ST's initiatives in environmental conservation and recycling led to savings of $29 million during 2001: $5 million in energy costs, $4.5 million in water costs and $19.5 million in the cost of chemicals, the company said.

Given that the total value of semiconductor chips sold worldwide in 2001 by the industry is reported to have dropped by 30% compared with 2000 that ST reduced consumption is not surprising.

Also, in ST's report key environmental measurements are normalized on financial added value, so the company's environmental performance in 2001 was slightly below target in some areas, the company admitted.

However, ST also pointed out that absolute savings were achieved while the company gained market share and jumped three places in the rankings of chip makers to third position, making the case that environmentally-friendly manufacturing and business success are linked.

On top of reporting its work towards environmental goals, such as becoming carbon-dioxide neutral by 2010, ST has, for the first time, added a social element to its report.

Under that aspect the report summarizes ST's participation in a number of global and United Nations sponsored initiatives.

"We believe that the wealth creation and economic growth needed to fund a better quality of life for present and future generations can only be achieved by treating economic prosperity, environmental protection and social equity as mutually interdependent goals," said Pasquale Pistorio, president and chief executive officer of STMicroelectronics, in a statement.

"The real world in which we do business is complex and challenging - as is the achievement of sustainability in economic, environmental and social issues. As a member of the United Nations Global Compact, which addresses corporate social citizenship, STMicroelectronics will remain total in its pledge to its people, to the planet and to the prosperity of its stakeholders," he said.

The company also reports that, as in previous years, investments in environmental responsibility continue to pay back quickly. None of its energy conservation investments has taken longer than three years to pay back, with an average time of two years, the company reports, claiming this supports the idea that `ecology is free'.

The full 2001 corporate environment report is available as a PDF file from ST's website.