Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta), a leader in advanced document management technologies and solutions, made available its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 2015 Report to showcase its achievements in fiscal year 2014. The report reveals how the company's integrated and sustainable solutions further entrenches CSR in the company's business model.
In line with its EcoVision 2050 which seeks to reduce Konica Minolta's CO2 emissions over the product lifecycle by 80%[1] until 2050, the report highlights how the company has progressed significantly in achieving this target.
The report showed progress in three environmental initiatives:
- Green Factories
- Green Marketing
- Green Products
Green Factories: CO2 reduction of 20% with level 2 certification
Over the course of 2014, the company is proud to announce that six additional units (five in Japan, one in China) achieved a 'Level 2' Green Factory Certification System, the highest scoring. The Green Factory Certification System is a two-grade certification system that comprehensively evaluates and enhances the environmental activities of its production sites. A 'Level 2' certification is the equivalent to a 20% reduction[2] of CO2 emissions and a 50% reduction of waste discharged externally.
Green Marketing: Greener Supply Chains
Konica Minolta's distribution activities have also enjoyed major cuts in CO2 emissions with its Green Marketing evaluation which measures emissions in distribution, sales and service, collection and recycling. By shortening transportation distances through optimisation of distribution sites and routes worldwide, Konica Minolta has successfully reduced the number of containers required via improved loading efficiency, and thereby reducing the frequency of air transport.
Considering the entire supply chain, the company could decrease its CO2 emissions by 2.7% to 1.37 million tons in comparison to fiscal year 2013. Among other efforts to achieve this goal, Konica Minolta launched its Green Suppliers Initiative in fiscal year 2014 to provide suppliers with the environmental technology and expertise to help them reduce their environmental impact. For this initiative, experts in energy and waste measure from Konica Minolta visited the suppliers' factories and worked with their staff to formulate and implement improvement plans.
Green Products: Greener Solutions
Additionally, Konica Minolta reported that Green Products comprised 54% of its total sales throughout the fiscal year 2014[3] across all business areas. This represents sales of 547.1 billion Yen[4] (4.2 billion Euros[5]), a 13% increase in comparison to the previous fiscal year.
In order to be certified as a Konica Minolta Green Product, a product must meet criteria such as reduced CO2 emissions or utilise recycled materials. In 2014, 33 new, green-certified models were brought to the market, bringing the total to 147 products across all business areas. Some of the results of the current CSR report include a significant reduction of 43,000 tons of CO2 during product use.
Green Products play an important role in achieving the environmental milestones for the company to reduce 40% CO2 emissions to 1,216 thousand tons throughout the lifecycle by fiscal year 2016[6]. Recent examples of green products developed by Konica Minolta include the bizhub PRESS 2250P made with recycled PC/PET[7], and toner bottles made out of polyethylene from recycled milk bottles. To further this cause, Konica Minolta also developed its own recycling method and established mass production systems in Mexico and Malaysia. In the future, the company intends to increase the proportion of recycled material in the raw material used for toner containers from current 25% to 100%.
In addition, Konica Minolta textile inkjet printers support its environmental efforts by reducing environmental impact significantly, reducing water and electricity usage by 62% and a 57% respectively compared to conventional screen-printing.
Currently, Konica Minolta is developing systems for recycling used information technology in different locations worldwide to increase its recycling rate. In Japan, the company collects multi-functional printers through sales companies, and dismantles and separates the components. Through this, Konica Minolta achieved a recycling rate of 98%[8] in fiscal year 2014.
"In order for us to keep growing sustainably over the next 50 years, or even considering the next 100 years, it is vital that we not only create economic value but also contribute to society", said Shoei Yamana, President and CEO of Konica Minolta, Inc. "In particular, global environmental problems are a pressing issue. Be it CO2 emission reduction, resource sustainability, or the perseveration of biodiversity, global companies such as Konica Minolta have a huge responsibility to create a sustainable society by reducing our ecological footprint."
