purity chemicals and hazardous wastes across regulated dangerous-goods logistics chains.

How it shows up in this industry

Semiconductor fabs receive high-purity chemicals and gases in ISO tanks, cylinders, drums, bulk tankers and dedicated gas cabinets. Speciality gases such as arsine, phosphine, silane and chlorine, as well as acids, solvents and hazardous wastes, move through regulated dangerous-goods supply chains with loading, unloading and emergency response interfaces at fab sites.

Why it may be material

Transport failures can cause worker, carrier, responder and community harm and disrupt chemical availability for continuous fab operation. Carrier qualification and emergency planning also affect insurance, regulatory compliance and customer confidence in supply assurance.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach workers.
  2. Potential effects may reach contractors.
  3. Potential effects may reach affected communities.
  4. Potential effects may reach emergency responders.
  5. Potential effects may reach soil and groundwater.
  6. Potential effects may reach water bodies.
  7. Potential effects may reach ecosystems.
  8. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Affected communities, Contractors, Customers / end-users, Employees, Suppliers.
  9. The source places the pathway in Upstream, Own operations, Downstream, Cross value chain.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  2. The topic may create provisions, penalties, remediation costs, claims or other liabilities.
  3. The topic may affect insurance availability, coverage terms, premiums or claims.
  4. The topic may affect demand, pricing, market access or product and service revenue.
  5. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which upstream activities, suppliers or inputs create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which products, services, customers or end uses create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Where across the value chain is the pathway most significant?
  • What current or proposed regulation could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Workforce, health and safety, engagement and grievance records
  • Contractor working-condition, incident and engagement records
  • Community engagement, grievance and impact records
  • Emergency-response plans, incident logs and responder feedback
  • Soil and groundwater monitoring, incident and remediation records
  • Water withdrawal, discharge, quality and catchment-impact records
  • Biodiversity, habitat and ecosystem-impact evidence
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Provision, claim, penalty, remediation and contingent-liability records
  • Insurance coverage, premium, exclusion and claims records
  • Revenue, demand, pricing and market-access analysis linked to the topic
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Process-map item (assets): Front-end wafer fabrication plants with cleanrooms, photolithography tracks, ion implanters, etch tools, deposition chambers, furnaces and chemical-mechanical planarisation lines
  • Process-map item (assets): Bulk gas farms, speciality gas cabinets, chemical storage rooms, slurry distribution systems and hazardous materials monitoring systems
  • Process-map item (customers): Automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers buying microcontrollers, power semiconductors, radar chips and safety-critical logic devices
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Tighter controls on PFAS use, emissions and waste streams affecting photoresists, surfactants, etch chemistries and heat transfer fluids
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Expansion of export controls and technology restrictions affecting advanced logic, memory, artificial intelligence accelerators and semiconductor manufacturing know-how

It may be less material when…

  • The organisation's scale, exposure or effects are below the threshold set for further assessment.
  • The relevant business model, activity, asset or product is not present or is not significant.
  • The organisation has no meaningful exposure to or influence over the relevant upstream or downstream pathway.

Affected stakeholders

  • Affected communities
  • Contractors
  • Customers / end-users
  • Employees
  • Suppliers

Users of the information

  • Local authorities
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Governance
  • Industry baseline
  • Strong industry signal
  • Financial materiality

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Governance of business ethics, anti-corruption, internal controls and compliance across semiconductor environmental permits, chemical rules, product substance regimes, equipment safety expectations and public funding conditions.

How it shows up in this industry

Semiconductor fabs and assembly sites operate under air permits, water discharge licences, hazardous waste rules, chemical registration and restriction regimes, product substance requirements, equipment safety expectations and public funding conditions. Large fab investments, strategic customers and government subsidies increase exposure to bribery, procurement integrity, permit compliance and internal control failures.

Why it may be material

Regulatory non-compliance can stop production, delay fab construction, restrict market access, trigger fines or threaten subsidy eligibility. Ethical failures in procurement, permitting, customer contracting or public funding can damage trusted supplier status in a strategically important industry.

Impact pathway

  1. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Customers / end-users, Employees.
  2. The source places the pathway in Own operations, Upstream, Downstream, Cross value chain.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may create provisions, penalties, remediation costs, claims or other liabilities.
  2. The topic may affect demand, pricing, market access or product and service revenue.
  3. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  4. The topic may require capital expenditure to adapt assets, processes or infrastructure.
  5. The topic may affect access to finance, funding terms or the cost of capital.
  6. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.
  7. The topic may affect asset useful lives, impairment assumptions, valuations or stranded-asset exposure.

