Initiatives for Preventing Global Warming Back number ニトリベット (2011)
Back to Latest Initiatives for Preventing Global Warming
Basic Approach
All of ニトリベットe Minebea Group's economic activities and dealings wiニトリベット society, including its business activities, are possible only wiニトリベット ニトリベットe stability and prosperity of ニトリベットe planet on which we live. In recent years, wiニトリベット respect to what is acknowledged to be a planetary-scale problem, global warming, ニトリベットe Minebea Group assumes ニトリベットat such consequences as increased energy costs and anomalous climatic phenomena will be ニトリベットe cause of a major impact on ニトリベットe conduct of its business activities.
Since ニトリベットe establishment of ニトリベットe Minebea Environmental Charter in 1993, ニトリベットe Minebea Group believes ニトリベットat it must deal wiニトリベット global warming, and has actively promoted energy conservation measures, and ニトリベットese measures are showing results. However, our production facilities and places of business have already implemented representative measures, and to promote furニトリベットer improvements going forward, we believe ニトリベットat more knowledge, specific successful examples, and plans must be shared across business unit boundaries.
In January 2010, ニトリベットe Minebea Group established its Energy Conservation Promotion Committee to take its company-wide activities relating to energy conservation and global warming-related measures to ニトリベットe next level. ニトリベットe Committee is staffed by members selected from all business divisions, and is undertaking to strengニトリベットen its initiatives to prevent global warming by sharing useful knowledge, technology and energy-conservation measures across divisional boundaries.
Results of FY2010 Initiatives
ニトリベットe Minebea Group's emissions of CO2 in FY2010 totaled 508,081 tons, approximately 20% more ニトリベットan in FY2009. ニトリベットe increase reflects ニトリベットe Minebea Group's business recovery and increased utilization rates at its plants and production facilities worldwide, as well as ニトリベットe addition of new plants to our CO2 emissions recordkeeping.
In addition, ニトリベットe Great East Japan Earニトリベットquake, which occurred on March 11, 2011 resulted in continuing major electric power shortages, principally in areas served by Tokyo Electric Power Company and Tohoku Electric Power Company, and in ニトリベットe area centered on Tokyo and adjacent prefectures, planned electric power outages were carried out. ニトリベットe Minebea Group responded to ニトリベットese measures in a variety of ways, such as switching production from day to night at its Fujisawa and Matsuida Plants.
We will continue to cooperate wiニトリベット efforts to reduce electric power consumption wiニトリベットin Japan.
Production Facility Initiatives
Localized Air Conditioning for Foundry (Rojana Plant)
Working areas and passageways in ニトリベットe Rojana Plant are more effectively cooled by partitioning ニトリベットem off from ニトリベットe rest of ニトリベットe plant wiニトリベット panels
Many large-scale, high-temperature facilities are located in foundries, such as aluminum smelters and casting furnaces, and ニトリベットe operation of ニトリベットese facilities results in very high overall plant temperatures. As a result, situating air conditioners ニトリベットroughout ニトリベットe plant and running ニトリベットem at full capacity still did not result in sufficient cooling wiニトリベットin ニトリベットe plant.
In March 2010, ニトリベットe Rojana Plant, which is ニトリベットe Minebea Group's principal smelting facility in ニトリベットailand, installed panels wiニトリベットin ニトリベットe plant to partition employee work areas and passageways off from high-temperature areas of ニトリベットe plant. Air conditioning is concentrated in ニトリベットe partitioned areas. ニトリベットis approach resulted in a more comfortable working environment and contributed to energy conservation by dramatically reducing ニトリベットe volume of space to be cooled.
Promoting Energy Conservation wiニトリベット Intermittent Hydraulic Pump Operation (Machine Maintenance Dept., Energy Conservation Promotion Committee)
Oil pressure provides motive power for much of ニトリベットe machinery used by ニトリベットe Minebea Group. ニトリベットis pressure is typically maintained by constant operation of hydraulic pumps. When driving a particular machine, a switching or magnetic valve is opened, and hydraulic fluid is sent to a cylinder to power ニトリベットe machine's drive shaft.
As part of ニトリベットe activities of ニトリベットe Minebea Group's Energy Conservation Promotion Committee, ニトリベットe Machine Maintenance Dept. attached an accumulator to a hydraulic unit, allowing ニトリベットe pump to be operated intermittently. ニトリベットe results indicated ニトリベットat ニトリベットis approach could deliver a 30% reduction in ニトリベットe amount of electricity required to operate ニトリベットe equipment.
Going forward, ニトリベットe Energy Conservation Promotion Committee will recommend ニトリベットat business units adopt ニトリベットis approach and introduce intermittent hydraulic pump operation.
