Promote Recycling of Resources (Priority Issue 2)

Since our establishment, the Fujifilm Group has been working toward water usage reduction and water recycling. Considering increasing attention toward water risk as an important international issue, we have been promoting further reductions and more efficient water usage. As a result of continuous efforts at each site, the amount of water usage in FY2018 decreased by 2.5% compared to the previous year. This figure is 15% of the target of 30% reduction by FY2030 (compared to the FY2013 level), indicating successful progress.

As for the expansion of water risk regions, which is drawing the world’s attention, we created a water risk assessment system in 2014, utilizing a matrix with the two indices: “water stressed regions” and “impact on company business in terms of water usage.” Since then, we have continued to assess water risks for all of our Group sites. In FY2018, we confirmed the status of water management and reduction efforts mainly in sites with relatively high water risks, and confirmed that the impact to the Group was low.

With regard to the contribution by our products and services for water treatment in society, we are moving steadily forward with brackish water desalination and wastewater treatment by providing filtration materials, and reducing water usage at customers’ sites through process-less CTP plates for printing and other technologies. The contribution in FY2018 was 8.7 million tons, a progress of 25% toward our target to contribute to the treatment of 35 million tons of water per year in society by FY2030. As we calculated the FY2018 results based on items that showed a high contribution, we have re-calculated our FY2017 results. We will expand the scope of application of our water treatment technology in society, thereby further contributing to society with our products and services.

These efforts in the area of water risk and opportunity are supported by the Fujifilm Group’s commitment to improving water security under the initiative with We Mean Business, an environmental platform.

The Fujifilm Group is proceeding more effective use for resources and reduction of waste, not only at the manufacturing stage but over the entire product lifecycle as well. In addition to the emphasis on recycling and conservation of resources at the product design stage, reductions in the waste generated at the manufacturing stage are underway in Japan, North America, Europe and China, in ways that suit each region. In Japan, from FY2011 we have been promoting group-wide optimization, including extracting valuables from waste and improving the quality of recycling, not only at our production sites but over our entire business operations including offices and warehouses. At the Yoshida Factory of FUJIFILM Optomaterials Co., Ltd., we have changed our packaging materials so that they can be converted into valuables, making it possible to reduce waste. Over the last five years, we have succeeded in paper usage reduction of 5% -10% every year by introducing the products and services provided by FUJIFILM Business Innovation in our office. 

However, the waste volume in FY2018 increased by 2% compared to the previous year due to a decrease in the recycling rate of valuable waste plastic caused by a strengthening of the plastic import regulations internationally. Even so, this still represents a 5% increase towards the target of a 30% reduction by FY2030 (compared to FY2013). We are now planning to reassess waste emission volumes and waste processing methods in each of our business sites. We will then discuss the long-term waste reduction strategy of the Fujifilm Group as a whole, as well as creating and implementing concrete plans.

A company-wide system to both investigate and evaluate contracted industrial waste disposal vendors has been established since FY2004, with strict investigations and evaluations conducted in cooperation with the industrial waste disposal contractors. The same system has also been used since FY2006 for on-site checks of industrial waste disposal contractors, as per municipal byelaws.

In addition, investigation items have been improved and an investigation/evaluation qualification certification system that guarantees the competence of investigators has been adopted since FY2007. Currently, the Fujifilm Group has 42 certified investigators/evaluators (as of January 2020). The system is reviewed as necessary, and improvements are constantly being made.

All of the evaluation results of contractors are registered in the Investigation/Evaluation Database for Industrial Waste Disposal Contractors, and used to reinforce waste management governance as shared information on waste management within the Fujifilm Group.

The Fujifilm Group uses the Assessment Method of Material Input per Unit^*1, which has been exclusively formulated, in order to accurately measure our resource input reduction status. In FY2018, we continued our Design for Environment for resource saving and downsizing, as well as loss reduction and recycling of offcuts in production sites. As a result, we achieved a 4% improvement in resource input compared to the previous year, and a 28% progress against the target of 30% reduction by FY2030 (compared to the FY2013 level), which was a significant step.

For multifunction devices and copiers which are products of one of our main business areas, we collect customers’ used products and reuse or recycle them, based on our principal of “treating used products as valuable resources instead of as waste.” The program aims to utilize resources as effectively as possible with Zero Landfill as our goal. In FY2018, the recycling and reuse rate for used products continued more than 99.5%^*2, our Zero Landfill standard for all domestic and overseas sites, and 99.9% for sites in Japan. On the other hand, the volume of parts reused to reduce the consumption of new resources was 2,967 tons by 76 tons reduction from the previous year. This was because the volume of parts reused is declining due to product downsizing even if the production volume remains the same. We continue resource usage reduction through comprehensive 3R activities.

• *1 Assessment Method of Material Input per Unit: As the Fujifilm Group has a wide range of product lineups (chemicals, highly functional materials, equipment, etc.), it is necessary to have a single index to assess various resource input volumes uniformly. To achieve this, we calculated “a resource material input weight per converted production volume,” which utilizes the Converted Production Volume (converted production volume of each product using the energy consumed during production), which is authorized by the Energy Saving Act in Japan. This assessment method is used to obtain an index of resource input reduction.
• *2 Excluding some of the overseas regions that changed their recycling sites (as the recycling rate in the region cannot be determined).

DocuCentre-VII C3372 digital color multifunction device was certified as a Green Design Product by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the Chinese government in 2020. It was the first multifunction device of a foreign company in China to be certified as such. In addition, FUJIFILM Manufacturing Shenzhen Corp, which manufactures the product, was certified as a Green Plant in 2019.

The Chinese government is promoting green manufacturing based on the national policy “Made in China 2025” and is certifying Green Design Products and Green Plants. Green Design Products are evaluated based on their environmental impact throughout their life cycle, from product design and development to manufacturing, shipping, use, maintenance and recycling.

The Fujifilm device was rated highly for its recycling-friendly design, energy-saving performance and quietness.