Responsible supply chain
Our suppliers are key partners in our efforts to create sustainable value, in and beyond our operations. Together, we can create positive impact for our stakeholders, the planet, and society overall – well beyond our individual scale. We have already taken significant steps in this ongoing journey to a sustainable, responsible supply chain, and we know there is much more to do in coming years.
Our 2024 results
94% Acknowledged our Code of Conduct
96% Supported conflict minerals due diligence
96% Disclosed to CDP supply chain
Code of conduct and due diligence
Since 2014, ASM has applied the Responsible Business Alliance’s Code of Conduct as policy (RBA CoC) throughout its supply chain. In August of 2023, we published our first-ever Supplier Code of Conduct, incorporating the standards outlined in the RBA Code of Conduct, our Responsible Minerals policy, and our other ASM environmental and human rights policies.
At ASM, we require our most critical suppliers to complete an RBA self-assessment questionnaire to assess their operational risks. Risks are identified based on various factors, such as the quality of their environmental, health & safety, labor, and ethics management systems, but also the presence of vulnerable groups including young workers and foreign or migrant workers.
Once the self-assessments are complete, we then actively engage with suppliers who have a high-risk profile to understand the issues and define and drive a remediation plan. Starting in 2025, we are also requiring all our critical suppliers or those we consider to operate high-risk sites to complete an on-site assessment (audit) to further validate conformance to the code of conduct. The way in which we handle code commitment, supplier self-assessment, auditing, and corrective action is in line with RBA requirements.
Supplier safety
We extend our intensive commitment to safety into our supply chain. At ASM, we hold ourselves to high standards and we strive to hold our suppliers to the same standards. What this means in practice, for example, is that supplier representatives who come to work at ASM sites are trained on ASM safety expectations and requirements. And we are always looking for additional ways to extend our Zero Harm safety vision to all our supplier partners.
Responsibly sourcing minerals
As a responsible member of the global community, we are committed to addressing human-rights risks and abuses. One possible source of such risk is the trade in conflict minerals. These minerals are mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), adjoining countries (Covered Countries), or in other Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (CARHAs). Profits from the sale of these minerals may directly or indirectly benefit those involved in rebel conflicts and human-rights violations.
Such minerals, and the metals created from them – tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold (3TGs), as well as cobalt and mica – can make their way into the supply chains of products used around the world, including the semiconductor industry. That is why we are always vigilant about the provenance of these materials and strive to play a leading role in our value chain to ensure responsible minerals sourcing at every step. We outline our expectations for our suppliers in the sourcing of these minerals in our Responsible Minerals policy.
Decarbonizing our supply chain
In support of our Net Zero by 2035 objectives, we are actively engaged with our critical suppliers to not only report their emissions data through CDP, but to set emissions reductions targets that align to our own decarbonization ambitions. These expectations have become an important part of our supplier performance management program (Supplier Scorecard).
In 2025 we kicked off a new initiative, called Supplier Collaboration on Reducing Emissions (SCORE), focused on helping our small or medium sized (SME) suppliers support our Net Zero goal. The program currently helps these suppliers develop capabilities to not only track and report emissions, but to identify, through on-site evaluations, opportunities to reduce their energy consumption.
Supply-chain capability building
We employ a variety of initiatives to support the development of our suppliers’ sustainability and human rights programs.
One such initiative is an innovative program called the Responsible Factory Initiative (RFI). This program, which is linked to the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), focuses on the development of a supplier’s code of conduct conformance through a multi-phased approach. It starts with an education-oriented gap assessment, deep training for key facility personnel, and coaching through the development and execution of corrective action plans. This program is a valuable and sustainable approach to improving supplier conformance to the RBA code. ASM is also invested in the future success of this industry program by participating in the RFI’s Advisory Council.
Over the last few years we have ramped up our supplier communications and training efforts. From 2023 onwards, we implemented a quarterly supplier newsletter to share important ASM policy updates related to our sustainability and human rights programs, relevant news or updates, and available resources to help suppliers. Throughout the year we also host several web-based training sessions for suppliers and encourage them to access to the RBA’s eLearning Academy courses and RBA in-person events in their country. We also host periodic in-person Sustainability Summits, allowing us to have an open a dialogue with key suppliers and do training on key topics that require additional focus.
Supply chain diversity
At ASM, we believe that diversity starts with our culture and core values: We care, We innovate, We deliver. Our award-winning employee value proposition – “Power of an Open Mind” – reflects our ambition to grow employee engagement, develop our existing team members, and shape a diverse and inclusive culture.
While we continue to look for ways to increase the diversity of our own supply chain, we have also actively looked for other ways to encourage the growth of opportunities in the broader supply chain. ASM has maintained its engagement in SEMI’s Manufacturing Ownership Diversity working group as we look for ways to expand our reach with diverse‑owned businesses around the world. Members of this organization approach this work from a collaborative perspective to create efficiencies, align on approaches, and create avenues for these businesses to engage with interested partners.
We are continuously looking for more ways to engage and collaborate with our suppliers, so that together we can increase our positive impact. In 2024 and beyond, we plan to take a further targeted approach to supplier engagement and our shared opportunities, based on topic applicability, risk, and considering supplier scale and capabilities.
Sustainability
At ASM, we are committed to upholding high standards in sustainability, labor and ethics practices.
