Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) today announced ambitious new corporate sustainability targets that extend the company’s core commitment to positively impacting its global environmental footprint. The new targets focus on powering the company’s operations with 100% renewable energy, achieving net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions across the company’s operations, as well as water and waste reduction targets.
Sustainability strategies are core to Western Digital’s business. Through thoughtful planning and execution, the company has already set and achieved goals such as running certain facilities on renewable energy and reducing energy consumption per unit produced. Specifically, the company’s new target commitments include:
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Running its global operations on 100% renewable energy by 2030
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Achieving net zero emissions in the company’s operations (Scope 1 and 2 emissions) by 2032
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Reducing water withdrawals by 20% by 2030
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Diverting more than 95% of our operational waste from landfills by 2030
“Committing to these new, aggressive sustainability targets furthers Western Digital’s priority to be a good environmental steward and put forth data-driven goals and metrics to hold our organization accountable for mitigating the impacts of climate change,” said Irving Tan, Executive Vice President of Global Operations at Western Digital. “We have already made significant progress undertaking measures to reduce emissions, water and waste, to leverage renewable energy as well as low-carbon product design and packaging. These new targets reiterate our commitment to be an industry leader in sustainability.”
Western Digital’s established sustainability program has already set aggressive goals and has been recognized by industry organizations. For example, the company’s goals to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% by 2030 and reduce scope 3 use-phase emissions/Terabyte by 50% by 2030, both from an FY2020 base year, were approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in 2021, and since then the company achieved nearly 15% absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction. Additionally, as a founding member of the First Movers Coalition, Western Digital has committed to at least 10% net-zero fuels by 2030 for ocean shipping. Western Digital’s facilities in Shanghai, China and Penang, Malaysia have been recognized by the World Economic Forum’s Lighthouse Network as Sustainability Lighthouses.
“As sustainability becomes a business priority for organizations, companies that commit to and show progress towards achieving actionable sustainability targets will be recognized as sustainability leaders in the industry,” said Curtis Price, VP Sustainability Research at IDC. “Western Digital’s new commitment in the areas of net zero emissions, water and waste reduction and renewable energy, exemplifies the company’s dedication to reducing the impact of its business operations on the planet and paving the way for other companies to follow suit.”
To learn more about Western Digital’s sustainability activities, please visit the Western Digital sustainability website.
About Western Digital
Western Digital is on a mission to unlock the potential of data by harnessing the possibility to use it. With Flash and HDD franchises, underpinned by advancements in memory technologies, we create breakthrough innovations and powerful data storage solutions that enable the world to actualize its aspirations. Core to our values, we recognize the urgency to combat climate change and have committed to ambitious carbon reduction goals approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. Learn more about Western Digital and the Western Digital®, SanDisk® and WD® brands at www.westerndigital.com.
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Western Digital, the Western Digital design, the Western Digital logo, SanDisk, and WD are registered trademarks or trademarks of Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the US and/or other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including statements regarding expectations for the achievability and impact of the company’s sustainability targets. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Key risks and uncertainties include volatility in global economic conditions; future responses to and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or other similar global health crises; impact of business and market conditions; the outcome and impact of our ongoing strategic review, including with respect to customer and supplier relationships, regulatory and contractual restrictions, stock price volatility and the diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; impact of competitive products and pricing; our development and introduction of products based on new technologies and expansion into new data storage markets; risks associated with cost saving initiatives, restructurings, acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, joint ventures and our strategic relationships; difficulties or delays in manufacturing or other supply chain disruptions; hiring and retention of key employees; our level of debt and other financial obligations; changes to our relationships with key customers; compromise, damage or interruption from cybersecurity incidents or other data system security risks; actions by competitors; risks associated with compliance with changing legal and regulatory requirements and the outcome of legal proceedings; and other risks and uncertainties listed in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, including our Form 10-K filed with the SEC on August 25, 2022, to which your attention is directed. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new information or events, except as required by law.