Questions to test

  • What evidence shows current or anticipated financial effects on the organisation?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which upstream activities, suppliers or inputs create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which products, services, customers or end uses create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Where across the value chain is the pathway most significant?
  • What current or proposed regulation could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Provision, claim, penalty, remediation and contingent-liability records
  • Revenue, demand, pricing and market-access analysis linked to the topic
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Capital plans, asset adaptation budgets and investment approvals
  • Funding terms, lender or investor requirements and cost-of-capital analysis
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Asset valuations, useful-life assumptions, impairment tests and stranded-asset analysis
  • Process-map item (assets): Front-end wafer fabrication plants with cleanrooms, photolithography tracks, ion implanters, etch tools, deposition chambers, furnaces and chemical-mechanical planarisation lines
  • Process-map item (assets): Bulk gas farms, speciality gas cabinets, chemical storage rooms, slurry distribution systems and hazardous materials monitoring systems
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Tighter controls on PFAS use, emissions and waste streams affecting photoresists, surfactants, etch chemistries and heat transfer fluids
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Customer pressure for fab-level renewable electricity procurement, product carbon footprints and low-carbon wafer starts
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Expansion of export controls and technology restrictions affecting advanced logic, memory, artificial intelligence accelerators and semiconductor manufacturing know-how

It may be less material when…

  • Organisation-specific evidence does not support significant scale, severity, likelihood or financial effect.
  • The organisation has no meaningful exposure to or influence over the relevant upstream or downstream pathway.

Affected stakeholders

  • Customers / end-users
  • Employees

Users of the information

  • Board / management
  • Investors / creditors
  • Local authorities
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Governance
  • Industry baseline
  • Strong industry signal
  • Double materiality

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Governance of semiconductor export controls, sanctions, dual-use end-use screening and controlled technology transfers affecting advanced chips, process know-how, design files, equipment access and customer sales.

How it shows up in this industry

Advanced logic, memory, artificial intelligence accelerators, field-programmable gate arrays, radio-frequency chips, manufacturing equipment know-how, process recipes and design files are increasingly subject to export controls, sanctions and national security restrictions. Customers include defence, aerospace, space, cloud, telecommunications and electronics manufacturing channels, creating complex end-use and re-export screening requirements.

Why it may be material

Export controls and sanctions can immediately restrict sales, equipment access, service contracts, cross-border engineering support and technology transfer. Weak screening can enable misuse in weapons systems, unlawful surveillance or sanctioned cyber operations and can threaten public funding or trusted supplier status.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach downstream users.
  2. Potential effects may reach consumers.
  3. Potential effects may reach affected communities.
  4. Potential effects may reach future generations.
  5. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Business partners, Customers / end-users, Suppliers.
  6. The source places the pathway in Own operations, Upstream, Downstream, Cross value chain.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may affect demand, pricing, market access or product and service revenue.
  2. The topic may create provisions, penalties, remediation costs, claims or other liabilities.
  3. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  4. The topic may affect access to finance, funding terms or the cost of capital.
  5. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.
  6. The topic may affect asset useful lives, impairment assumptions, valuations or stranded-asset exposure.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which upstream activities, suppliers or inputs create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which products, services, customers or end uses create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Where across the value chain is the pathway most significant?
  • What geopolitical developments could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Downstream-user outcome, complaint and product-use evidence
  • Consumer outcome, complaint and product-impact records
  • Community engagement, grievance and impact records
  • Long-term scenario, cumulative-impact and intergenerational analysis
  • Revenue, demand, pricing and market-access analysis linked to the topic
  • Provision, claim, penalty, remediation and contingent-liability records
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Funding terms, lender or investor requirements and cost-of-capital analysis
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Asset valuations, useful-life assumptions, impairment tests and stranded-asset analysis
  • Process-map item (assets): Back-end assembly, packaging and test facilities for dicing, wire bonding, flip-chip, advanced packaging, burn-in and final electrical test
  • Process-map item (assets): Reliability laboratories, failure analysis laboratories, metrology tools, yield management systems and statistical process control platforms
  • Process-map item (assets): Secure data centres for chip design, manufacturing execution, equipment telemetry, customer design files and intellectual property management
  • Process-map item (customers): Consumer electronics brands buying application processors, memory, sensors, power management ICs and connectivity chips
  • Process-map item (customers): Automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers buying microcontrollers, power semiconductors, radar chips and safety-critical logic devices

It may be less material when…

  • Organisation-specific evidence does not support significant scale, severity, likelihood or financial effect.
  • The organisation has no meaningful exposure to or influence over the relevant upstream or downstream pathway.
  • The emerging signal has not yet created a relevant exposure, impact or financial effect for the organisation.

