Texas Instruments saves money by being efficient.

Paul Westbrook

The new fabrication plant in Richardson was opened in January 2010. Paul Westbrook is a mechanical engineer and has worked at TI for 29 years and became their Sustainability Development Manager. The $30 million facility is on 92 acres and has the capacity for 1000 employees at 1.1 million square feet and cleanroom 284,000 square feet, it currently has 300 employees.

They fabricate very small chips (nano chips) on large silicon wafers and manufacture 450 wafers/day. 








In 2003, strategy teams began designing the fab plant and they added a sustainble team. They partnered with Rocky Mountain Institute to integrate the design of the fab plant. In measuring sustainability, they looked at:


Energy - evaluated energy use per chip and units produced
CO2 Emissions - Transit sharing (listed below)
Water - 40% water use reduction
Materials - 95% recycling rate, hazardous and nonhazardous
Waste - great reductions including food waste goes to Plano's compost

They created a retention pond that harvests rainwater and use it for what little irrigation they use. TI installed native prairie grasses that need minimal care and maintenance. They encourage car pooling, pay for DART (Dallas Transit) passes, covered parking for bicycles, and provide van pools to encourage less independent car use.


Mr. Westbrook stated that business should look at the more resource efficiencies you have it saves money and increases profit. When you look at TIs mission statement that was created by its founders, it encourages sustainability. "Make the world smarter, healthier, safer, greener and more fun." 


When working towards the LEED certification, the COO set a goal of reducing Fab costs by 30% from other Fab plants. They exceeded that percentage, in fact, they saved at least $1 million in operating costs and recovered the costs for LEED certification in the first year.


The quote that we all, as students of Sustainability, need to remember and have as our mantra is "Be relentless and passionate about sustainability". That really resonated with me because I some times get tired of fighting the fight.


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