Environment

Zero waste activities

Working to reduce waste with consideration to economic efficiency

Basic Policy

Konica Minolta conducts zero waste activities aimed at minimizing final disposal (landfill waste) through recycling and reducing the total amount of waste.
The basic policy of Konica Minolta's zero waste activities is to reduce the environmental impact of the company at the same time as accomplishing reductions in costs. This is because the company understands that activities which fail to take profitability into account cannot be maintained.
In accordance with this policy, the attainment criteria for the zero waste activities are set at two levels, Level 1 and Level 2. At Level 1, targets are set for reductions in final disposal (landfill waste) by recycling, as well as reductions in costs. Level 2 requires reduction in the amount of waste including resources recycled, per unit of sales.
In order to meet these criteria, the Group focuses its efforts on (1) thoroughly examining the necessity of purchasing in advance, thereby eliminating in wasteful resources and expenses, (2) finding efficient uses for resources that have been purchased in order to reduce emissions of waste to a minimum,(3) finding ways to recycle waste internally, thereby reducing the volume of waste disposed of , and (4) seeking ways to recycle waste that must be disposed of externally so that landfill volume is kept to a minimum.
In fiscal 2008, the annual saving results of the zero waste activities was 3.9 billion yen.

Criteria of the Konica Minolta Group's Zero Waste Activities

A site must achieve the target values listed below and maintain them for three months or more. After an audit by environmental specialists, the executive officer in charge of CSR conducts an onsite inspection to confirm the achievements and determines whether the standards have been met.

Level 1 criteria are as follows:

• Recycling rate: 90% or higher
• Final disposal rate: 0.5% or lower (5% or lower including secondary residues)
• Cost reductions: Reductions of 90% or more (in relation to benchmarks) in total recycling cost paid to outside parties, or profit on sales of recycled materials and the benefits from zero waste activities exceed the total recycling cost paid to outside parties

Level 2 criteria are as follows:

• Level 1 criteria is achieved
• Volume of waste discharged externally per unit of sales (in relation to benchmarks): Reduction of 30% or more

Zero Waste Activities

Achieving Level 11 at all but production sites except one new production site

In fiscal 2008, Level 1 was achieved at four sites: Konica Minolta Supplies Manufacturing France S.A.S., Konica Minolta Supplies Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc., Konica Minolta Opto (Dalian), Co., Ltd., and American Litho Inc. As a result, Level 1 has been achieved at all production sites with the exception of Konica Minolta Glass Tech Malaysia Co., Ltd., which began full operations from March 2008. Nevertheless, this company sends sludge produced by glass polishing to a cement company for reuse in cement, and met its targets for rates of reutilization and final landfill disposal.
In addition, Level 22 was achieved at three sites: Konica Minolta Business Technologies (Wuxi) Co., Ltd., Konica Minolta Business Technologies (Dongguan) Co., Ltd., and Konica Minolta Optical Products (Shanghai), Co., Ltd.
As a whole, in fiscal 2008 the total volume of waste emitted from Konica Minolta's worldwide production sites amounted to 22,140 tons, a reduction of 29% compared with fiscal 2000. However, compared with the previous fiscal year, the reutilization rate fell to 95.6% and the final landfill disposal rate increased to 3.8%. These results are attributed to a delay in establishing a reutilization route for glass abrasive sludge at Konica Minolta Glass Tech Malaysia until December 2008. In fiscal 2009, the reutilization rate and final landfill disposal rate are expected to improve to 98.9% and 0.5%, respectively.

• Sites Achieving Zero Waste Targets in Fiscal 2008

Central Management of Waste Treatment Information

Central management of waste treatment information for appropriate processing

At its production sites, Konica Minolta centrally manages all information concerning waste, including information on internal recycling, and valuable resources. Managed items include the volume of waste generated and the methods of reutilization, as well as information on disposal contractors and disposal costs. This data is analyzed and used to facilitate reutilization of waste and to achieve reductions in processing costs.
In addition, to ensure that waste is processed properly, the company conducts thorough risk management concerning its disposal contractors. In order to select reliable contractors, the company's production sites in Japan have set standardized rules for selecting contractors, involving a preliminary assessment and examination of the results of onsite inspections. Furthermore, the assessments and their results are immediately shared through an intranet system that enables efficient management. Moreover, similar rules for contractor selection are gradually being introduced at production sites outside Japan.
From fiscal 2006, Konica Minolta implemented a comprehensive system for managing data on waste to ensure legal compliance and consistent management of quantitative results. The system was initially deployed at domestic production sites and then at sales locations from fiscal 2008.
Through these mechanisms, the company is ensuring effective governance of waste and recycling.