Affected stakeholders

  • Business partners
  • Customers / end-users
  • Suppliers

Users of the information

  • Board / management
  • Investors / creditors
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Governance
  • Industry baseline
  • Strong industry signal
  • Double materiality
  • Cross-cutting

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Protection of connected manufacturing systems, process recipes, design data and customer intellectual property from cyber compromise, theft or manipulation across semiconductor design and manufacturing ecosystems.

How it shows up in this industry

Semiconductor companies manage photomask libraries, process recipes, layout data, electronic design automation toolchains, device models, manufacturing execution systems, equipment telemetry, customer design files and secure data centres. Connected fabrication tools and outsourced design ecosystems increase exposure to ransomware, IP theft, corrupted process recipes, altered test data and unauthorised design modification.

Why it may be material

Cyber incidents can halt fabs, compromise customer design files, damage proprietary process know-how, increase cyber insurance costs and trigger liabilities. Secure design handling and resilient operational technology also affect revenue access with cloud, automotive, defence, aerospace, medical and telecommunications customers.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach workers.
  2. Potential effects may reach contractors.
  3. Potential effects may reach downstream users.
  4. Potential effects may reach consumers.
  5. Potential effects may reach affected communities.
  6. Potential effects may reach future generations.
  7. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Business partners, Customers / end-users, Employees, Suppliers.
  8. The source places the pathway in Own operations, Upstream, Downstream, Cross value chain.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may affect demand, pricing, market access or product and service revenue.
  2. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  3. The topic may require capital expenditure to adapt assets, processes or infrastructure.
  4. The topic may create provisions, penalties, remediation costs, claims or other liabilities.
  5. The topic may affect insurance availability, coverage terms, premiums or claims.
  6. The topic may affect asset useful lives, impairment assumptions, valuations or stranded-asset exposure.
  7. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which upstream activities, suppliers or inputs create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which products, services, customers or end uses create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Where across the value chain is the pathway most significant?
  • What geopolitical developments could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Workforce, health and safety, engagement and grievance records
  • Contractor working-condition, incident and engagement records
  • Downstream-user outcome, complaint and product-use evidence
  • Consumer outcome, complaint and product-impact records
  • Community engagement, grievance and impact records
  • Long-term scenario, cumulative-impact and intergenerational analysis
  • Revenue, demand, pricing and market-access analysis linked to the topic
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Capital plans, asset adaptation budgets and investment approvals
  • Provision, claim, penalty, remediation and contingent-liability records
  • Insurance coverage, premium, exclusion and claims records
  • Asset valuations, useful-life assumptions, impairment tests and stranded-asset analysis
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Process-map item (assets): Back-end assembly, packaging and test facilities for dicing, wire bonding, flip-chip, advanced packaging, burn-in and final electrical test
  • Process-map item (assets): Photomask libraries, process recipes, electronic design automation toolchains, layout data, device models and proprietary process integration know-how
  • Process-map item (assets): Secure data centres for chip design, manufacturing execution, equipment telemetry, customer design files and intellectual property management
  • Process-map item (customers): Automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers buying microcontrollers, power semiconductors, radar chips and safety-critical logic devices
  • Process-map item (customers): Defence, aerospace and space customers buying radiation-hardened, secure and high-reliability semiconductors

It may be less material when…

  • Organisation-specific evidence does not support significant scale, severity, likelihood or financial effect.
  • The organisation has no meaningful exposure to or influence over the relevant upstream or downstream pathway.
  • The emerging signal has not yet created a relevant exposure, impact or financial effect for the organisation.

Affected stakeholders

  • Business partners
  • Customers / end-users
  • Employees
  • Suppliers

Users of the information

  • Board / management
  • Investors / creditors
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Governance
  • Industry baseline
  • Moderate industry signal
  • Double materiality

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Governance of provenance, supplier due diligence and corrective action for critical metals, compound semiconductor materials, high-purity inputs and advanced packaging materials used in semiconductor manufacturing.

