Sustainable Technology
Sustainable Technology
OUR AMBITION
Design and manufacture products that have the greatest positive impact on the planet and society.
2025 GOAL
x3
% revenues generated by responsible products*
* vs 2016
Sustainable Technology, our product stewardship program, is about improving our social and environmental footprint at every stage of the product lifecycle, from raw material extraction to end of life. Since the start of the program in 2011, we have been designing, identifying and promoting innovative responsible products that deliver environmental and social benefits such as reducing energy consumption, saving resources, protecting the environment, and improving people’s quality of life. I 103-1 I
Identifying innovative responsible products
Our Sustainable Technology program is based on three main axes:
- Product compliance covers legislation and the requirements of our customers and other stakeholders regarding EHS, and the social and ethical impacts of our products (see ECOPACK® products, and Conflict minerals inquiry results).
- Eco-design takes into consideration the environmental impact of the device during its whole lifecycle, such as power-efficient and low-carbon responsible products (see Focus).
- Responsible applications bring sustainable benefits for human welfare or the environment, such as planet-friendly and human-welfare responsible products (see quote). I 103-2 I
We systematically apply these Sustainable Technology programs during the product development process to identify responsible products that provide clear social or environmental benefits to society.
62%
of new products are responsible products
The product R&D teams record and track responsible indicators in our Project Management System (PMS). This enables them to evaluate the products, awarding one, two or three stars to indicate their value to society and their level of innovation. To support the teams, we deployed across all ST sites an e-learning program specific to the semiconductor industry, called ‘Fundamentals of product stewardship’. I 103-3 I
The percentage of new products that are classified as responsible increased from 50% in 2018 to 62% in 2019.
In line with our 2025 goal, we have established indicators that estimate the revenues derived from our responsible products. In 2018, we estimated they contributed to 13% of ST revenues. In 2019, we improved this score, reaching 15.5% of our revenues.
Pierluigi Gardella
Healthcare Business Unit Manager, AMG Analog, Agrate (Italy)
Everywhere microelectronics make a positive contribution to people’s lives, ST is there! And nowhere is this more important than our Healthcare Business Unit. Over the years, our experts have developed trusted relationships with our customers, an important aspect of working with medical companies, to develop innovative healthcare technology. Examples include a device for new cardiac rhythm management that enables smaller pacemakers with longer battery life. The Healthcare Business Unit is also developing integrated circuits for ultrasound imaging systems. For example, thanks to our pulser devices, the ultrasound scanner will ultimately replace the stethoscope in the day-to-day practice of medicine, becoming a diagnostic imaging tool accessible to anyone.”
Promoting innovative responsible products
Since 2018, we have used our Sustainable Technology label to promote products in our recent portfolio that bring the most benefits to people or the environment.
Products are labelled following the results of our analysis process, which is managed at various steps of the product lifecycle. The label is applied to the most innovative responsible products, typically those awarded two or three stars.
In 2019, we published our first list of Sustainable Technology products on our website, available at www.st.com/responsible-products.
ST new products in 2019 I 417-1 I
|
Social products(1) |
Environmental products(2) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||
★ Incremental improvement to existing offer |
15 |
41 |
||||
★★ Significant improvement to existing offer |
12 |
28 |
||||
★★★ New or dramatic improvement to existing offer |
8 |
26 |
||||
Power-efficient responsible products
FOCUS
Silicon Carbide at the heart of new energy conversion systems
Energy conversion is critical in many applications powered by electricity, including power supplies, electrical vehicles and renewable energy devices.
We are constantly exploring more efficient, more compact and lighter solutions to ensure the optimal use of energy in these applications. As a major innovator and supplier of power semiconductor devices, we have been investing in wide bandgap materials such as Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN), used to create components such as diodes and transistors. The widespread introduction of these materials has opened up opportunities for ST to gain market share in a wide variety of power applications.
The use of such components leads to improved designs that use less material and deliver greater energy efficiency. This enables designers to make a technological leap in energy conversion across a wide range of applications, notably electric vehicle chargers and renewable energy production equipment.
ST’s expertise, combined with our mass production capacity for these components, puts us in a strong position in the energy conversion systems market.