Menu starts

• Special Features
• Olympus CSR
• For Customers
• For Suppliers
• For Employees and Their Families
• For Society
• For the Environment
  • Environmental Policy and Management
  • Environmental Products
  • Environmental Manufacturing
    • Global Warming Prevention
    • Reducing Waste and Recovering Resources
    • Conservation of Water Resources
    • Chemical Substances
    • Air Pollution Prevention
  • Environmental Logistics
  • Bio-Diversity Conservation
  • Environmental Communication
• Questionnaire Results and Report Download
• CSR Communication

• Corporate Social Responsibility Activities Top

Olympus aims to reduce environmental loads by moving away from business models based on the mass-consumption of finite resources, and to contribute to the formation of a recycling-based society capable of sustainably using a wide variety of resources, including energy, water, minerals and biological assets.

Olympus emits greenhouse gases through the use of energy and CFC substitutes in its business activities. Global warming is becoming an increasingly serious problem, and we regard the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as a vital priority. We are working actively to achieve our long-term goal of reducing total CO₂ emissions throughout product life cycles by 50% from the fiscal 2007 level by fiscal 2020.

Climate change is likely to cause extreme climatic trends and weather events in the future, including concentrated heavy rainfall, floods, droughts, and temperature changes. Olympus is reviewing its position in relation to current and future changes and regulatory systems.

Physical Changes, Cost Changes
Abnormal weather patterns could cause physical damage to infrastructure and other assets, while weather events, such as concentrated heavy rainfall and floods, could lead to delays in deliveries of production supplies and products for sale. Olympus is mitigating this risk by diversifying its transportation networks.

Countermeasures against climate change are also expected to result in higher energy prices, leading to increased operating costs at business sites. The Olympus Group's response to this problem includes an increased commitment to energy conservation efforts.

In addition to these risks, there are also likely to be increased opportunities to supply Olympus products and services, such as non-destructive testing equipment, because of the heightened possibility of damage to water pipes and other infrastructure as a result of abnormal weather events.

Compliance with Global Warming-Related Laws and Regulations
In Japan, the Olympus Group is developing energy management systems and facility management standards in response to amendments to the Act on the Rational Use of Energy.

Under its Basic Environmental Ordinance, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has introduced restrictions on total greenhouse gas emissions and a waste trading system. Infringements against these requirements, which have been in effect since in April 2010, are punishable by fines. The Research and Development Center in Hachioji (Ishikawa/Utsugi) is required to reduce its total CO₂ emissions by 8% compared with the base level over a five-year period from fiscal 2010 to fiscal 2014. To ensure that this task is carried out as efficiently as possible, the Center has formed a CO₂ Reduction Promotion Committee with members from each department. This committee has started to implement specific measures, including the development of an emission reduction plan.

Because of measures implemented when new buildings were constructed, current estimates indicate that it should be possible to achieve the required reductions without purchasing emission rights.

Manufacturing-related CO₂ emissions: 100,071 tons 16% reduction from fiscal 2007 level

Total CO₂ emissions from business sites in fiscal 2010 amounted to 100,071 tons, a reduction of 16% compared with fiscal 2007 and 7% compared with fiscal 2009. In addition to production cuts caused by the recession, these reductions were also the result of day-to-day energy conservation efforts and other measures, including a shift to the use of natural energy.

Olympus stepped up the pace of its efforts to improve the environmental performance of its manufacturing activities. Measures include the use of power monitors to identify electricity wastage, and the development of alternative technologies to replace non-energy greenhouse gases, such as HFC, PFC and SF6, which are used in cleaning, semiconductor etching and other processes. In March 2011, Olympus completely eliminated the use of HFC solvents for lens cleaning processes.

Olympus will continue to accelerate its efforts to improve the environmental aspects of its manufacturing activities. Specific measures in relation to electric power, which accounts for the bulk of energy consumption, include the use of power monitors to identify electricity wastage, and the development of manufacturing technologies that contribute to energy and resource conservation.

Implementation of Environmental IE  (May - September 2010)
Environmental IE is a method for visualizing environmental loads and identifying technical issues on production lines. Olympus developed its own environmental IE methods and implemented an employee education program in preparation for the introduction of this technology at all plants in Japan.

Olympus Production Innovation Meeting  (February 2011)
The main theme for the meeting was "Manufacturing for the Environment - Becoming the Best Manufacturing Group in the World." Participants presented case studies relating to production innovation on a global scale, including micro-factories and environmentally-conscious factories.

Promoting Electricity Saving at Work and Home  (March 2011)
Olympus produced educational materials about electricity saving and energy conservation measures that can be implemented at work or at home. This initiative was undertaken in response to major electricity shortages caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake, and as a way of raising employee awareness about the need to conserve electricity and energy.

Installation of Solar Panels
Olympus Surgical Technologies Europe (OSTE) has business sites in Germany, the Czech Republic and elsewhere, at which it develops, manufactures, sells and services medical endoscopes. It is implementing a range of environmental measures based on local conditions at its facilities. The company incorporated every possible environmental measure into a new service base opened in the Czech Republic in November 2009, with the aim of achieving the first Class A environmental rating for an industrial facility in Central Europe. Energy-related measures include the use of energy-efficient lighting systems, heat pumps and heat recovery compressors, as well as the installation of rooftop solar panels to generate electricity and collect heat. These measures have reduced power demand at the facility by 74% compared with a conventional facility.

Green Electricity Purchasing
In addition to its efforts to reduce energy consumption at its development, production and sales site in Germany, OSTE also worked with Olympus Europe Holding GmbH, the holding company for European subsidiaries, to implement an electric power purchasing policy under which it would purchase only naturally produced hydroelectric power. In this way, CO₂ emissions relating to electric power were reduced to zero, reducing total emissions by approximately 2,700 tons per year.

Contents end