Our business model
Resources
Human
- ~46,000 employees
- 103 nationalities
- 34% women, 66% men
- Average age: 40
Financial
- US$14 billion total assets
- US$1.3 billion capital investments
- US$1,099 million net cash
Intellectual
- ~8,100 employees in R&D
- US$1.6 billion R&D investments
- 143 R&D partnerships
Manufactured
- 11 main manufacturing sites in 7 different countries
- ~65% of employees in manufacturing
- >6,000 suppliers
Natural
- 2,626GWh of energy consumed
- 40% of renewable energy
- ~20 million m³ of water withdrawn
- >5,900 chemicals used
Social and relationship
- ST values and Code of Conduct
- US$2.1 million cash donated by ST to local communities
- >114,000 hours donated to local communities
Main steps in our value chain
1 — Suppliers
We purchase raw materials, equipment, energy, gas, chemicals and services from many suppliers and subcontractors.
2 — R&D concept and design
New products are created in a multi-step process including architecture conception, electrical layout, electrical and logic simulation, chip layout and generation of the mask that will be used to etch the design in silicon.
3 — Front-end manufacturing
Manufacturing chips requires around 400 separate stages, starting with a plain wafer, and resulting in the etching of several hundreds to thousands of dies.
4 — Electrical
wafer sorting
Dies on the wafer are electrically tested. This step is known as wafer sort or probe.
5 — Back-end manufacturing
The dies are cut from the silicon wafer before being assembled in a package. The chips are then tested prior to delivery to the customer.
6 — Product use and end of life
We offer a large portfolio of products suitable for the wide range of applications addressed by our customers.
Management of our impacts
Suppliers
We require our suppliers to implement the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) standards and encourage ISO and OHSAS certifications to address ethics, social, environmental, health and safety risks.
We participate in the Responsible Minerals Initiative.
Products
Through our Sustainable Technology program we design products systematically taking into consideration the environmental impact of the device during its whole lifecycle, including raw materials, transportation, manufacturing, usage and end of life.
People
We ensure the health and safety of our employees through advanced management systems and certification.
We implement our Code of Conduct and the RBA standards in all our sites to mitigate our ethics and labor and human rights risks, and carry out regular assessments and audits in all our production sites.
Environment
We deploy programs to reduce our direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from all our operations, including Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs), which have a very long atmospheric lifetime and high global warming potential.
We minimize the environmental, health and safety risks related to the chemicals and materials used in the manufacturing process, by basing the selection, handling, and substitution on the precautionary principles.
We are continually reducing our water footprint through reuse and recycling and all our wastewater is treated before being discharged into the environment.
We reduce, reuse, recycle or recover as much of our waste as possible, rather than sending it to incineration or landfill.
Value created
Human
Engaged and skilled people in an inclusive and safe workplace
- average of 44 hours of training per employee
- 81% of employees recommend ST as a great place to work
- 0.14 recordable injury case rate
Financial
Sustainable financial performance
- US$10.22 billion net revenues
- US$3.07 billion salaries and benefits
- US$174 million taxes paid
- US$168 million cash dividend
Intellectual
Innovative products and solutions
- ~18,000 active patents
- 63% of new products classified Sustainable Technology
- 15% of revenues generated by new product lines
Manufactured
Responsible and effective business operations
- >100,000 customers served
- ISO 9001, 14001, 22301, 50001, 45001/OHSAS 18001 and IATF certifications
- 100% of main manufacturing sites covered by RBA audits
- 98% of new suppliers screened on social responsibility criteria
Natural
Mitigation of the impact of our activities
- 78% decrease in PFC emissions since 1994 (per unit of production)
- 88% of waste reused, recovered or recycled
- 41% of water recycled or reused
Social and relationship
Knowledge and values shared with all
- >163,000 beneficiaries in local communities
- 340 volunteering initiatives from 35 sites worldwide
- >770,000 people trained on computer basics by ST Foundation since 2003
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Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to 2020.