Action Guidelines for Environmental Conservation
The Group has set its Action Guidelines for Environmental Conservation to present our policies for environmental conservation efforts concerning business activities.
The Action Guidelines for Environmental Conservation are based on the Code of Ethics and Conduct Guidelines of the Hitachi Group as our basic philosophy, and consist of 10 items.
The Group considers that one of its top priorities in management is to realize a sustainable society harmonized with the environment under these guidelines, and accordingly engages in a various environmental actions.
Hitachi Global Life Solutions Group Action Guidelines for Environmental Conservation
In order to realize an environmentally harmonious and sustainable society through products and services, we are committed to meeting our social responsibilities by promoting globally-applicable “MONOZUKURI” (designing, manufacturing or repairing of products), which is aimed at reducing the environmental burdens of products throughout their entire life cycles, ensuring global environmental conservation.
- Global environmental conservation is a critical challenge shared by all humans. We are committed, therefore, to fulfilling our responsibilities by assisting in the realization of an environmentally harmonious and sustainable society as one of our management priorities.
- We will make efforts to contribute to society by developing highly reliable technologies and production processes, while identifying needs in view of concerns related to the prevention of global warming, conservation of resources, and preservation of ecosystems.
- Members of the board in charge of environmental conservation are responsible for facilitating appropriate environmental conservation activities. Departments responsible for environmental conservation endeavor to promote and ensure environmental conservation activities, including improving environment-related rules and regulations and setting goals for environmental burden reduction. These departments also confirm that their environmental conservation activities are conducted in a proper manner and ensure that these activities are maintained and improved.
- We will promote globally-applicable “MONOZUKURI” with the aim of understanding and reducing environmental burdens at every stage, including product research and development, design, production, distribution, sales, usage, and final disposal.
- We will investigate and review the environmental impact caused in the course of the “MONOZUKURI” processes. We will also introduce excellent technologies and materials useful to safeguard the environment; in other words, to reduce environmental burdens through energy and resource saving, recycling, chemical substance management, consideration for the ecosystem, and other measures.
- Our environmental conservation efforts are not only to be focused on observing international environmental regulations and those of national and local governments, but also on conserving the environment by implementing voluntary environmental standards when necessary.
- Regarding globally-applicable “MONOZUKURI” activities, impact on the local environment and community are to be considered. In addition, measures that meet local communities' requests should be implemented.
- We will educate our employees to take action in order to comply with environment-related laws, raise their global environmental awareness, and encourage their interest in environmental conservation having a broad view of societal activities.
- We will evaluate potential environmental problems and prevent them from occurring. In the event that any environmental problem occurs, we will take appropriate measures to minimize the environmental burden.
- We will make efforts to disclose information on our environmental conservation activities to our relevant stakeholders. We will also actively communicate with these stakeholders so as to strengthen mutual understanding and forge cooperative relationships with them.
Environmental Management System
The Group establishes a promotion system for environmental management for the entire Group with the purposes of business strategy promotion in the environmental field through company-wide activities and establishing environmental management.
The Environment Committee, chaired by the President and composed of all Managing Officers and Executive Officers, deliberates and decides on Group-wide business strategies, policies, and environmental action plans. The Committee also discusses measures to prevent environment-related problems, as well as improving operations and environmental activities. Based on the decisions made at these meetings, manufacturing bases, non-manufacturing bases (head offices, branches, service centers) and Group companies collaborate to promote each measure.
The Group is committed to environmental compliance in order to minimize environmental risks in our business activities. We also confirm compliance through internal audits.
Internal audits are conducted by two methods: self-assessments made by supervisors on-site, and on-site audits made by the Environment Promotion Division. By verifying the compliance status of environmental laws and voluntary management criteria at our sites through internal audits, we strive to improve the compliance awareness of supervisors on-site and reduce environmental risks.
The issues pointed out by the internal audit in FY2022 have been remedied.
The Group offers e-learning on topics regarding high environmental risks for all employees.
To be able to appropriately comply with environmental laws and regulations, which are becoming more and more restrictive every year, we distribute procedure manuals to environmental management officers to improve their understanding and reduce the risk associated with environmental laws and regulations.
In addition, in manufacturing sites, information on electricity consumption of the entire plant, amount of waste discharged, and disposal methods, etc. is regularly distributed to Environmental Committee members via email. We are working to raise the environmental awareness of our employees by installing digital signage displays at the main gate and cafeteria, etc., and disseminating a variety of environment-related information.
Environmental Action Plan for 2024
To achieve our Environmental Vision and our Environmental Innovation 2050 long-term targets, the Group sets concrete action plans every three years and steadily promotes its implementation.
From FY2022, we will promote environmental activities under the new Environmental Action Plan for 2024 until FY2024. The following are the results for FY2022, the first year of the plan.