JVC 2004 Annual Report Download - page 31

Annual Report 2004 29.
3. Recycling end-of-life products
in Europe
In February 2003, the EU’s WEEE
(Waste Electrical and Electronic Equip-
ment) recycling directive came into
force. All electrical and electronic
equipment sold within the EU is
subject to this directive. In addition to
this regional initiative, individual member
countries such as the Netherlands and
Sweden have already introduced their
own recycling systems. JVC is adhering
to both these national and regional
recycling regulations. Based on the
WEEE directive, all EU member countries
are required to introduce their own
national laws on recycling by August
2004. In response, JVC has established
an internal Europe Recycling Committee
to devise an effective recycling system
based on country-by-country recycling
studies and research, and the creation
of experimental recycling systems with
local affiliates and specialist waste
recycling companies.
Reducing Energy
Consumption and Fighting
Global Warming
JVC is working company-wide to
achieve its new medium-term target
for reducing energy consumption: a
reduction of 10% by fiscal 2011
compared to the base year of fiscal
2001. We are also working to reduce
emissions of CO2, CFCs and other
greenhouse gases that contribute to
global warming. Initiatives include
efforts to curb emissions of CO2 by
JVC manufacturing plants and affiliates,
and completely eliminating the use of
CFCs by adopting alternatives.
Cutting Waste Emissions
In an effort to reuse waste generated
by manufacturing activities, we targeted
and attained a waste recycling ratio of
98% in our domestic operations,
including affiliates. Although the volume
of waste alkalis and other liquid waste
has risen due to higher output of
printed circuit boards, we reached our
overall target thanks to an increase in
the recycling ratio for paper and wood
waste, and a significant improvement
in the reuse of metal waste.
Helping to Protect the Air,
Soil and Water Environments
The electrical and electronics industries
use four key chemical substances that
can cause atmospheric pollution—
trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene,
dichloromethane and trichloroethane.
JVC has already banned the use of
the first three chemicals in all its
manufacturing processes. Although we
use small amounts of dichloromethane
and trichloroethane in R&D and quality
assurance testing, we are working to
further reduce usage by examining
the use of alternatives.
JVC has carried out studies into
soil and groundwater pollution since
1996. In the year under review, we
removed a number of idle incinerators
from the JVC Rinkan and Maebashi
plants. Subsequent dioxin pollution
surveys of the surrounding areas
confirmed they were free of pollution.
Going forward, we plan to further
enhance our system for monitoring soil
and groundwater pollution, including
extending the system to overseas
operating facilities.
President
Environmental Committee
Director in Charge
Company Division Headquarters Division Sales & Service
Support Research &
Development
International
Division
Sales Division
Manufacturing Division
Logistics Division
Affiliates
Regional
Headquarters
Local Sales
Companies
Environmental Management Promotion Committee
Energy Conservation Promotion Committee
International Standardization Promotion Committee
Green Procurement Promotion Committee
Product Assessment Committee
Environmental Product Certification Committee
Chemical Substance Management System Project
Lead-free Solder Promotion Project
3R Design Group
Recycle Committee
Project for the
Elimination of
Environmentally
Harmful Substances
Environmental Administration Division
Environmental Administration
The EX-A1 DVD compact component system with wood
cone speakers and environmentally conscious design
Operating Site Environmental Management Teams
Representative
Specialist Teams
Promotion Committees