Management (EMS)

Stepping up efforts to obtain ISO 14001 certification

We believe that environmentally-conscious activities constitute an integral part of business operations from a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) viewpoint. Within the Brother Group, we have stepped up efforts to obtain ISO 14001 certification at both manufacturing and sales facilities, based on a belief that the establishment of an ISO 14001-based environmental management system is a highly effective means for building environmental awareness into every aspect of business operations.

In FY2008 (April 1, 2008-March 31, 2009), all of Brother's major sales facilities across the globe obtained the certification (please refer to the list of companies that obtained ISO 14001 certification). We will put these sales facilities under Brother Industries IT system, which was originally designed to keep track of accomplishments of environmental activities undertaken by manufacturing facilities, in an effort to upgrade the group's environmental activities.

 Brother Sites Obtaining ISO 14001 Certification

Full commitment to environmental risk management

In recent years, there has been growing environmental awareness amongst consumers and local residents, with environmental laws put in place in different countries. In the meantime, expansion of corporate activities has brought with it an ever-broader scope and an ever-greater magnitude of environmental responsibility for companies.

There has been cases in which a legally banned chemical substance was found in a product sold on the market, requiring suspension of product shipment or collection of shipped products, or cases in which the surrounding environment was contaminated due to an accidentally released chemical substance from a factory, obliging the company to recover the contaminants and clean the surrounding environment. Occurrence of a single such incident could incur immense cost to the Brother Group and harm the image of the company. There are also long-term risks such as a product losing market competitiveness due to a delay by the company to take measures to enhance energy-saving characteristics and eco-conscious features. To prevent risks to the environment by corporate activities as well as managerial risks, it is important to incorporate preventive measures into the day-to-day company operations.

The systems incorporated into daily operations to enhance product features are the Green Procurement Management System, which prioritizes the purchase of parts and materials free of hazardous chemical substances, Product Assessments of Environmental Impact, which evaluates and improves a product's impact on the environment in design stage (prior to production), the Brother Green Label System, which encourages to design products with high environmental performance, and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which evaluates a product's environmental load throughout the product life cycle. Moreover, we have incorporated risk management systems conforming to ISO 14001 within our daily operations at our manufacturing facilities. Such systems prevent environmental accidents and prepare for emergency situations.

Compliance with environmental regulations inside and outside Japan

Beyond compliance with legal regulations: Thinking and acting voluntarily in respective fields

In recent years, various legal regulations on chemical substances and energy consumption have been put in place on both the national and regional levels to mitigate the impact of products on the environment and on human health. One of such example is the RoHS Directive in Europe that restricts the use of certain hazardous substances. These regulations have been set up or beefed up not only in developed countries but also in developing and emerging countries. The number of targeted substances and fields is also on the rise. Against this backdrop, global companies are increasingly required to meet these legal regulations.

The Brother Group has been working under the concept of "coming up with solutions that can/should be taken in respective fields, and acting voluntarily for the betterment of the environment, beyond compliance with legal regulations."

Creating a mechanism for meeting legal regulations

In FY2008, we maintained our commitment to compliance with the EU RoHS Directive ^*1, China RoHS ^*2, and South Korea WEEE/RoHS ^*3. Meanwhile, we launched activities to comply with the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) Regulation ^*4 and EuP Directive ^*5 of the EU, and gathered information about the regulations and directives. On the REACH Regulation front, we completed pre-registration of chemical substances covered under the regulation, and improved our Green Procurement Management System to enable investigation into SVHC (Substances of Very High Concern) ^*6 content, which will have to be notified to the appropriate agency in the near future. On the EuP Directive front, we reinforced and revised our environmental assessment procedure for products to ensure compliance with the directive.

To investigate and avoid risks posed by chemical substances contained in products, the "Brother Environment Information System" has been put in place through cooperation between the Brother Group and its suppliers. Originally developed in response to the RoHS Directive, this system has been employed not only to manage RoHS-designated chemical substances, but also to calculate LCA, promote eco-designs required under the EuP Directive, and meet diverse legal regulations.

*1 RoHS Directive: An EU directive restricting the use of hazardous substances contained in electric and electronic equipment; entered into force in July 2006.

*2 China RoHS: A regulation requiring labeling of information about the content of environmentally-hazardous substances for electronic information products manufactured and sold in China or imported to and sold in China; entered into force on March 1, 2007.

*3 South Korea WEEE/RoHS: A regulation requiring the recycling of electric/electronic products and scrapped cars, restricting the use of and setting content standards for hazardous substances contained in products, requiring dealers of electric/electronic products to collect scrapped products and packaging materials, etc.; entered into force on January 1, 2008.

*4 REACH Regulation: An EU regulation providing for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of all Chemical substances contained in manufactured/imported products; entered into force in June 2007; registration deadlines set on a phase-by-phase basis depending on the substance and its volume band.

*5 EuP Directive: Directive on Eco-Design of Energy-using Products establishing a framework for the setting of eco-design requirements for energy-using products; entered into force on August 11, 2005.

*6 SVHC (Substances of Very High Concern): Substances that may severely impact human health and the environment, e.g., carcinogens, set forth in the REACH Regulation; candidate substances which will be subject to authorization under the regulation.

Efforts to meet legal regulations and obtaining labeling/certification approvals globally

Some environment-related legal regulations are shared on a global scale. It is important to note, however, that many regulations are set by different countries and apply only in the respective countries. At Brother Industries, Ltd., we assist group companies in improving their work processes for meeting legal regulations, in an effort to ensure compliance with these legal regulations on a group basis. Basically, we are committed to obtaining approvals for all the globally influential labels/certifications. In particular, we consider the International Energy Star Program (low energy standards for office equipment), Blue Angel (Germany), and Eco Mark (Japan) as important eco-labels. Efforts are under way to develop an action plan and obtain approvals for all of our products subject to these labels/certifications.

Environment-related legal regulations and labeling/certification requirements are expected to emerge in increasing numbers or applied under stricter conditions around the globe. By strengthening the framework for swiftly meeting these regulations and requirements, the Brother Group will take proactive measures so that eco-conscious products can be developed well in advance before new regulations enter into force.