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Welcome back for the fourth and final issue of our Earth Month newsletter series. This week, we’ll explain Intel’s approach to waste and circular economy solutions, and how we’ll achieve our goal to send zero waste to landfill across our global manufacturing operations by 2030.
But first, we were incredibly excited to announce our first water restoration project in Ohio last week. Along with Governor DeWine, Lt. Governor Husted, and Assistant Director Steve Gray of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Intel Chief Operating Officer Keyvan Esfarjani shared that Intel will help fund the restoration of 90 acres of wetland near Dillon Lake. Intel has funded dozens of water restoration projects benefiting watersheds in the communities where we operate around the world, and the latest will support the Licking River Watershed – more on that below.
This week, we are also sharing a sneak peek of what the Ohio One Campus will look like when complete. Every detail has been carefully considered to honor the rural heritage of the region with rolling berms, wetlands, pollinator plants, and thousands of native trees which will provide biodiverse habitats for plants and wildlife.
We know transparency is important, and throughout Earth month, we’ve issued multiple newsletters with details about Intel’s environmental stewardship programs and sustainability efforts.
In the first issue of our Earth Month newsletter series, we cover how we are protecting air quality and reducing our air and greenhouse gas emissions. In our second issue, we shared Intel’s global water strategy to reduce, reuse and restore water, and photos of the superload and the route from Adams to Licking County. In the third issue, we shared Intel’s approach to energy conservation and renewable electricity. We also revealed the name of the first Buckeye tree planted on the Intel Ohio One Campus!
We hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about Intel’s approach to environmental stewardship and sustainability. We are so proud to be building the Silicon Heartland right here in Ohio.
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With gratitude,
Emily Smith
Ohio Community Relations Director
Intel Corporation
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Intel Announces First Ohio Water Restoration Project | |
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Last week, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), and Intel announced a new H2Ohio partnership to protect and improve water quality in the Licking Watershed.
This water restoration project near Dillon Lake marks Intel’s first sustainability investment in Ohio, with more to come. While the project is located about 40 miles from the Intel campus in Western Licking County, it is in the Licking River watershed which is significant to Intel because the Ohio One campus is located on the ridgeline between the Licking River watershed and the Upper Scioto River watershed.
Watersheds are not defined by state, county, township, or other local government boundaries. The boundary of a watershed is defined by the highest elevations surrounding a lake or river segment. In a watershed, all the water that falls or runs onto the land eventually flows downhill, following the contours of the land and converging into a common stream or river.
For this project, The ODNR H2Ohio program will convert approximately 90 acres of cropland into a wetland and floodplain treatment plain. The project, which will reconnect the lake to the Licking River, will help reduce sediment and nutrient loading to Dillon Lake, as well as reduce the intensity of algal blooms. Intel’s share of the project will restore an estimated 27 million gallons of water annually to benefit the watershed.
At the announcement, we welcomed a wonderful group of students from Par Excellence STEM Academy to learn more about water and STEAM education through hands-on learning experiences. These students have an amazing head start on learning all about environmental stewardship, thanks to the H2Ohio initiative.
Learn more about the project >
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REDUCE, REUSE, RESTORE
Intel is committed to being net positive for water in Ohio, which means we will restore and return more than we use. Our reduce and reuse efforts help us make the most of the water we bring in and reduce the amount of freshwater needed from our watersheds. To make up the balance of water that is consumed onsite, primarily due to evaporation, Intel funds watershed restoration projects to benefit the water resources and the communities where we operate.
Water for the Intel Ohio One site will come from the City of New Albany, which purchases water from the City of Columbus, which comes from Hoover Reservoir in the Upper Scioto Watershed along Big Walnut Creek. Once the water is received at the Ohio One site, it will be treated at Intel’s onsite water system with a capacity of processing millions of gallons of water each day. This process creates ultra-pure water that is completely free of any particles, ions and different types of trace minerals. While those are important for drinking water, they must be removed before being used in the semiconductor manufacturing process, so the chips aren’t damaged.
After the water is used in the manufacturing process, it will be treated and reused at the campus in multiple ways, before being treated again to applicable water quality standards (Ohio EPA and City of Columbus) and discharged into the sanitary sewer system where it is further treated at the City of Columbus’ wastewater treatment plant. There will be no direct wastewater discharges from Intel’s manufacturing operations to any water bodies. In accordance with our stormwater discharge permit, only stormwater is allowed to drain from the site into streams or surface waters.
Stormwater on the Ohio One campus is diverted into retention basins designed to manage stormwater runoff by storing it and releasing it gradually, which prevents flooding and erosion. These basins will be enhanced with wetland vegetation, which filter storm water, and provide a natural habitat for plants and animals. These types of engineered wetland detention systems are the most effective stormwater quality management practices.
The Dillon wetland restoration project is Intel’s first restoration project in Ohio, with more to come. Projects that Intel funded through the end of 2023 returned and restored more than three billion gallons of water to our local watersheds during 2023. These projects, in addition to our efficient water management, water reuse, and collaboration with municipalities, have enabled Intel to achieve net positive water in four countries – U.S., India, Costa Rica, and Mexico.
Read the Intel Water Restoration 2023 Progress Report to learn more about Intel’s efforts.
