Initiatives for Preventing Global Warming Back Number (2015)
Back to Latest Initiatives for Preventing Global Warming
Basic Approach
The Minebea Group recognizes that the international issue of global warming, along with the related issues of soaring energy prices and abnormal climatic conditions, pose a significant threat to the sustainability of its business activities.
In response, each office and plant in the Minebea Group is proactively promoting energy efficiency initiatives in order to combat global warming after having completed formulating the main measures for their sites. Additionally, our Energy Conservation Promotion Committee, which is made up of representatives of all our business units, promotes the sharing of knowledge and technologies accumulated from past activities along with case studies on exemplary energy-efficient initiatives. The sharing of this wisdom among the Group's business units is bolstering the entire Group's approach to global warming prevention.
Results of FY2014 Initiatives
The Minebea Group's emissions of CO2 in FY2014 totaled 543,254 tons, 6% more than in FY2013. In terms of basic units of production, CO2 emissions declined 20% over FY2013 to 1.09 tons per million yen of production. The reason for this decrease was highly energy-efficient manufacturing activities amid strong business growth, as well as efforts taken by plants around the world to reduce CO2 emissions.
In FY2014, the Group's CO2 emissions generated from logistics operations totaled 87,788 tons, an increase of 23% compared with FY2013.
Initiatives in Office Spaces
Energy-efficiency Initiatives at Tokyo Head Office (Japan)
Tokyo Head Office
Our Tokyo Head Office relocated to a newly purchased office building in Tokyo in January 2013. In October 2013, the office began full-fledged ISO 14001 environmental management activities.
The energy-efficiency activities included both physical controls, such as changes to air conditioning operations along with turning off and dimming lights, to awareness-type activities such as encouraging employees to adopt cool business attire. As a result, the building was able to reduce its overall energy consumption by 7% compared with FY2013. While the office reduced electric power consumption in the use of air conditioning, the amount of city gas used to power hot and chilled water generators during the summer months increased slightly. Altogether, the office reduced CO2 emissions by 5% in FY2014 compared with FY2013 when converting both electricity and gas consumption.
Initiatives at Work Sites
Upgrading to High-efficiency Equipment (Thailand)
When upgrading plant equipment, the Minebea Group selects and installs high-efficiency type equipment to promote environmentally conscious manufacturing activities. In FY2014, NMB-Minebea Thai upgraded two chillers at its Bang Pa-in Plant. The upgrade has reduced electric power consumption by approximately 20%.
Chillers installed at Bang Pa-in Plant
Environment, Energy, CSR Week Exhibition (Thailand)
In November and December each year, NMB-Minebea Thai promotes a travelling exhibit on the environment, energy, and CSR at each of its plants to raise employee awareness on these issues.
In FY2014, the following exhibits and events were held.
- Exhibit of environmental and energy-saving activities in 2013 and 2014
- Exhibit and introduction of World Environment Day slogan, "Raise Your Voice Not the Sea Level!"
- Exhibit of Minebea Group's environmental burden
- Environment and safety song-writing contest
- Contest for ideas on reducing paper scrap
- Quiz on safety and health, environment and energy, and CSR
- Distribution of saplings for employees to plant near their homes
- Distribution of books, pamphlets, and posters on the environment and energy
Exhibitions are held during environment and energy week
Trees Planted to Celebrate the King of Thailand's Birthday (Thailand)
Employees at NMB-Minebea Thai's Bang Pa-in Plant and Lopburi Plant planted trees on the plants' grounds on December 5, 2014 in celebration of the King of Thailand's birthday. The increase in greenery at the plants will help to mitigate global warming. Employees at the Bang Pa-in Plant planted 189 trees, while employees at the Lopburi Plant planted 100 trees. Both plants also held candle lighting ceremonies on the same day in celebration.
Tree planting at Bang Pa-in Plant
Tree planting at Lopburi Plant
Initiatives by Logistics Divisions
CO2 Emissions from Logistics
In addition to the data the Minebea Group collects on its direct CO2 emissions from scope 1 activities (gas, oil) and scope 2 activities (electricity, steam, heat), the Group also strives to collect data from scope 3 activities (other), which are primarily logistics-related activities.
In FY2014, CO2 emissions from the Minebea Group's product shipping activities totaled 87,789 tons, an increase of 23% compared with FY2013.
Future Issues and Goals
The Minebea Group will continue to advance its measures to prevent global warming. As a medium-term goal, by FY2015 we plan to reduce CO2 emissions per basic unit of production by 5% compared with FY2010, or 1% annually.
In terms of long-terms goals for 2020 and 2030, we will monitor the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and policies in countries around the world in formulating our initiatives.
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