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Environmental Impact

Each product has its own distinctive environmental footprint that reflects its impact on the environment. Olympus is making a significant contribution to environmental protection by reducing the impact of each product's environmental burdens in accordance with the specific nature of that particular product.

Olympus Product Life Cycle Assessments

To create environmentally-conscious products, first we need to identify the ways in which each product affects the environment.

Olympus products can be divided into two categories. First, there are products which are largely manufactured in-house, starting with individual parts. These include medical and industrial endoscopes, microscopes and analyzers. The second category is the products mostly assembled from components manufactured by suppliers, such as cameras and IC recorders.

Each individual product in both categories affects the environment in different ways, and significant environmental benefits can be achieved by tailoring our efforts to reduce environmental burdens to the specific ways in each product interacts with the environment.

We use the concept of Olympus Life Cycle Assessment (OLCA) to identify each product's environmental impact. One of the factors examined for these assessments is the global warming effect of a product over its lifecycle.

Olympus Product Life Cycle Assessments

Olympus Product Life Cycle Assessments

In the case of industrial endoscopes, from the point of CO2 conversion, about 60% of the CO2 emissions occur during the manufacture of parts and products, and 15% during use. We enhance the environmental soundness of our products by working at the design stage to reduce environmental loads relating to the manufacture of parts, as well as those occurring through product use.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rates for IPLEX FX, Industrial Videoscope (CO2 Equivalent)

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rates for
IPLEX FX, Industrial Videoscope
(CO2 Equivalent)

Note1: Calculated based on the criteria for Olympus industrial endoscopes

On the other hand, around 50% of emissions relating to digital cameras occur at the distribution stage. Clearly we can achieve greater environmental benefits by focusing on the reduction of environmental burdens during distribution. We are currently expanding our use of marine transportation, which produces less CO2 emissions, as part of a modal shift away from air transportation.

Greenhouse Gas Emission Rate for µ1030SW/Stylus 1030SW Compact Digital Camera (CO2 Equivalent)

Greenhouse Gas Emission Rate for
µ1030SW/Stylus 1030SW Compact Digital Camera
(CO2 Equivalent)

Note1: Calculated based on the criteria for Olympus digital cameras

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