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We are over 42,400 individuals – thinkers, innovators, problem solvers, planners, movers and makers.
As a team, working together with our partners and customers, we help feed the world’s ever-growing demand for faster and more efficient microchips. We create impact by pushing technology to new limits, unlocking the potential of society and enabling people to tackle some of humanity’s biggest challenges.
Together we create impact.
The macro-economic situation remains volatile and we continue to see macro trends such as high interest rates, inflation, fear of recession and geopolitical tensions increasing in some parts of the world. The semiconductor industry is trying to manage its inventory levels in some end-market segments to balance supply and demand.
However, overall global trends – such as generative AI, the energy transition, the electrification of mobility and the industrial Internet Of Things (IoT) – continue to fuel semiconductor growth in the longer term. We have strong confidence that the semiconductor ecosystem will continue to innovate and grow at a high single-digit compound annual growth rate.
In conversation with our Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer Christophe Fouquet on his responsibility for the ESG sustainability strategy
ESG sustainability is a key challenge for all companies because it is a challenge for the world in general. Almost everything we do at ASML – from how we design and deliver solutions to the technologies our products enable for the end users of technology – can affect the environment or society.
Where I think ASML is different to other companies lies in how we are working to manage that impact. Our ESG sustainability strategy is now established and driving progress towards more inclusive and sustainable growth for all. As Chief Business Officer, I’m responsible for this strategy at Board level, and I work closely with the total organization to make sure it delivers on its promises.
For us, ESG sustainability is a real competitive advantage and we embrace it wholeheartedly. It powers our innovation mindset because it underpins diversity and inclusion, and it forms the structure against which we can measure our impact on the world.
“For us, ESG sustainability is a real competitive advantage and we embrace it wholeheartedly.”
Christophe Fouquet, Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer
See the 2023 Annual Report for the full CBO Q&A.
On November 30, 2023, the Supervisory Board of ASML announced its intention to appoint Christophe Fouquet, as the company’s next President and Chief Executive Officer. The appointment is subject to notification of the Annual General Meeting of shareholders on April 24, 2024.
Our purpose is to unlock the potential of people and society by pushing technology to new limits. Our vision is that we enable ground-breaking technology to solve some of humanity’s toughest challenges. Our strategy and priorities are designed to deliver on these points and create long-term sustainable value for our stakeholders.
Our strategy is to:
Grow our holistic lithography business
Secure unique supply chain capabilities to ensure business continuity
Move toward adjacent business opportunities
Deliver on our ESG sustainability commitments
Creating sustainable long-term value through holistic lithography
Our holistic approach integrates lithography systems with computational tools, metrology and inspection systems, and process control software solutions. This enables us to provide chipmakers with support and solutions at every stage of the chipmaking process, from early design and development to high-volume production.
Through the continued execution of our strategic priorities, we aim to deliver cost-effective solutions that support all applications, from leading-edge to mature nodes, enable the extension of the industry roadmap into the next decade, and deliver on our ESG sustainability commitments.
To be a sustainability leader, we must drive progress towards a sustainable society. This means enabling ground-breaking technology that solves some of humanity’s toughest challenges.
To create long-term value for our stakeholders, we focus our strategy on the sustainability topics where we can have the greatest impact. Read more in the sections:
In 2023, we invested €4.0 billion in R&D, up from €3.3 billion in 2022.
We increased our investment in R&D across our business to support our holistic lithography solutions. The most significant investments were directed towards further enhancing EUV high-volume manufacturing, and the development of High NA (0.55 NA) EUV.
In addition, we continued to support our DUV portfolio to improve productivity. We introduced the NXT:1980Fi immersion system, which improves productivity for mid-critical DUV layers, and the NXT:400M dry system for improved productivity in the i-line market. We continued developments for the next generation of scanners, including the NXT:2150i and NXT:870B, while also continuing to invest in areas such as single-beam inspection, e-beam metrology and optical metrology.
Based on different market scenarios, shared during our 2022 Investor Day, we believe we have an opportunity to reach the following in 2025 and 2030:
2025: annual revenue between approximately €30 billion and €40 billion with a gross margin between approximately 54% and 56%
2030: annual revenue between approximately €44 billion and €60 billion with a gross margin between approximately 56% and 60%
Aiming for net zero emissions across our entire value chain by 2040 while energy demand is increasing is a complex challenge that can only be achieved by working closely with our partners, suppliers, customers and other stakeholders.
Our goal is to reduce our climate impacts, working closely together with our peers in the entire semiconductor value chain – in our own operations together with our suppliers, in our customers’ production process, and through reducing the energy used by semiconductors in operation by enabling scaling.