How it shows up in this industry

Semiconductor devices and packages depend on silicon wafers, compound semiconductor wafers, copper, tungsten, tantalum, cobalt, gold, rare earth materials, platinum group metals, quartzware, high-purity chemicals, substrates, underfills, mould compounds and thermal interface materials. Advanced packaging, chiplets and high-bandwidth memory increase dependence on concentrated supplier clusters and additional chemical-intensive material processing.

Why it may be material

Upstream extraction, refining and high-purity processing can affect workers, local communities, water bodies, ecosystems and Indigenous peoples. Customers, public funding conditions and geopolitical controls increasingly require visibility into critical input origins, supplier labour practices, environmental performance and sanctions exposure.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach supply-chain workers.
  2. Potential effects may reach affected communities.
  3. Potential effects may reach ecosystems.
  4. Potential effects may reach water bodies.
  5. Potential effects may reach soil and groundwater.
  6. Potential effects may reach Indigenous peoples.
  7. Potential effects may reach downstream users.
  8. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Customers / end-users, Suppliers, Value chain workers.
  9. The source places the pathway in Upstream, Own operations, Cross value chain.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may affect demand, pricing, market access or product and service revenue.
  2. The topic may change operating costs through resource use, controls, remediation or ongoing management.
  3. The topic may create provisions, penalties, remediation costs, claims or other liabilities.
  4. The topic may affect access to finance, funding terms or the cost of capital.
  5. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.
  6. The topic may affect asset useful lives, impairment assumptions, valuations or stranded-asset exposure.
  7. The topic may require capital expenditure to adapt assets, processes or infrastructure.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which upstream activities, suppliers or inputs create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Where across the value chain is the pathway most significant?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on supply-chain workers?
  • What current or proposed regulation could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Supplier workforce, audit, grievance and remediation records
  • Community engagement, grievance and impact records
  • Biodiversity, habitat and ecosystem-impact evidence
  • Water withdrawal, discharge, quality and catchment-impact records
  • Soil and groundwater monitoring, incident and remediation records
  • Indigenous engagement, consent, grievance and impact records
  • Downstream-user outcome, complaint and product-use evidence
  • Revenue, demand, pricing and market-access analysis linked to the topic
  • Operating-cost records and budgets linked to the topic
  • Provision, claim, penalty, remediation and contingent-liability records
  • Funding terms, lender or investor requirements and cost-of-capital analysis
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Asset valuations, useful-life assumptions, impairment tests and stranded-asset analysis
  • Capital plans, asset adaptation budgets and investment approvals
  • Process-map item (assets): Back-end assembly, packaging and test facilities for dicing, wire bonding, flip-chip, advanced packaging, burn-in and final electrical test
  • Process-map item (assets): Bulk gas farms, speciality gas cabinets, chemical storage rooms, slurry distribution systems and hazardous materials monitoring systems
  • Process-map item (customers): Automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers buying microcontrollers, power semiconductors, radar chips and safety-critical logic devices
  • Process-map item (customers): Cloud service providers, server manufacturers and artificial intelligence accelerator vendors buying CPUs, GPUs, networking ASICs and high-bandwidth memory
  • Process-map item (customers): Defence, aerospace and space customers buying radiation-hardened, secure and high-reliability semiconductors

It may be less material when…

  • The organisation's scale, exposure or effects are below the threshold set for further assessment.
  • The organisation has no meaningful exposure to or influence over the relevant upstream pathway.

Affected stakeholders

  • Customers / end-users
  • Suppliers
  • Value chain workers

Users of the information

  • Investors / creditors
  • NGOs / civil society
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

  • Governance
  • Business-model dependent
  • Moderate industry signal
  • Double materiality

Workcard generated from the catalogue

What this topic covers

Governance and transparency of semiconductor public policy engagement, lobbying, trade association activity and political contributions where these influence regulation, subsidies, export controls, water, energy and chemical policy.

How it shows up in this industry

Semiconductor companies engage with governments on domestic manufacturing incentives, export controls, national security, tax credits, grid connection, water allocation, PFAS and chemical restrictions, fab permitting and workforce commitments. Policy positions can shape market access, public funding and community acceptance for large fabrication projects.

