UMC Recognized for ESG Strength With DJSI World & Emerging Markets Index and MSCI-ESG AA Rating

HSINCHU, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) (“UMC”), a leading global semiconductor wafer foundry, today announced its 16th consecutive year of being included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) and achieved the top ranking among its semiconductor foundry peers in the DJSI for multiple years, marking a significant benchmark for corporate sustainability performance. Meanwhile, UMC maintained its position as a constituent stock of the DJSI-Emerging Markets. UMC also achieved a remarkable AA rating in the MSCI ESG Ratings. This demonstrates that UMC’s sustainable capabilities have garnered widespread recognition from the international community.

UMC Co-President and Chief Sustainability Officer, SC Chien, stated, “We are more than delighted to be ranked highly in two major international evaluations, which indicates that UMC has long been recognized for its efforts in sustainable development and is also at the forefront of the industry. Achieving worldwide recognition carries both prestige and obligation. UMC will continue to examine itself with higher ESG standards, take corporate sustainability as its management principle, provide innovative and stable semiconductor foundry services, and maintain resilience and momentum for growth, in order to create values for our customers and shareholders, while making substantial contributions to global economic development.”

More than 3,400 large corporations worldwide participated in the 2023 DJSI assessment, and the top 10% of companies in each industry with the best performance in sustainable management are selected as constituents. UMC continued to excel in the 2023 evaluation, receiving high scores in environmental, social and governance dimensions with 24 PR >90 out of 26 categories. Specifically, UMC received full marks in the "business ethics," "innovation management," "product quality & recall management," "environmental policy & management system" and "customer relationship management" categories, demonstrating UMC's long-term commitment to sustainable management.

In addition, this year UMC has achieved an AA rating in the MSCI ESG ratings. UMC has scored higher than the industry average in all six major semiconductor evaluation categories, especially in key subjects such as "opportunities in clean tech," "water stress," "human capital development" and "corporate behavior." UMC has also consistently been selected as a component of the MSCI ACWI ESG Leaders Index and the Emerging Markets ESG Leaders Index.

UMC is committed to advancing its ESG initiatives across all three dimensions. With respect to corporate governance, UMC has been ranked in the top 5% of listed companies in Taiwan for nine consecutive years since the inception of the corporate governance evaluation. In terms of sustainable environment, UMC is implementing concrete steps to reduce carbon emissions in line with global trends. This includes making “2050 net-zero emissions” declaration, joining the RE100 and setting renewable energy targets, and receiving verification from the SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative). Finally, UMC places a strong emphasis on talent development and retention, utilizing assorted channels to attract talent and providing equal opportunities and resources to employees. The Company is dedicated to fostering a diverse, equal, and inclusive workplace environment in collaboration with its employees, seeking to shape a more promising tomorrow.

About UMC

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry company. The company provides high quality IC fabrication services, focusing on logic and various specialty technologies to serve all major sectors of the electronics industry. UMC’s comprehensive IC processing technologies and manufacturing solutions include Logic/Mixed-Signal, embedded High-Voltage, embedded Non-Volatile-Memory, RFSOI and BCD etc. Most of UMC's 12-in & 8-in fabs with its core R&D are located in Taiwan, with additional ones throughout Asia. UMC has total 12 fabs in production with combined capacity of more than 880,000 wafers per month (8-in equivalent), and all of them are certified with IATF 16949 automotive quality standard. UMC is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, plus local offices in United States, Europe, China, Japan, Korea & Singapore, with worldwide total 20,000 employees. For more information, please visit: http://www.umc.com.

Note from UMC Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in the foregoing announcement are forward-looking within the meaning of the U.S. Federal Securities laws, including statements about introduction of new services and technologies, future outsourcing, competition, wafer capacity, business relationships and market conditions. Investors are cautioned that actual events and results could differ materially from these statements as a result of a variety of factors, including conditions in the overall semiconductor market and economy; acceptance and demand for products from UMC; and technological and development risks. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in UMC’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. UMC does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.