As a global company, we believe corporate responsibility includes being an informed, active participant in the development of public policies that affect our business and our industry in the countries and communities in which we operate. Good public policy begins with diverse stakeholders participating in open and transparent proceedings to carefully examine issues and offer different perspectives that promote effective solutions.
Policies and Practice
AMD’s commitment to public policy participation includes working with governments and authorities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), trade associations, and other groups to deepen our understanding of issues and diverse perspectives, as well as to share our experience and expertise as part of an informed public policy development process.
We are actively engaged in a number of public policy efforts that are pertinent to our business, our industry, and users of AMD technology everywhere. Some of the public policy priorities for AMD include:
Fair and Open Competition
Fair and open competition in the marketplace is fundamental to the ability of individuals and companies to innovate, bring new technologies and choice to technology consumers, and accelerate access to technology in developing regions of the world.
AMD is a strong advocate for policies that are designed to protect consumers from anti-competitive business practices and to ensure open markets. We strongly believe that fair and open competition is a part of business ethics and should be considered as a key element in evaluating corporate responsibility.
We work with government procurement authorities around the world to promote competitive and transparent purchasing practices that are performance-based and consistent with the World Trade Organization's Government Procurement Agreement—the global standard for fair and open government procurement policies. These efforts are helping to bring the benefits of competition—innovation, choice, and cost savings—to many governments around the world, and to the taxpayers who support them.
Learn more about AMD's efforts to advance fair and open competition.
Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency
AMD works with customers and industry peers around the world to address environmental protection issues associated with our products throughout their lifecycle. For example, recent activities around the world have addressed the restriction of hazardous substances in electronic products and the promotion of electronics recycling.
AMD also works with private and public stakeholders to promote energy-efficient technology. Our efforts include working with policymakers and others in North America, Europe, and Asia to:
- Develop standards for energy-efficient computers, data center equipment and operations;
- Sponsor dialogue between public, private, and educational organizations to increase understanding of trends in energy-efficient computing; and
- Establish "green procurement" guidelines for government technology acquisitions.
AMD supports voluntary energy efficiency standards such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR® program by providing technical and market analysis and product testing data during development of specifications for computing products. We continue to work with stakeholders around the world to drive the creation of energy efficiency metrics for computing products. For example, AMD is actively engaged in the development of implementing measures for computing products in the European Union’s new Energy Using Products (EuP) Directive.
Learn more about AMD's efforts in energy efficient computing and our commitment to product stewardship.
Secure Technology
The incredible growth of data flowing through the Internet is driving an explosion of new technologies and products. With these rapidly accelerating changes comes a corresponding increase in security vulnerabilities and risks to sensitive data as it is being transported or stored.
To address evolving data security threats, AMD’s technology enables security features at all levels of Information Technology (IT) systems—from the processor, to IT hardware, to software applications. AMD’s open standards approach maximizes interoperability for hardware systems and software, and also supports a platform for the development of additional features and innovative security applications.
The rapid evolution of security risks in cyberspace, however, cannot be solved by any one company. Within the computing industry, protection must exist throughout the entire IT stack (i.e., devices and applications working together to protect against security threats). Security solutions not only rest individually within software, hardware, and networking technologies, but in the complex relationships between IT manufacturers, network providers, application developers, standards bodies, and government regulators.
Innovation through fair and open competition at every level of IT architecture is vital if the technology industry is to help protect personal and business critical information. Together with customers and peers, AMD is actively engaged in technology research and development, industry organizations, and interactions with governments to address security issues and standards at a global level and promote strong IT security protection.
Trade and Market Access
Non-discriminatory access to markets, including the reduction or elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers, is a crucial element of technology innovation and open competition in the global economy.
Trade policies are important to facilitate access to technology. By promoting global trade, governments can help more people harness the power of computing and the Internet to generate economic growth and opportunity, enhance education, and increase access to health care and other services that enhance quality of life.
AMD is an active participant in responsible trade policy development through our participation in the World Semiconductor Council (WSC), as well as other international and national organizations focused on addressing trade issues to ensure market access. For example, AMD has taken a global leadership role in advancing fair and open competition in public procurement processes through advocacy of the World Trade Organization’s General Procurement Agreement and policy reforms in more than 14 countries. Specific policy reforms include changes requiring vendor- and technology-neutral procurements to promote transparency, competition and open access in government procurement activities. For more information on these and related efforts, please visit here.
Principal Industry and Business Associations
AMD personnel participate in a variety of industry group trade associations and standards setting bodies to help shape emerging policies that could affect the semiconductor industry. Company personnel participate on committees at all levels and in a wide variety of groups, establishing national and international standards, evaluating the potential impact of proposed regulatory initiatives, and promoting sustainable business practices.
The major associations, industry initiatives and technical standards-setting bodies that AMD participates in include:
- International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Technical Committees
- ECMA International (a European association for standardizing information and communication systems)
- The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)
- DigitalEurope
- The Green Grid
- U.S. Change the Equation
- Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC)
- U.S. India Business Council (USIBC)
- The U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)
- The World Semiconductor Council (WSC)
- U.S. India Business Council (USIBC)
- Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI)