Boston, May 20, 2024 – Shareholders of Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (Skyworks) delivered 31.2% of votes in favor of Green Century’s proposal asking the company to set rigorous science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. The proposal also asked the company to establish a goal to increase its use of renewable energy.
Skyworks, based in Irvine, California, produces semiconductor chips for aerospace, automotive, broadband, gaming, and smartphone applications and has major manufacturing locations in the U.S. Mexico, Japan, and Singapore.
Although Skyworks’ existing target is to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases by 30% by 2030, the target is not science-based, does not cover all emissions associated with its business, and falls short of the 43% global emissions cuts recommended by climate experts. More than 8,000 companies have now set or committed to set ambitious science-based targets with the standard-setting organization called the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Apple is Skyworks’ largest client, responsible for over 50% of the company’s sales. The phone giant has ambitious climate goals for itself and its suppliers, whom it expects to source clean energy and be carbon neutral for their Apple production by 2030. Skyworks has joined Apple’s Supplier Clean Energy Program, but it does not have a target for sourcing renewable energy for its business.
“We appreciate that companies in certain industries need time to study and adopt ambitious climate goals,” said Green Century President Leslie Samuelrich. “With the plethora of companies on track to do that, Skyworks appears to be a laggard in addressing the critical issue of climate change.”
Skyworks is at the Back of the Pack
In terms of plans to reduce its emissions, Skyworks is not keeping up with its peers. Competitors Analog Devices, NXP Semiconductors, and Qualcomm are among the 8,000 companies that have set or committed science-based targets with SBTi.
“Skyworks’ chips are integral to many of the products we rely on – like iPhones,” commented Andrea Ranger, shareholder advocate at Green Century. “Without Skyworks’ chips, iPhones wouldn’t be able to connect to wireless or wi-fi networks. As investors, we expect a technologically sophisticated company like Skyworks to tackle its emissions more comprehensively. Climate change is not a risk we want to magnify.”