Environment

Konica Minolta implements green procurement on a global scale, evaluating the contained chemical substances of parts and materials, and giving priority to product purchases with a lower environmental impact. It defines prohibited substances and reportable substances from the point of view of legal compliance and environmental responsibility for use of products such as MFPs and printers. The Group is working to reduce or eliminate chemical substances from its production processes and products, which have an adverse impact on human health and the environment. Moreover, the Group has completely eliminated the substances subject to control under the European RoHS Directive*1 from most of its new products launched since 2005, and is taking steps to eliminate these substances from the rest of its products. Konica Minolta plans to make reductions in the substances of very high concern(SVHC) in the REACH regulations*2.

*1

RoHS Directive: Regulations enacted by the EU in July 2006 prohibiting the use of specified hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

*2

REACH regulations: The EU consolidated its earlier regulations concerning chemical substances, and in June 2007, enacted new regulations for the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals.

Business information products, such as copiers and printers, are required not to have a negative effect on comfortable office environment. Therefore, Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc., providers of MFPs and laser printers, is working actively to ensure that its products are certified under the German Blue Angel Mark (BAM) which strictly regulates the environmental impact of products, including noise and vibration, and emission of VOCs.
The company's laboratory has been certified by the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Germany, as an institution qualified for measurement of emissions of chemical substances and acoustic measurement required for certification under the Blue Angel Mark. This speeds up the certification process and enables the results of testing to be applied more promptly and effectively to products.
Furthermore, in September 2008 the environmental measurement division of Konica Minolta Technology Center, Inc., which is in charge of research and development in the Group, obtained ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, the international standard for laboratories, from the Japan Accreditation Board for Conformity Assessment (JAB), for chemical testing and analysis of harmful substances. By ensuring the reliability of its analysis and test results, Konica Minolta is further advancing its manufacturing of environmentally responsible products.