Product Responsibility

Qualcomm continuously monitors the processes and materials that go into our products in order to find opportunities to improve them and make them as sustainable as possible.

Through our environmental management system (EMS) and various hazardous substance elimination programs, we address the environmental, health and safety impacts of all our products. Over 80 percent of our products aresubject to our EMS and various hazardous substance elimination programs.

Environmentally Sustainable Chip Design
Qualcomm’s commitment to responsible product design has a long history. We began exploring elimination of lead from our integrated circuit (IC) products in 1999 – long before the European Union’s Restriction on Hazardous Substance (RoHS) Directive came into force in July 2006. In 2003, we became one of the leading IC manufacturers that successfully introduced the lead-free chip level package (CSP) products.

We began prohibiting the use of various hazardous substances (18 substances as of 2008) in 2003. We also began the Bromine/Chlorine Elimination Program in 2003, starting with incorporation of bromine-free mold compounds. By designing with bromine-free mold compounds starting July 2004, we reduced the bromine content in our Mobile Station Modem products by over 70 percent.

To further our commitment to using environmentally sustaining technologies, we have developed a roadmap to completely eliminate the use of bromine and chlorine compounds from our IC packages. All new IC products designed beginning January 2009 now incorporate the bromine/chlorine-free package design strategy. Furthermore, a selective number of “legacy” products will be considered for conversion to bromine/chlorine-free to further support the industry initiative toward “greener” electronics. By the end of 2009, over 51 percent of the total QCT IC product portfolio will be bromine/chlorine-free.

Our bromine/chlorine-free design will also extend to our embedded Gobi, 3G module for notebooks and netbooks, designed to untether users from Wi-Fi hotspots. Gobi will be bromine/chlorine-free by January 2010.

Enabling Energy Efficiency of Wireless Consumer Electronics
Qualcomm’s efforts to design environmentally sustainable products also extended to the groundbreaking SnapdragonTM platform, targeted for mobile wireless computing devices. Our Snapdragon chipsets are industry-leading in their power consumption optimizations. Snapdragon chipsets make wireless devices more environmentally friendly by enabling the battery to last longer, increasing the amount of time the device can be in use before needing recharging. Compared to an average laptop computing device currently available on the market, the microprocessor core of a Snapdragon chipset uses approximately half a watt of power, whereas a conventional laptop can use up to 15 watts.

Exemplary Environmental Governance
All of our IC, Gobi and new European fleet management products are in compliance with the EU RoHS Directive and PFOA/PFOS Directive. No EU REACH Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) is used in the manufacture of our IC products, Gobi or OmniTRACS™.

QCT products fully comply with Phase 1 of the Management Methods on control of Pollution from Electronic Information Products (“China RoHS”). Upon release of the China RoHS “Catalogue”, which would list electronic products that will be required to comply with all aspects of China RoHS, Qualcomm intends to fully comply.

Additionally, Qualcomm has no significant fines for non-compliance with laws and regulations concerning the provision and use of products and services.

For more detailed information on Qualcomm’s responsible product design, please visit our website at www.qctconnect.com

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