It also says its estimated net water use is much lower, as about 80 percent of the water it uses in operations is returned to the local water system. In 2012, Intel internally recycled about 1.7 billion gallons of water, equivalent to about 18 percent of its withdrawals.

The company’s largest water impacts come from direct operations and factories, and its smallest comes from direct materials suppliers.

Waste

Intel’s solid waste generation leapt 95 percent from 2011 to 2012 on an absolute basis, and 118 percent on a per-chip basis, which Intel says was due primarily to ongoing construction of new manufacturing facilities. (It also restated its 2011 solid waste figures, which were overstated in last year’s report; and included data from a number of smaller sites for the first time.) Almost half of its solid waste generation was related to construction.

Intel projects the trend will continue. But to address this and help it meet its 2020 goals, Intel says it is evaluating new treatment technologies.

In 2012, Intel’s global solid waste recycle rate was 88 percent, up from 85 percent in 2011. Its 2020 goal is to recycle 90 percent of solid waste. To emphasize the goal’s importance to employees, Intel has included the waste recycling metrics in its 2013 employee bonus. Since 2008, Intel has linked part of every employee’s compensation to sustainability goals. It focused on carbon emissions reductions in 2012 and is this year turning its focus to recycling.

The company’s other solid waste goals are for zero chemical waste to landfill, and a 10 percent cut in chemical waste generation on a per-chip basis from 2010 levels. Last year chemical waste was up 34 percent on an absolute basis and 50 percent on a per-chip basis compared to 2011, which Intel again pins on the increasing complexity of its manufacturing processes.

Last year the company gave an award to an Israeli team that pioneered a process to recycle 89 percent of two chemical waste streams, saving a projected $1.5 million a year. These streams were previously shipped to Israel’s national waste management site, where they were blended with other fuels and incinerated.

In 2013, Intel plans to roll out out a new initiative across its sites, aimed at significantly increasing the composting of pre-consumer and post-consumer waste in on-site cafeterias and converting to all reusable dishware and utensils.