Konica Minolta’s Environmental Activities
Production Activities to Solve Social and Environmental Issues
(Sustainable Factory Certification System)
Background and Issues
As environmental problems grow increasingly serious, society requires more efficient use of energy and resources. The reduction of environmental impact in the production process, especially in the manufacturing industry, has a huge effect on reducing the impact of society as a whole, and therefore, it is thought important to achieve large reductions.
Vision
Konica Minolta streamlines production processes, develops and improves production technologies, and takes steps to reduce its environmental impact while cutting costs.
To this end, Konica Minolta is conducting Sustainable Factory activities to reduce the environmental impact of its manufacturing sites, while also pursuing energy conservation, effective use of resources, and the adoption of renewable energy.
Key Measures and KPIs
- Reduction of environmental impact of Konica Minolta production sites utilizing the company’s own know-how and cutting-edge environmental technologies:
Sustainable Factory Activities
(Unit: thousand tons)
| KPI | Result | Target | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2021 | FY2021 | |
| Reduction of CO2 emissions at Konica Minolta production sites | 4 | 12 | 10 | 18 |
| Reduction of waste discharge at Konica Minolta production sites | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.7 |
Note: Reduction amount for each fiscal year due to the measures implemented during medium term plan
Initiatives in Production
Konica Minolta has long promoted green-factory activities at its inhouse production sites to simultaneously reduce its environmental impact and lower costs. In fiscal 2020, the Company launched a new Sustainable Factory Certification System, which requires that Company production sites meet three standards: environmental impact reduction standards to evaluate energy and resource conservation measures, stakeholder standards to expand activities to their own suppliers and others, and guideline standards to evaluate the quality of activities.
The stakeholder standards include as an indicator that the production sites themselves should leverage the knowhow they have thus far gained through their own environmental impact reduction activities to reduce CO2 emissions at their suppliers, customers, and local communities. In the guideline standards, reflecting recent rising societal demands, the Company has included the expansion of renewable energy and CSR procurement as new indicators. Ensuring that its own production sites meet these three standards, the Company will accelerate its efforts to contribute to the global environment and provide solutions to social issues.
| Chemical plant site | Assembly/high load site | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental Impact reduction Environmental impact reduction standards to be achieved by Konica Minolta production sites＊1 |
CO2emissions | 3% reduction annually (9% over 3 years) |
2% reduction annually (6% over 3 years) |
| Waste discharge | 2% reduction annually (6% over 3 years)＊3 |
2% reduction annually (6% over 3 years)＊3 |
|
| Stakeholders Helps to solve environmental issues for the local community (stakeholders) by using environmental technology expertise Konica Minolta acquired at its own production sites. |
CO2 emissions at customers, suppliers and broader society (Contribution to CO2 reduction)*2 | 1% reduction annually (3% over 3 years) |
2% reduction annually (6% over 3 years) |
| Guideline Standards for biodiversity and other initiatives to be pursued by Konica Minolta production sites |
Guideline compliance status | Complying with guidelines on items such as:
|
|
- ＊1
- For sites with an environmental impact that is less than 1% of the Konica Minolta total, the target is 1% reduction annually (3% over 3 years).
- ＊2
- Reducing CO2 emissions by multiplying the actual amount of CO2 emissions at each site by the target reduction rate.
- ＊3
- Set as a target that includes the reduction of plastic waste at major sites in Japan as part of activities to reduce and recycle plastic waste from products that use plastic based on the Act on Promotion of Resource Circulation for Plastics enacted in Japan.
Fiscal 2021 Activity Results
Konica Minolta is pursuing a series of initiatives to ensure that all 11 main production sites meet the Sustainable Factory certification criteria, which launched in 2020. Due to COVID-19, it was difficult to use the usual onsite visits to identify measures to reduce environmental impact, but Konica Minolta promoted activities employing DX, including tools for energy-saving diagnostics developed by Konica Minolta and remote onsite diagnostics. In fiscal 2021, four sites attained Sustainable Factory certification criteria: Konica Minolta Business Technologies (Wuxi), Konica Minolta Business Technologies (Dongguan), Konica Minolta Opto (Dalian), and Konica Minolta Supplies Manufacturing USA, Inc. The remaining seven sites will be successively addressed.
Konica Minolta Business Technologies (Dongguan), certified as a Sustainable Factory in June 2022.
Konica Minolta Business Technologies (Wuxi), certified as a Sustainable Factory in June 2022.
Konica Minolta Opto (Dalian), certified as a Sustainable Factory in July 2022.
As a result of these initiatives, in fiscal 2021, CO2 emissions at the production stage were cut by 108 thousand tons, waste substances were reduced by 20 thousand tons, and cost-cutting had a total effect of 6.8 billion yen.
CO2 Emissions Reduction Effect during Production
*The amount of reduction is calculated by subtracting the actual fiscal 2021 emissions amount from the estimated amount of emissions that would be produced if environmental conservation activities had not been implemented since fiscal 2005.
Waste Reduction Effect during Production
*The amount of reduction is calculated by subtracting the actual fiscal 2021 emissions amount from the estimated amount of emissions that would be produced if environmental conservation activities had not been implemented since fiscal 2005.
