Seiko Instruments Inc. (Abbreviation: SII; President, COO & CFO: Yukihiko Chayama; Head Office: 1-8 Nakase, Mihama-ku, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture; Tel: 043-211-1111) has achieved “zero emission(*1)” at all of its major business sites (10 sites), a key objective of the company’s environmental activities.
SII has been conducting activities since 1998, focused on achieving zero waste emission by the end of 2003. SII develops, manufactures and markets a wide variety of products, from electronic components such as semiconductors and displays, to watches, analytical instruments and machine tools, which produce a wide variety of emitted waste. Since all ten business sites incorporated in the goal were located in Japan, each company commissioned a different waste processing center, necessitating zero emission activities optimally designed for each site. The Ohno unit (Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture) was the first site within the group to achieve zero emission in November 2000. Since then, all other sites followed in step, recently completing the goal.
(*1) SII’s definition of “zero emission”
“Zero emission” is defined in terms of the amount of industrial waste brought into the final disposal facility. SII standards limit this amount to 3% the industrial waste emitted from a business site.
Overview of Activities
(1) Thorough fractional recovery
To simplify waste reuse and recycling, SII engaged in thorough fractional recovery of waste products. The SII companies thoroughly separated the waste products emitted during the production process, such as the waste metal, sludge, waste plastic, waste oil, waste acid, waste alkali and waste glass, reclaiming the material through recycling. In addition, the Ohno unit introduced a special chip processor to recover the oil from chip debris generated during the production process. As a result, reused oil now accounts for about 40% of all oil utilized at the unit.
(2) Optimization of waste processing centers
SII regularly conducts onsite surveys of the waste processing centers that process SII waste. As part of its zero emission activities, the company also conducts follow-up studies of waste commissioned for intermediate treatment, thoroughly examining the treatment process to the final stages. Such activities have facilitated treatment center optimization and recycling facility improvements.
(3) Incorporating Activities Upstream
To achieve zero emission, it is critical to incorporate activities in the production process as well as in the various product development stages, starting from the design stage. Addressing the green product standards designed for the SII Green Product Label introduced in December 2001, including reduced resource consumption during and the avoidance of harmful substances in the manufacturing process, SII made an effort to take into consideration the reduction of generated waste through resource saving and the simplification of the waste treatment process by avoidance of the use of harmful materials in upstream stages.
The zero emission initiatives of the SII companies have resulted in an approximate 35% or 1,168 ton decrease in the total amount of waste generated in 2003 compared to 1998, and a waste treatment cost savings of approximately 37% or 55 million yen. The next goal of SII is to maintain zero emission while minimizing the total amount of waste produced. SII will continue with its 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) activities, working actively to fulfill its social responsibility in the formation of a sustainable recycling-oriented society.
Total waste generated: Total amount of waste emitted from the 10 business sites in Japan.
Final amount disposed: The amount brought to the final disposal facility.
Reduced amount: The amount reduced by intermediate treatment, such as water removal, drying and incineration.
Recycled amount: The amount of waste separated into different categories such as metal waste, sludge, waste plastic and waste oil, and then recycled.
Final disposal percentage: The final disposal amount as a percentage of the total amount of waste generated.
Contact Information
Seiko Instruments Inc.
Corporate Communications Group
Arai
Fax:+81-43-211-8011
Seiko Instruments Inc.
Corporate Environmental Administration Group
Tomita,Watanabe
Fax:+81-43-211-8019