TSMC sustainability score: 36/100
TSMC is a dedicated semiconductor foundry, making chips to its customers' designs. Wafer fabrication brought in about 86% of its net revenue in 2025, and high performance computing chips 58%.
More about TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited was incorporated in 1987. It had 90,557 full-time employees at 31 December 2025 and net revenue of NT$3.81 trillion in 2025.
Founded 1987Head office Hsinchu, TaiwanStaff ~90,557 (31 December 2025, year-end, full-time)Revenue ~NT$3.81T net revenue (FY2025; NT$3,809,054 million)Website ↗
TSMC reported 49,626,066 tCO2e for 2025: Scope 1, market-based Scope 2 and 11 Scope 3 categories, with no figure for the use of sold products. Scope 1 and 2 rose every year from 2021, and the size of the footprint brings the 0.70x size deduction. It reports 20.1% renewable electricity, a figure that includes certificates and, per its 20-F, carbon credits, with no split published; it has signed 7.3 GW of purchase agreements. Its 2030 targets are absolute, and SBTi validation was not found. It recovers 98% of its waste, but water withdrawal rose to 149.9 million m3. Greenpeace and others criticise its low renewables and fossil reliance.
TSMC scores 36/100 (Below expectations) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Scores are free. Companies can never pay for anything about their own score. Last verified November 2026.
That places TSMC joint 538th of 994 companies scored, and 24th of 41 in Electronics / Hardware.
What is TSMC doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Transparency & Accountability (8/10, 8/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Energy Source (0/10, 4/10).
Where TSMC lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- Emissions from its own operations8/10No verified figures published with their method and a falling trend.
- Emissions from its supply chain7/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling0/10No evidence its emissions are falling, not even from energy bills or mileage.
- How clean its energy is4/10Less than half its energy shown to be renewable, or no transition plan.
- Its effect on nature5/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles waste7/10No verified figures for reuse and recycling across the business.
- Its effect on water5/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets6/10Its targets aren't validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports8/10No mission-locked structure, such as B Corp certification.
- Its record on controversies6/10Points deducted for controversies or its business model. The finding is under question 10.
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Anyone can send us new evidence, free. How to send it.
How is TSMC's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is TSMC's score based on?
16 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
19% of them were published by TSMC itself; the rest come from independent sources.
Scope 2, 2025: market-based 11,130,571 t, location-based 13,631,226 t. The score uses market-based.
13 of 16 sources are independent of the company.
“Scope 1 Direct Process Emissions (mainly fluorinated gases and nitrous oxide) accounted for 4% of total emissions”
“GHG emissions have been subject to a separate verification conducted by DNV”
“High Performance Computing 934,769 43% 1,476,891 51% 2,192,931 58%”
“renewable energy accounted for only 11.4% of electricity use at its Taiwan fabs in 2025”
“to reduce its massive carbon footprint”
“Climate agenda slips at TSMC, Greenpeace says”
“Renewables made up 9 per cent of TSMC”
“Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC)”
“net zero deforestation, no net loss of nature and biodiversity, and net positive impact by 2050”
“currently accounts for eight percent of Taiwan”
“should lead the green power transition”
“Power use by TSMC increased by 85 percent between 2017 and 2022”
“Using 2025 as a baseline, TSMC commits to achieving absolute reduction targets for scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions”
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How does TSMC compare with other electronics / hardware companies?
Where TSMC sits among electronics / hardware peers.
Among the 41 major electronics / hardware brands we've scored, TSMC sits 24th of 41.
Who scores higher in Electronics / Hardware?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above TSMC.
Nokia has cut its own operational emissions 86% since 2019 and has an SBTi-validated net-zero target for 2040.
See the breakdown →Dell reports declining operational emissions and credible climate targets, but Scope 3 rose 14% year-on-year, driven by use-phase product emissions.
See the breakdown →Nintendo reports comprehensive Scope 1 and 2 emissions with a 24% absolute reduction from 2023 to 2024, but lacks science-based targets, third-party GHG verification, and any renewable energy strategy at its Japan headquarters.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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