Better Health for All

Applied Materials' core business, providing materials engineering solutions for semiconductors and displays, has no significant direct positive or negative health impact. The company does not generate revenue from products with direct negative health outcomes, nor do its products have direct safety implications for users. The company does engage in initiatives that indirectly relate to health, such as offering comprehensive medical plans with preventative care

and an employee wellness program including stress management, nutrition classes, and fitness. It also supports food security through significant donations to food banks, with employees raising $3.36 million in 2025 and over $4 million in 2021. Additionally, the company has environmental commitments to reduce carbon emissions and eliminate phosphate-based pre-treatment, which indirectly support public health. However, the provided evidence does not contain the specific quantitative data (e.g., percentage of revenue, R&D expenditure, or measured impact) required by the rubric to score these activities.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Applied Materials Inc. is a materials engineering company and does not operate as a financial institution that lends, insures, moves, or stores money for consumers. Therefore, all KPIs related to consumer financial products, pricing, fees, debt, and financial literacy are not applicable to its core business model. The company has demonstrated a commitment to equity-centered community engagement, including collecting demographic data from grant applicants

, supporting organizations led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color , and building DEIB capacities within nonprofits . It also joined the Alliance for Global Inclusion to foster workplace diversity and launched an initiative to increase spending with minority-owned businesses . However, these efforts do not directly align with the specific financial services criteria of the 'Fair Money & Economic Opportunity' value.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

Applied Materials Inc. reported strong pay equity in its 2023 Sustainability Report.

Racial or ethnic minorities in the U.S. received 101% total compensation compared to non-minorities. In the U.S., women received 100% of men's total compensation, and globally, total compensation for women was 99% of that for men.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

Applied Materials incorporated ESG requirements, including the RBA Code of Conduct, into its Global Supplier Agreements, mandating suppliers to adhere to these standards.

No specific, quantifiable data points were found for other KPIs such as fair-trade certification share, audit frequency, forced/child labor incidents, traceability coverage, remediation speed, materials risk index, or supplier diversity spend.

Honest & Fair Business

Applied Materials is currently under a U.S. Department of Justice criminal investigation

and has received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for allegedly evading export restrictions. These investigations relate to shipments of hundreds of millions of dollars in equipment to certain Chinese customers, specifically Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), without necessary licenses . These allegations have also led to shareholder lawsuits and raised concerns about corporate governance and transparency. While the company was recognized with a Compliance Leader Verification from Ethisphere in March 2025 , highlighting a comprehensive business conduct training program , the ongoing criminal investigation suggests significant gaps in the anti-corruption policy's coverage or enforcement, particularly concerning international and high-risk market guidance.

No War, No Weapons

Applied Materials is under a U.S. criminal investigation, initiated in November 2023, for allegedly evading export restrictions by shipping equipment to SMIC without licenses, an entity with links to China's military.

Additionally, in April 2023, the company was awarded a contract valued at approximately $879,900 by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for R&D, indicating minor defense-adjacent involvement.

Planet-Friendly Business

Applied Materials has set a net-zero target for 2040, outlined in its Net Zero 2040 Playbook.

The company's Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions reduction targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), committing to a 50% reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by fiscal year 2030 from a 2019 baseline, and a 55% reduction in Scope 3 emissions from the use of sold products per million USD of value added by the same year. Applied Materials also aims to source 100% of its global electricity from renewable sources by 2030. In 2023, the company sourced 100% of its U.S. electricity from renewable sources, contributing to a global renewable energy sourcing of 70%. This includes commissioning a 5.6 megawatt rooftop solar array at its Austin Logistics Service Center. The company's '3x30' program aims for a 30% reduction in energy consumption, chemical usage, and cleanroom space per wafer by 2030.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

Applied Materials has no reported cultural appropriation incidents.

The company also does not have a mentioned cultural incident response framework in the provided articles.

Safe & Smart Tech

Applied Materials is actively integrating privacy into its development lifecycle by hiring for Privacy and Data Governance roles, which include conducting Privacy and Data Impact Assessments.

The company implements human oversight and measures to prevent bias related to age, gender, or ethnicity in its AI recruitment processes. For this recruitment AI, it ensures human oversight and specifies that the AI does not consider factors such as age, gender, or ethnicity. Applied Materials emphasizes compliance with applicable data privacy laws, acknowledges potential increased compliance costs from emerging AI regulations, and provides mechanisms for individuals to exercise their rights regarding personal data. Its privacy policies detail data collection, sources, purposes, and retention periods.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Applied Materials has established ambitious '3x30' goals for 2030, targeting a 30% reduction in chemical usage and tool footprint per semiconductor production unit, demonstrating integration of circular design principles and a focus on material efficiency and hazardous waste minimization

. Progress includes the Vistara™ platform, designed to significantly reduce energy and chemical usage . The company has implemented various waste reduction initiatives, including packaging reduction strategies like thinner polyethylene bags, 'just strong enough' crates, hybrid crates, and the use of reusable packaging , with a goal to save 1 million pounds of crate materials by end-FY2022 . Additionally, the SuCCESS2030 initiative includes a target for 80% recyclable content in packaging materials by end-2023 .