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Intel's Approach to Waste and Circular Economy Solutions | |
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Much of the waste Intel generates results from construction and manufacturing activities. Intel has a robust focus on finding ways to reduce waste, recover materials, and regenerate resources to avoid sending material to landfill. Since the mid-1990s, we have voluntarily disclosed waste generation and recycling metrics and set public goals to improve our performance. Today, our focus is on eliminating waste to landfill and implementing circular economy solutions, which can help lower our environmental impact, reduce our use of virgin materials, and even generate revenue.
Major semiconductor manufacturing-related waste streams include lithography-related solvents, metal plating waste, specialty base cleaners, spent sulfuric acid, ammonium sulfate, and calcium fluoride. Our operations also generate plastic, metal, kitchen, and general office waste. We continue to find ways to recover materials and regenerate resources to create circular economy solutions that reduce costs and environmental impact.
As part of our sustainability goals, we are committed to achieving zero waste to landfill and implementing circular economy strategies for our manufacturing waste streams by 2030. During 2022 we sent 6% of our total waste to landfill, up from 5% in 2021. Although overall waste generation declined, waste to landfill ticked up slightly in 2022 due to construction activities.
Our second waste goal focuses on the implementation of circular strategies for 60% of our manufacturing waste, also known as upcycling. The circular economy management of waste keeps materials in use for longer through reuse, resale, repurposing and recycling. In 2022, 67% of our manufacturing waste was upcycled using circular strategies. This exceeded our 2030 goal. We know that our 60% target will be challenging over the next five years, given our projected growth and new waste streams, suppliers, and locations. Learn more about Intel’s approach to waste and circular economy solutions in this whitepaper.
We know transparency is important, and that’s why we publicly disclose our environmental impact on our Explore Intel website. Every Intel manufacturing site around the world posts this data every quarter to keep our communities informed - and we’ll be adding a page for Ohio once our factories are operational.
Additionally, we report progress toward our goals, including detailed inventories of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water use, by location, in our annual Corporate Responsibility Report.
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Celebrating Arbor Day with the City of New Albany | |
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Arbor Day, first celebrated in 1872, is an annual observance that encourages tree planting and environmental stewardship. The Intel Ohio team was so pleased to celebrate Arbor Day and tree planting at Resch Park with New Albany Councilmembers Matt Shull, Marlene Brisk, and Andrea Wiltrout along with the forestry team and students.
Earlier this month, we started planting trees at Intel’s Ohio One campus in the New Albany International Business Park. The first tree planted is a buckeye tree, affectionally named Carmen. In addition to Carmen, another 3,600 native trees species will be planted between now and fall along with thousands of plants in the engineered wetland basins. Before the campus is complete, there will be an additional 3,000+ trees and 1,000 shrubs and other landscaping.
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Dawes Arboretum Arbor Day Festival | |
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The Intel Ohio team was so happy to spend our Saturday at the Arboretum’s annual Arbor Day Festival. Our volunteers helped to hand out 1,500 free trees that we hope will thrive in gardens and yards across the region.
Dawes Arboretum is a 2,000- acre tree museum of more than 1,000 species established in 1929 by Beman and Bertie Dawes for the purpose of scientific research, conservation, education, and enjoyment. It is an amazing place to visit and features a diverse collection of trees and plants, themed gardens, and walking trails.
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Congrats to all the runners & walkers, including Intel logistics team members, who participated in the 21st OhioHealth Cap City Half & Quarter Marathon and Columbus Promise 5K. The Intel Ohio One team had a great time hosting a fueling station at mile 10. We especially enjoyed sharing the morning with incoming interns and full-time hires from THE Ohio State University.
Thank you to the Licking County Chamber of Commerce for inviting the Women at Intel Network (WIN) Employee Resource Group (ERG) to attend the Women’s Leadership Network (WLN) luncheon.
We are eager to support the luncheon because it aligns with our RISE goals. At Intel, we are driving to further advance the representation of women in technical positions and women and underrepresented minorities (URMs) in leadership positions at Intel by advancing accessibility and embedding inclusive leadership practices in our culture and across our business.
Intel is also committed to diversity and inclusion beyond its workforce to our suppliers globally. In 2022, we reached our 2030 RISE goal to increase annual spending to $2 billion globally. We also achieved two 2023 milestone goals focused on spending with minority-owned suppliers globally and U.S. Black-owned suppliers, and are on track to reach a 2025 milestone focused on women-owned suppliers outside the U.S. While we are proud of this achievement, we are not done yet. We remain committed to staying on track with a solid diverse and inclusive supply chain focus through 2030 and beyond.
We report progress toward our goals in our annual Corporate Responsibility Report.
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Intel Ohio One Campus Reveal | |
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The Intel Ohio One Campus is designed to complement the Ohio landscape and our community. From the extensive landscaping including thousands of native tree species and shrubs, pollinator plants, on-site wetlands, and building and entry design, we’ve taken a thoughtful, deliberate approach to how we show up in our community.
The campus also includes numerous outdoor recreation spaces for Intel’s employees including the leisure trail that connects to the 68 miles of trails throughout the New Albany International Business Park and the City of the New Albany.
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Interested in Becoming an Intel Supplier? | |
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Intel’s operations in the United States depend on hundreds of small, medium, and large local businesses, as will our fabs in Ohio. These businesses provide Intel with a variety of services and materials, from local lodging, meals, transportation, security, warehousing, chemicals, test equipment, and more.
Learn more about becoming an Intel Supplier >
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