Scope 1 and 2 emissions from our own operations – manufacturing and buildings
Target: Net zero emissions by 2025
For the third year in a row, our net scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions decreased – from 39.4 kt in 2021, and 38.1 kt in 2022 to 35.1 kt in 2023. In 2023, as part of our energy savings master plan, we executed key projects in the Netherlands, the US and Taiwan which resulted in around 16 TJ annual energy savings. Despite an increase in our electricity and gas consumption due to company growth of 30.2%, the share of renewable electricity remained comparable to 2022 at around 91.4%.
Scope 3 emissions – upstream and downstream
In 2023, our scope 3 emissions totalled 15.0 Mt. Our scope 3 intensity was 1,060 tonnes CO2e per € million gross profit (2022: 1,116 tonnes).
Scope 3 emissions from our own operations – business travel and commuting
Target: Net zero emissions by 2025
In 2023, taking into account Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) purchases, our total scope 3 emissions due to business travel and commuting were 70 kt CO2e and 54 kt CO2e, respectively. Due to the increasing number of employees at all locations and the ending of COVID-19 travel restrictions, our emissions increased by 13% compared to 2022.
Scope 3 emissions from our supply chain, including logistics
Target: Net zero emissions by 2030
In 2023, total emissions due to upstream activities (excluding business travel and commuting) were 5,458 kt CO2e, an increase of 14% from 2022 in line with our increase in sales (since we use the spend-based approach for calculating emissions).
Scope 3 emissions from product use at our customers
Target: Net zero emissions by 2040
When we design new systems, we increasingly focus on reducing energy consumption and cost, while increasing performance and availability. The EUV light source is the priority of our current engineering efforts, because it accounts for the largest portion of an EUV system’s total energy consumption. Based on the latest measurements, the NXE:3600D systems energy use per exposed wafer pass was 7.7 kWh, an improvement on the last measurement taken in 2021 of 8.3 kWh. Our 2025 target is 5.1 kWh.
Through our circular economy initiative, we aim to ensure materials retain and generate as much value as possible for us and for our partners in the ecosystem.
Our strategy is to prevent waste, extend the lifetime of our systems, reuse parts, packaging, goods and assets as much as possible, and recycle materials to close the loop and generate business value. A successful transition toward a circular economy means improved designs, operational resilience, reduced emissions and reduced costs.
The amount of waste from operations normalized to revenue showed a decrease in 2023: 300 kg/€m, as compared to 315 kg/€m in 2022.
However, despite the impact of projects to reduce waste, the total amount of waste produced by our operations (including 653 tonnes of construction waste) increased by 29% compared to 2022. Total waste in 2023 was 8,932 tonnes, compared to 6,913 tonnes in 2022.
This increase is closely linked to ASML’s growth, with 7% of total waste related to construction, compared to 3% in 2022. During 2023, significant demolition activities were ongoing on our Veldhoven main campus.
Our target for 2025 is that more than 95% of systems sold in the past 30 years should still be active in the field. To date, we have refurbished and resold almost 570 lithography systems. As of the end of 2023, 95% (2022: 95%) of all systems sold in the past 30 years are still active in the field.
In 2023, our reuse rate of parts was 88%, up from 87% in 2022 and on target to achieve our goal of 95% by 2025.
We saw a significant decrease in the recycling rate, from 75% in 2022 to 55% in 2023. Our target is to achieve a recycling rate of 90% by 2025. We will continue to improve the quality of data next year and start initiatives with our waste companies to increase the recycling rate.
Our people vision sets our ambition for the long term, supporting our values – challenge, collaborate and care – and what we stand for: We empower each other to thrive, fueling our growth, happiness and business success.
Everyone throughout the organization has an important role to play in realizing this vision. We work hard to create an environment and tools that support the collaboration, knowledge sharing and autonomy of our diverse and interdependent teams.
In 2023, our workforce grew to 42,416 FTE. We hired 4,129 new payroll employees, compared with 7,130 in 2022, representing a new hires rate of 11%, down from 21% last year.
We increased the percentage of new women hires to 27% in 2023, up by 3 percentage points over 2022. Current representation of women at leadership level is 11%, while our ambition is to reach 12% by 2024.
Our 2023 we@ASML employee engagement survey reported good results and a high participation rate of 86%. The engagement survey score was 80.3% – an increase of 2.4 percentage points on the score from 2022. Against the 2025 target, we already score within the 2% range of the top 25% performing companies.
Our overall attrition rate in 2023 was 3.6%, down from 6.0% in 2022. Our attrition rate is well within our target range and below the industry average in every country in which we operate.
