UMC First to Announce Carbon Footprint Verification on Integrated Circuit Wafers

HSINCHU, Taiwan, September 16, 2009 -- UMC (NYSE: UMC; TSE: 2303), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced that it has completed the foundry industry's first reported carbon footprint verification for integrated circuit wafers produced at its facilities. UMC conducted carbon footprint inventory on its 200mm wafers at the company's Fab 8A according to international carbon footprint standard PAS2050, with the results receiving third party verification by Det Norske Veritas (DNV). UMC is the only semiconductor company in Taiwan that independently calculates, verifies, and reports carbon footprints for its products.

Mr. Muh Liang Liao, vice president from UMC, said, "UMC has always paid special attention to the issue of climate change and has aggressively implemented comprehensive carbon management programs. Due to the advanced technologies and numerous materials involved in the manufacturing of semiconductor wafers, carbon footprint calculation is quite complicated. Since UMC started its product life cycle assessment in all fabs in 2005, we were able to complete this verification in the shortest time possible. The result is a significant milestone for UMC's development in green production. This verification provides complete, scientific and reliable disclosure on the carbon information of products manufactured in our fabs as well as self-review on environmental impact. Moreover, it is a demonstration of UMC's social responsibility to practice transparent communication with our stakeholders."

UMC's comprehensive carbon management program includes energy-saving and carbon reduction measures with priority on reducing carbon in the manufacturing processes. UMC led the foundry industry to complete the replacement of C₂F₆ with lower GWP C₃F₈ in 2007. This replacement program helped reduce CO₂ emissions by 410,000 metric tons in 2008, a reduction of around 25% of UMC's total CO₂ emissions. Furthermore, UMC's introduction of C₄F₈ in 2008 further enhanced UMC's carbon reduction with more efficient CO₂ reduction. UMC also believes in the importance of timely disclosure of carbon information and ensuring data quality. Since 2006, UMC has participated in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) formed by global institutional investors, disclosing UMC's annual greenhouse gas emission volume, reduction goals and results. Moreover, UMC adopts third-party verifiers to ensure the quality of data. UMC completed verification on greenhouse gas emissions and reduction from 2000 to 2008 for all of our Taiwan fabs, with efforts ongoing every year.

Carbon footprint verification serves as the basis for UMC to further promote green products, green manufacturing processes and green design. Going forward, UMC is committed to advance carbon management in a more practical way and to fulfill the responsibility as a corporate citizen by reducing CO₂ more aggressively.

About UMC
UMC (NYSE: UMC, TSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry that provides advanced technology and manufacturing services for applications spanning every major sector of the IC industry. UMC's customer-driven foundry solutions allow chip designers to leverage the strength of the company's leading-edge processes, which include production proven 65nm, 45/40nm, mixed signal/RFCMOS, and a wide range of specialty technologies. Production is supported through 10 wafer manufacturing facilities that include two advanced 300mm fabs; Fab 12A in Taiwan and Singapore-based Fab 12i are both in volume production for a variety of customer products. The company employs approximately 12,000 people worldwide and has offices in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Europe, and the United States. UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com