| Environmentally Friendly Products with Core Technology from Fine Ceramics |
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Fine ceramics - Kyocera’s core technology - are excellent examples of ecological materials which contribute to environmental preservation. Taking advantage of their superior resistance to abrasion and heat, Kyocera provides a variety of environmentally friendly products that contribute to society.
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| Environmental Assessment in Product Development |
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The Kyocera Group strives for all of its products to be "global environmentally friendly products.
" Therefore, we have established and operate an internal system and certification program for supplying top-class, environmentally friendly products with a focus on environmental consciousness that begins at the R & D stage. |
| Concept of Environmental Consciousness |
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Kyocera considers the three themes of "Global Warming Prevention and Energy Conservation," "Resource Recycling" and "Environmental Preservation and Safety" as high-priority issues. For each of these, we have established clear guidelines for focusing on environmental protection at the product development stage. In addition, we delineate between the concepts of "contributing to environmental protection" and "lowering environmental impact," depending on how environmental consciousness in our products is realized.
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| Environmental Assessment Steps |
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 Step 1: Target-setting |
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| Identify desirable concepts to incorporate into the product and set specific targets before beginning the stages of research, development and design. To set targets accurately, select existing products which are to be compared with new product specifications, perform LCA*, and use the results. |
| Step 2: Estimate and Verify |
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| After clarifying production specifications, estimate energy consumption and execute LCA to assess whether the target will be achieved. |
| Step 3: Measurement and Verification |
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In the mass production stage, perform LCA for verification based on actual measurement data such as yield and energy consumed and assess (grade) the environmental consciousness of the product.
*LCA
LCA stands for Life-Cycle Assessment.
This is a technique to quantitatively evaluate environmental impact through all stages of a product, including material procurement, production, distribution, use and disposal. |
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| Managing Chemical Substances in Products |
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Recently, legal controls and social requirements have dictated stricter environmental regulations for chemical substances in products.
Kyocera has enhanced its control of chemical substances in products in order to promptly meet customers’ requirements and survey requests about such situations.
The Kyocera Group has established a global policy to comply with the EU’s "RoHS Directive" of July 2006, which prohibits specified toxic chemical substances in electronic equipment sold in Europe. The Kyocera’s internal policy also prohibits these substances in products sold in areas other than Europe. Kyocera’s compliance thus contributes to the global reduction of hazardous substances.
Furthermore, we are taking action to fully comply with the new chemical substance control known as "Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH),"* which has been gradually enforced beginning since June 2007.
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A European Union law that specifies registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction controls for chemical substances both imported into and produced in Europe. |
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| Flow Chart of Survey / Reporting of Chemical Content in Products |
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| Green Procurement |
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To promote environmental preservation activities, it is also necessary to take appropriate actions in supply chain management. Kyocera established its Green Procurement Standard in 1998 to address the procurement of environmentally friendly materials and asks suppliers for their cooperation based on Kyocera’s Guidelines for Green Procurement.
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| Related info |
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