Intel 2008 Annual Report Download - page 19

Table of Contents
Intel seeks to reduce our global greenhouse gas emissions by investing in energy conservation projects in our factories and
working with suppliers to improve energy efficiency. We take a holistic approach to power management, addressing the
challenge at the silicon, package, circuit, micro/macro architecture, platform, and software levels. We recognize that climate
change may cause general economic risk. For additional information on the risks of climate change, see “Risk Factors” in
Item 1A of this Form 10-K. We routinely monitor energy costs to understand the long-range impacts that rising costs may
have on our business. We see the potential for higher energy costs driven by climate change regulations. This could include
items applied to utilities that are passed along to customers, such as carbon taxes or costs associated with emission cap and
trade programs or renewable portfolio standards. In particular, regulations associated with the Western Climate Initiative could
have an impact on our company, because a number of our large manufacturing facilities are located in the western United
States. Similarly, our operations in Ireland are already subject to the European Union’s mandatory cap and trade scheme for
global-warming emissions. All of our sites also may be impacted by utility programs directed by legislation, regulatory, or
other pressures that are targeted to pass costs through to users.
We maintain business recovery plans that are intended to ensure our ability to recover from natural disasters or other events
that can be disruptive to our business. Many of our operations are located in semi-arid regions, such as Israel and the
southwestern United States. Some climate change scenarios predict that such regions can become even more vulnerable to
prolonged droughts due to climate change. We have had an aggressive water conservation program in place for many years.
We believe that our water conservation and recovery programs will help reduce our risk if water availability becomes more
constrained in the future. We further maintain long-range plans to identify potential future water conservation actions that we
can take.
We are committed to sustainability and take a leadership position in promoting voluntary environmental initiatives and
working proactively with governments, environmental groups, and industry to promote global environmental sustainability.
We believe that technology will be fundamental to finding solutions to the world’s environmental challenges, and we are
joining forces with industry, business, and governments to find and promote ways that technology can be used as a tool to
combat climate change.
For several years, we have been evaluating “green” design standards and incorporating green building concepts and practices
into the construction of our buildings. We are in the process of obtaining Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) certification for an office building under construction in Israel and a newly constructed fabrication building in
Arizona. We have been purchasing wind power and other forms of renewable energy at some of our major sites for several
years. At the beginning of 2008, we announced plans to purchase renewable energy certificates under a multi
-year contract.
The purchase placed Intel at the top of the EPA’s Green Power Partnership for 2008. The purchase was intended to help
stimulate the market for green power, leading to additional generating capacity and, ultimately, lower costs.
14