Why it may be material

Public policy engagement is material because semiconductor capacity is closely tied to industrial strategy, strategic supply security and public subsidies. Misalignment between lobbying positions and stated sustainability commitments can create reputational, investor and regulatory scrutiny.

Impact pathway

  1. Potential effects may reach affected communities.
  2. Potential effects may reach future generations.
  3. Potential effects may reach water bodies.
  4. Potential effects may reach the atmosphere.
  5. Affected stakeholder groups identified in the source include Affected communities, Customers / end-users.
  6. The source places the pathway in Own operations, Cross value chain.

Financial pathway

  1. The topic may affect demand, pricing, market access or product and service revenue.
  2. The topic may affect access to finance, funding terms or the cost of capital.
  3. The topic may require capital expenditure to adapt assets, processes or infrastructure.
  4. The topic may affect reputation, licences to operate, intellectual property or other intangible value.
  5. The topic may affect asset useful lives, impairment assumptions, valuations or stranded-asset exposure.

Questions to test

  • What evidence supports both the impact and financial materiality pathways?
  • Which own operations, assets or decisions create or concentrate the pathway?
  • Where across the value chain is the pathway most significant?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on affected communities?
  • What is the scale, scope, likelihood and remediability of effects on future generations?
  • What geopolitical developments could change the topic's relevance?

Evidence to collect

  • Community engagement, grievance and impact records
  • Long-term scenario, cumulative-impact and intergenerational analysis
  • Water withdrawal, discharge, quality and catchment-impact records
  • Emissions, air-quality and atmospheric-impact records linked to the topic
  • Revenue, demand, pricing and market-access analysis linked to the topic
  • Funding terms, lender or investor requirements and cost-of-capital analysis
  • Capital plans, asset adaptation budgets and investment approvals
  • Reputation, licence-to-operate, intellectual-property and other intangible-value evidence
  • Asset valuations, useful-life assumptions, impairment tests and stranded-asset analysis
  • Process-map item (assets): Reliability laboratories, failure analysis laboratories, metrology tools, yield management systems and statistical process control platforms
  • Process-map item (customers): Industrial automation, robotics and energy equipment manufacturers buying power devices, analogue ICs, sensors and embedded processors
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Expansion of export controls and technology restrictions affecting advanced logic, memory, artificial intelligence accelerators and semiconductor manufacturing know-how
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Rising water stress in semiconductor clusters increasing competition for municipal water, groundwater and recycled water allocations
  • Process-map item (emerging_pressures): Geopolitical localisation incentives and subsidy conditions requiring domestic manufacturing, workforce commitments and supply chain transparency

It may be less material when…

  • The organisation's scale, exposure or effects are below the threshold set for further assessment.
  • The relevant business model, activity, asset or product is not present or is not significant.

Affected stakeholders

  • Affected communities
  • Customers / end-users

Users of the information

  • Board / management
  • Investors / creditors
  • Local authorities
  • NGOs / civil society
  • Regulators

Standards to check

See how companies report it →

Your preliminary screening decision

Saved in this browser. Your notes leave it only when you export the screening.

An initial screening — not a materiality assessment

To turn a shortlist into a defensible result, you still need to:

  • engage affected stakeholders
  • assess severity and likelihood
  • evaluate financial effects
  • define thresholds
  • document governance and approval
  • keep an audit trail
Certified Materiality Assessment for ESG Reporters Course →
How this screening is built, and what it is not

Candidate topics come from the LRA materiality topic catalogue (19 topics for this industry that passed quality checks), aligned to GRI sector numbering and the SASB SICS classification.

Topics, rationales, impact and financial channels, stakeholders and standard hints come from the reviewed catalogue. Workcards and activity matches are generated from it by fixed rules; where LRA has written a workcard or a disclosure mapping by hand, it is labelled as curated.

Your selections, decisions and notes stay in this browser. They are sent to LRA only to build an Excel file when you choose to export, and are not stored.

This is an educational screening aid. It is not issued or endorsed by GRI, the IFRS Foundation, EFRAG or SASB, and it is not a materiality assessment of any organisation.

Initial screening summary

Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment

Organisation profile

    Include for further assessment

      More evidence required

        Provisionally lower priority

          Important limitation. These are screening decisions only. They have not been validated through stakeholder engagement, severity assessment, financial-effect analysis or formal approval.

          The link carries only the sub-industry and the activities you ticked — never your decisions or notes.

          An .xlsx file with your screening, the workcards and the sources for the chosen sub-industry.