Environment

Helping to prevent global warming is one of the most important social responsibilities of the manufacturer today. The Konica Minolta Group is committed to helping prevent global warming from an overall product lifecycle perspective.

Our measures for reducing CO2 emissions cover not only emissions from our business sites during product manufacture, but also during product distribution and use at the customer' s site.

Beginning in fiscal 2006, Konica Minolta is targeting a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions by fiscal 2010 (as compared to the 2000 level) throughout the product lifecycle, from production and distribution to use. To ensure that we achieve this goal, reduction targets are set, respectively, for the following three parameters: CO2 emissions from sites in Japan, from manufacturing sites outside Japan, and during product use.

In February 2005, the Kyoto Protocol took effect. Corporate responsibility for reducing CO2 emissions from business sites has increased accordingly. Konica Minolta is working to achieve its ambitious target, “7% reduction of CO2 emissions from Group business sites in Japan by fiscal 2010, as compared to fiscal 1990 levels.” Our target of 7% reduction in CO2 emissions is higher than the target Japan must meet under the Kyoto Protocol. Beginning in fiscal 2006, the Company also established another target, “7% reduction of CO2 emissions from Group manufacturing sites outside Japan by fiscal 2010, as compared to fiscal 2000 levels,” so as to globally redouble our energy-saving efforts.

In fiscal 2005, CO2 emissions from Group business sites in Japan increased by 1.5% as compared to the previous year (23.6% increase from 1990 levels). This occurred because the rise in energy consumption due to increased production of TAC film for LCDs exceeded the reduction in CO2 emissions achieved though our energy-saving activities. Each Konica Minolta business site works to reduce CO2 emissions by making physical improvements to utility systems, such as by replacing facilities and equipment with inverter-driven equivalents, introducing high-efficiency equipment, and converting fuel from heavy oil to natural gas. At the same time, respective business sites have strengthened their measures for preventing excessive air leakage and for improving production efficiency, so as to reduce CO2 emissions during production. Through these efforts we have reduced CO2 emissions by approximately 3,000 tons. Konica Minolta has also implemented an Energy-Conservation Support Program at business sites that release large amounts of CO2, so as to comprehensively assess the energy use at each site and identify energy-saving measures appropriate to each site. Under the Program, we have come up with some 500 measures for energy conservation. Through use of these measures, we expect that Konica Minolta can reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 30,000 tons by fiscal 2010. Meanwhile, CO2 emissions from manufacturing sites outside Japan increased by 10% compared to the previous year (21.6% increase from fiscal 2000 levels).

We understand that our future plans for plant expansion and production expansion involve many factors that could increase CO2 emissions. To cover such increase, Konica Minolta has made preparations for acquiring emission credits - as a complementary measure - in conjunction with thoroughgoing energy-saving efforts. In fiscal 2005, the Company developed a program for emission credit assessment, based on which we select appropriate projects that can contribute to global environmental protection and are suitable for Konica Minolta' s characteristics.

From this time forward we will disseminate successful energy-saving practices and implement measures to address the points shown by the Energy Conservation Support Program to require improvement, not only throughout Japan but also overseas. We will continue our all-out efforts toward energy-saving, complemented by initiatives for emission credit acquisition.

At our Tokyo Hino Site (Hino City, Tokyo), we stopped using a 14,000 kW capacity gas turbine cogeneration system for in-house power generation at the end of March 2006. Instead, we began to use electricity purchased from a power company. This changeover was based on our judgment that purchasing power is more advantageous than using the gas cogeneration system, in terms of CO2 reduction and cost performance.

The Hino Site, Konica Minolta' s largest plant in Japan, commenced using cogeneration system #1 in 1986. The Site then introduced gas turbine cogeneration system #2 (generating capacity: 7,000 kW, steam flow: 30 t/h) in 1998. In 2004, 90% of the plant' s electricity requirement was met by these gas turbine cogeneration systems, with resultant steam used for refrigeration, air blowers used in the production process, and general heat sources. Of these two cogeneration systems, we terminated operation of system #1 and began to use purchased electricity instead. With the service life of system #1 close to expiration, we deemed it better, in terms of environmental performance and cost-effectiveness, to purchase electricity from a power company rather than to update the existing system. We estimate that this changeover will enable us to reduce CO2 emissions by 4,000 tons annually.

The Konica Minolta Group is promoting a modal shift away from long-distance trucking to transport by rail and sea. In Japan we have been using rail or sea for long- and mid-distance transportation of our products, such as photographic paper and films.

Furthermore, we have been working to improve our logistical efficiency through distribution center integration, joint transportation between distribution centers, and use of the return journey from product delivery to collect used copiers and photographic developer equipment.