AMD takes to tablet with latest corporate sustainability report
(Updated June 5, 6:10 p.m. EST to add AMD quote)
This is probably the start of a trend among companies that publish annual reports on their environmental and corporate social responsibility initiatives: AMD has converted its latest update into an application for Android and Apple iPad tablets.
The idea is to help save paper, while allowing people to navigate the information more quickly. Of course, if you're into PDF versions, you can also grab the information in that format.
“After 16 consecutive years of reporting, we at AMD are trying to break through the clutter by summarizing our performance into an easily digestible magazine format and by utilizing the latest technology to deliver the information. Our summary report can now be downloaded to your tablet device or smartphone,” said Tim Mohin, director of Corporate Responsibility for AMD. “Through this approach, we hope to engage more people in the conversation and make the report more accessible, which in turn will help drive even better performance and crowd source the ideas that will take us to the next level of performance.”
So what does AMD have to say for itself?
Well, the report demonstrates just how hard it is to manage greenhouse gas emissions in the face of fluctuating production conditions.
For example, AMD was able to manage an absolute reduction of 8.1 percent for its non-manufacturing sites over the past two years, which was ahead of the 5 percent goal. On the flip side, its normalized greenhouse gas emissions associated with manufacturing facilities rose by 1.6 percent, because of a decline in production.
Overall, AMD has called for a 5 percent emissions reduction between 2009 and 2014, including Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions (which means it does NOT include the emissions of AMD's supply chain partners).
The water consumption scenario was also affected. A consolidation of facilities on the non-manufacturing side contributed to a 14.9 percent reduction during 2011. A manufacturing process change in Malaysia and a startup operation in China, however, resulted in a 32.8 percent increase in normalized water usage.
During 2011, AMD managed a 57 percent reduction in the amount of waste diverted to landfill. Its goal between 2009 and 2014 is a 70 percent reduction. The latest progress included Singapore's waste-to-energy initiative.
AMD has raised the level of recycling at its non-manufacturing facilities to 61 percent in 2011, compared with 46 percent in 2009. An expanded organic waste composting program helped the company achieve its higher diversion rate over the past year.
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