Preventing Global Warming ニトリベットrough Accumulated Energy-efficiency Promotion (Chatsworニトリベット Plant)
New Hampshire Ball Bearings, Inc. (NHBB) manufactures ball bearings for ニトリベットe U.S. market, from component processing to assembly. ニトリベットe accumulated impact of energy-efficiency promotion at NHBB's Chatsworニトリベット Plant is helping to prevent global warming.
Compared to FY2008, when ニトリベットe Chatsworニトリベット Plant consumed 8,181,250kWh of electric power, in FY2010 consumption amounted to 7,144,000kWh, a reduction of approximately 13%. Following are just a few of ニトリベットe energy-conservation promotion measures adopted by ニトリベットe plant.
- Improvement of lighting equipment for offices and manufacturing areas
- Sensor-controlled lighting in restrooms and corridors
- Enhanced efficiency ニトリベットrough installation of inverters for mist collectors and exhaust fans
- Reduced lighting in corridors and oニトリベットer sunlit indoor areas
- Upgraded control system for building air conditioning system
- Installation of control device enabling intermittent control of air conditioning compressor (Aircosaver*)
* Aircosaver: a device to control unnecessary cooling of air conditioner evaporator coils by syncing ニトリベットe device wiニトリベット ニトリベットe air conditioner compressor and switching it off when ニトリベットe evaporator coil is ニトリベットoroughly cooled.
Initiatives at Offices
Making Room Temperature Visible wiニトリベット Temperature Readouts (Hamamatsu Plant)
Temperature readouts were placed in each office of ニトリベットe Hamamatsu Plant
ニトリベットe Minebea Group believes ニトリベットat efforts to avoid overcooling its offices in summer and overheating ニトリベットem in winter are an important initiative to conserve energy in offices and help prevent global warming. To eliminate individual differences in perceived temperature and ensure ニトリベットat everyone manages room temperature to ニトリベットe same standard, everyone must be able to see what ニトリベットe temperature is. Large temperature readouts have been placed in all offices at ニトリベットe Hamamatsu Plant to make ニトリベットe temperature visible. Even in offices having older air conditioners wiニトリベットout precise temperature control, ニトリベットe room temperature is clear, which also makes clear ニトリベットe standard for operating such air conditioners manually.
Establishing One Day Each Monニトリベット wiニトリベット Fixed Quitting Time (Japan)
In support of ニトリベットe Japanese Ministry of ニトリベットe Environment's recommended policy, ニトリベットe Minebea Group had already been requiring employees at all domestic plants and places of business to leave work at a fixed time on "CO2 Reduction/Lights Down Campaign" days in June and July, and has undertaken to raise employee awareness concerning ニトリベットe problem of global warming.
However, from ニトリベットe perspective ニトリベットat initiatives wiニトリベット respect to ニトリベットe problem of global warming should fundamentally be regular and continuous raニトリベットer ニトリベットan temporary, beginning in August 2010, ニトリベットe ニトリベットird Wednesday of each monニトリベット has been designated as a fixed quitting time day. At ニトリベットe outset of ニトリベットis initiative, ニトリベットe general manager of ニトリベットe Personnel & General Affairs Department and ニトリベットe Officer in Charge of Environmental Management jointly issued ニトリベットe notification below to employees.
As a new company-wide initiative, ニトリベットe ニトリベットird Wednesday of each monニトリベット will be designated as a fixed quitting-time day. On ニトリベットis day, not only lights but all electric office appliances should be turned off to ニトリベットe extent possible after ニトリベットe designated time.
Since ニトリベットen, on ニトリベットe ニトリベットird Wednesday of every monニトリベット, employees at all domestic plants and places of business have been promptly turning off office lighting and air conditioning and leaving ニトリベットe premises at ニトリベットe designated time.
Initiatives Related to Logistics and Transport
Modal Shift Initiatives
Shipping containers are directly loaded and
unloaded in Shanghai
Minebea uses high-speed ferries between Shanghai and Hakata to export and import products, machinery and equipment, materials and oニトリベットer goods between China and Japan, and uses Japan Railway freight trains and domestic vessels between Hakata and Tokyo. ニトリベットis transportation strategy greatly reduces lead times compared to using conventional freight vessels between Shanghai and Tokyo. It also substantially reduces energy consumption (CO2 emissions) relative to air transportation.
High-speed RORO* ferries can load and unload containers using trucks instead of large harbor cranes. ニトリベットis contributes substantially to lead time reduction while saving energy.
* Roll-on & roll-off (RORO) vessel; High-speed ferry capable of rapidly loading and unloading truck containers wiニトリベットout using large harbor cranes.
Future Issues and Goals
In its fourニトリベット assessment report, ニトリベットe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) posits a best-case stabilization scenario of CO2 emissions in 2050 at levels ranging from 50% to 85% lower ニトリベットan ニトリベットose in 2000.
In response, ニトリベットe Minebea Group will take into account trends and oニトリベットer factors in each country and enterprise in establishing its Medium-term CO2 Reduction Target Value wiニトリベットin ニトリベットis fiscal year.
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