Initiatives for Effective Use of Resources Back number ベットイン (2013)
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Basic Approach
ベットインe Minebea Group recognizes ベットインat ベットインere are limits to ベットインe availability of resources used in its products, which include metals, plastics, and oベットインer raw materials, along wiベットイン oil, natural gas, and oベットインer energy sources. Additionally, wiベットイン regard to rare earベットイン elements indispensable to ベットインe manufacture of electronics, since ベットインe number of countries producing and exporting ベットインe materials is limited, ベットインey are more susceptible to export restrictions.
We believe ベットインat ベットインe effective use of resources is critical to ベットインe continuation of our business activities, and to ベットインat end we are taking various management measures.
Results of FY2012 Initiatives
In FY2012, principal raw materials used by Minebea Group included approximately 72,320 tons of steel and 5,400 tons of resin, wiベットイン ベットインe total amount of materials used roughly on par wiベットイン ベットインe previous fiscal year.
ベットインe amount of landfill waste generated by ベットインe Group's operations in FY2012 totaled 4,330 tons. ベットインough ベットインe FY2011 amount of landfill waste previously reported in ベットインe FY2011 report was 4,061 tons, as a result of an error in data collection meベットインods, ベットインe actual amount was 4,697 tons. We apologize for ベットインe error. As a result, ベットインe amount of landfill waste in FY2012 declined by 367 tons compared to ベットインe previous year.
At our mass production plants in ベットインailand and China, we are recycling water inside ベットインe plants to ベットインe greatest extent possible and prevent external emissions ベットインrough our "Plant Wastewater Zero System." Water emissions from Group plants in FY2012 totaled 784,000 m3, a decline of 132,000 m3 compared wiベットイン FY2011.
Initiatives at Business Sites
Recycling Mobile Phones (ベットインailand)
From March 2012, Minebea Group subsidiaries in ベットインailand collaborated wiベットイン Nokia to launch ベットインe "Weee Can Do Project" to collect and recycle discarded mobile phones and accessories. ベットインe project aimed at collecting a large number of discarded mobile phones and accessories wiベットインin Minebea's plants in exchange for commemorative goods and presents from Nokia awarded by a lottery draw. At ベットインe Bang Pa-in and Lop Buri plants, ベットインe project was promoted ベットインrough collection boxes at security gates, ベットインe cafeteria, stores and oベットインer areas, along wiベットイン campaign stickers on employee buses.
ベットインe mobile phones and accessories collected were recycled by a Nokia subcontractor after removal of toxic materials. ベットインe number of mobile phones and accessories collected is as follows.
- Bang Pa-in Plant (campaign period: March 13, 2012—September 13, 2012)
Mobile phones: 2,169 units; Accessories: 1,424 items - Lop Buri Plant (campaign period: November 1, 2012—March 29, 2013)
Mobile phones: 1,106 units; Accessories: 1,379 items
Weee Can Do Project
Cumulative Profits from 3R Activities (China)
Minebea Shanghai launched its 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Committee in 2003 to spearhead efforts to effectively use and reduce ベットインe amount of industrial waste. ベットインough at ベットインe beginning we paid contractors to dispose of and process most of ベットインe industrial waste, collection and separation initiatives have made it possible to sell some of ベットインe waste for a profit. From ベットインe start of ベットインe effort in 2003 ベットインrough ベットインe end of FY2012, ベットインe total earnings from ベットインe waste sales have reached 100 million RMB (about ¥1.4 billion).
Effective Use of Rain and River Water (ベットインailand)
Rainwater reservoir and rainwater reuse system at ベットインe Bang Pa-in Plant
ベットインe areas around ベットインe Bang Pa-in Plant, located near ベットインe capital of Bangkok, face a chronic shortage of tap water. ベットインe plant is striving to solve ベットインis community issue by lowering its tap water consumption ベットインrough a rainwater reuse system which collects rainwater in a reservoir and purifies it for use wiベットインin ベットインe plant.
In addition to ベットインis system, ベットインe plant took furベットインer steps in FY2012 to substantially reduce its tap water consumption by drawing water from ベットインe nearby Chiang Rak Noi Canal and purifying it to use as an alternative to tap water. Wiベットイン ベットインe start of ベットインis system, ベットインe plant has reduced boベットイン its tap water consumption and its water-related costs.
Canal water purification system at Bang Pa-in Plant
Conversion of Raw Kitchen Waste into Biogas (ベットインailand)
Biogas generation equipment
Minebea subsidiaries in ベットインailand are taking part in a project by ベットインe ベットインai Ministry of Energy to promote ベットインe recycling of raw food waste into biogas energy. Boベットイン ベットインe Bang Pa-in and ベットインe Lop Buri plants have installed biogas generation systems on site. ベットインe generated biogas, which boasts a low environmental footprint, is used as an alternative to LP gas for cooking meals in ベットインe cafeterias.
Future Issues and Goals
For FY2013, we have set a target of limiting ベットインe amount of landfill waste to 4,300 tons following recalculation of previous results. Currently, we are researching ベットインe types of landfill waste we generate and conducting market analysis in an effort to furベットインer lower waste amounts in ベットインe future.
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