Energy Savings and Carbon Reduction Measures
Realtek is an IC design house. The Company's energy consumption mainly includes grid electricity, diesel for emergency generators, and petrol for company vehicles. Realtek has no heating equipment that uses coal, gas, or boilers, and its production does not involve high energy consumption processes such as smelting or polymerization. In 2021, Realtek’s total energy consumption was 171,843 GJ and energy intensity was 1.63 GJ, a decrease of 21.6% compared to the previous year. As the Company’s revenue increased significantly, its energy intensity continued to fall, demonstrating the effectiveness of its energy-saving management measures. In the future, Realtek will continue to implement energy-saving measures, set energysaving goals, and evaluate results.
Realtek primarily engages in IC design and development, and has a relatively small position in testing production lines. As part of a continuing drive for selfimprovement, we adopt four main energy-saving measures: replacing power-hungry equipment, reducing energy consumption in IT server rooms, using energy-saving lighting, and replacing old testing equipment. Self-evaluations to uncover ways to improve operations and periodic assessments of carbon emissions ensure energysaving measures are effective in achieving intended objectives.
Building a Sustainable, Green Energy Enterprise
GHG Management
Sustainable ecological and environmental development are of great concern to Realtek. Since 2019, we have conducted self-reported inventory and management of GHG emissions to understand our carbon emissions status. To further strengthen GHG emissions management, in 2022, Realtek will adopt the ISO 14064-1:2018 GHG emissions inventory standard for Hsinchu Headquarters to establish GHG emission management procedures and inventory items. The results will be verified by a third-party organization. The inventory of GHG emission will serve as a reference for formulating GHG reduction goals to respond to future climatic and environmental changes as well as domestic and international regulatory trends.
In 2021, GHG emissions at Hsinchu Headquarters were 24,921.21 tCO2e. Direct emissions (Scope 1) were 662.07 tCO2e, which included emissions from stationary sources (diesel used in emergency generators), mobile sources (petrol used in company cars), and fugitive sources (refrigerants, septic tanks, and fire extinguishers). Realtek produces no process emissions as we do not engage in production processes. Indirect emissions (Scope 2) of 24,259.14 tCO2e primarily came from purchased electricity, which accounted for 97.53% of total emissions.
Note 1: Global Warming Potential (GWP) is based on the GWP from the 5th IPCC Report in 2013.
Note 2: Conversion factors are based on the GHG Emission Coefficient Management Table V.6.0.4 issued by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), Executive Yuan.
Note 3: The Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs announced the electricity emissions factors: 0.533 kg of CO2e per kWh in 2019, 0.509 kg of CO2e per kWh in 2020, and 0.502 kg of CO2e per kWh in 2021.
Note 4: The 2019 and 2020 GHG emission self-check data were collected by following ISO14064-1:2006.
Note 5: The 2021 GHG emission data were collected by following ISO14064-1:2018 and verified by a third party.
Taiwan’s ‘Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act‘ requires that GHG inventories include seven types of GHGs. Almost all of Realtek’s emissions were from CO2, which accounted for 97.53% of total emissions. Other emissions such as CH4, N2O, and HFCs amounted to less than 3% of the total.
Note 1: Realtek does not emit NOx, SOx, or other heavily polluting gases.
Note 2: All 2021 GHG emission data were collected by following ISO14064-1:2018 and verified by a third party.
Conservation of Water Resources
To evaluate water risk levels, Realtek adopts the World Resources Institute’s ‘Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, ‘ which shows a medium-to-low risk level for Hsinchu Science Park where Realtek’s operational headquarters is located. Most water is used by employees for general purposes. The water comes from Hsinchu’s Baoshan Reservoir; none comes from underground sources or the sea. The impact on the local water supply is relatively small. Moreover, all industrial wastewater and general wastewater produced within the Hsinchu Science Park are collected by the sewage system and piped to the Park’s wastewater treatment plant for processing before being discharged
into the Keya River through a dedicated pipeline. The treated water exceeds the national discharge standards and does not impact the ecology of the Keya River. In 2021, Realtek reported 75.46 ML of general wastewater discharge to the Hsinchu Science Park Administration. The Company did not have any discharge from production processes and did not pose any risk of environmental impactfrom waste water or effluent spills.
In 2021, Realtek’s total water consumption was 126.1 ML. Most of this was tap water (91.7%), with the remaining 8.3% reclaimed from rainwater, central air, and filtered sources. In recent years, the average amount of water withdrawn per person has decreased, including a drop of 9.7% from 2020 to 2021, or about 3,000 L less per person over the course of the year.