ASML’s business success centers on long-term relationships and close cooperation with our suppliers and partners. The performance and resilience of our supply chain are critical to our ability to respond to customer demand.
We work with our world-class supplier network to ensure our sustainability principles are upheld throughout the value chain. We place high importance on supplier performance management, supply chain risk management and playing a full part in a responsible supply chain.
By the end of 2023, 57% of the top 60 suppliers in scope (based on spend) had signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) acknowledging their joint responsibility and commitment to reducing our collective environmental footprint, in particular scope 3 CO2e emissions and waste contributing to our reuse ambitions (target for 2025: 80%).
We asked a total of 128 suppliers to complete the detailed Responsible Business Alliance self-assessment questionnaire (RBA SAQ). By the end of 2023, 90% had completed the questionnaire (93% in 2022).
Our experts at ASML are architects and integrators who work together and in collaboration with external partners across the innovation ecosystem to push the boundaries of what we can achieve.
Pooling our expertise and resources enables us to build a stronger knowledge network and create new technological solutions that benefit the whole of society.
We fuel the innovation pipeline by collaborating with universities, research and technology institutes and other high-tech companies while inspiring the next generation of engineers. We also foster collaboration with R&D partners through European public-private partnerships.
Additionally, we aim to help develop a sustainable innovation ecosystem by supporting regional deep-tech scaleups and startups with an ambition to contribute to a better, more sustainable world.
Our contribution to R&D across EU public-private partnerships in 2023 was €16.4 million. The projects are aimed at advancing semiconductor technology, with a continuous drive to improve performance and energy efficiency.
In 2023, we continued to support high-tech startups and scaleups, providing 4,640 hours of in-kind support, totaling €1.2 million. In addition to last year's commitment of over €14 million, we committed an additional €6 million in financial support in 2023. Of this €20 million commitment, €2.9 million was paid out during the year. To date, over 20 new deep-tech ventures have completed our startup and scaleup support program.
Our company and network of suppliers and partners generate a wealth of jobs and social activity in these locations. But while our high-tech cluster is a valuable driver of employment and welfare, local communities can experience pressure on housing and essential services, such as schools, as a result of ASML’s growth.
We value the support and contribution of the communities we are part of, and we are committed to making a positive contribution to and being recognized as a valued member of the community. Our aim is that both ASML and the community can benefit from each other’s presence and support each other’s future development.
The total amount of cash commitments and in-kind support that ASML spent on charities, community engagement and organizations in 2023 was approximately €15.4 million which equates to €319 per employee against a target of €2,000 per employee for 2025. Through employee contribution matching, we contributed €94 per employee, against our target of contributing €500 per employee by 2025.
Our Community Partnership Program was established in January 2023 and has been ramping up throughout the year.
Employees contributed a total of 25,650 volunteering hours to community involvement (up from 13,645 in 2022) and 4,800 hours to technology promotion (4,736 in 2022). We saw an increase from prior years as a result of the rapid scaling of our science, engineering, technology and math (STEM) support for primary schools, which includes one technology lesson module given by a trained ASML employee.
This approach plays a key role in our ability to build stakeholder relationships based on mutual trust. Our stakeholders – customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, and society – can affect or be affected by our business, and we embrace continuous open dialogue and knowledge sharing for the benefit of all parties.
Customers: Regular meetings including those related to technology roadmaps and operational activities; an annual customer feedback survey; and a Voice of the Customer program for employees.
Employees: Employee engagement survey, Speak Up service, unions and Works Council; employee networks and ambassadors.
Suppliers: Annual Suppliers’ Day; supplier account teams; site visits; newsletters; audits; Speak Up service.
Shareholders: Quarterly updates; annual general meeting (AGM); investor days; investor conferences and roadshows.
Society: We engage with organizations, communities and other bodies in society on a wide range of issues – from reducing our environmental footprint to regulatory matters and fulfilling our commitment to playing an active role in the communities where we operate.
Being transparent about our progress and performance allows stakeholders to fairly assess how we are performing on our strategy execution and how we compare with other companies.
While we already report extensively on our progress, there are many gaps we must fill to meet CSRD requirements. We aim to be ready for CSRD for the 2024 reporting year. This will involve many parties inside and outside ASML in order to expand the scope of our reporting and improve the quality of the data.
ASML is committed to building a fairer, more sustainable society through social and economic cohesion, sustainable growth and long-term prosperity. Taxation is a means to that end, as it supports the development of the countries in which we operate. For this reason, openness and transparency about our approach to tax is an important aspect of our reporting. Read more in our Tax Report 2023.
