Environmental Conservation in Business Activities
17/10/2007
The cornerstone of OKI Printing Solutions business philosophy is its commitment to improving the welfare of society through technology.
Environmental Compliance
The environmental awareness of the Oki Group started with its conservation activities in the 1970's. Since 1997, the Group has been acquiring ISO14001:1996 certification at major production sites and has put in place environmental management systems. In 2004, the Oki Group integrated its ISO14001 certification and in 2005 it completed its transition to ISO14001:2004 - a global environmental management standard for responsible manufacturing. Click here to download the 2006 Enviromental Report.
WEEE Directive - product collection and recycling
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive seeks to minimise the environmental impact of electronic equipment by stipulating that producers like OKI Printing Solutions take back used products and recycle them.
OKI Printing Solutions is fully compliant with the WEEE Directive and provides a collection and recycling scheme for customers' used products. Products collected are broken up into different materials and recycled to produce other items, for example the hundreds of tonnes of materials collected and recycled by OKI Printing Solutions in 2006 could be used to make items such as wind turbines and solar panels. The plastics recycled from OKI products can also be used to make compost bins, benches and plant pots - greatly reducing the need for land-fill.
All OKI Printing Solutions' WEEE scope products feature a 'wheelie bin' (garbage can) with cross logo, to indicate that they must not be disposed of through normal waste channels and should instead be recycled.
RoHS Directive - control of substances
The Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive complements the WEEE regulations and has been in force since July 2006. It prohibits the use of six chemical substances in electronic products for sale in EU member countries from July 1, 2006. The six substances subject to the regulation are lead, hexavalent chromium, cadium, mercury and two types of specific bromic fire retardants (PBB, PBDE). OKI Printing Solutions is promoting the control of substances subject to the RoHS Directive not only in products for the EU market, but also in its products for the rest of Europe, Middle East, Africa, US and Japanese markets.
For printer products with a high ratio of sales in the EU, OKI Printing Solutions has established a working group consisting of members from the design and sales divisions to promote the adaptation of printers to the Directive. They have conducted green procurement surveys with suppliers and measured the substances contained in 196 major parts to confirm that they do not contain the prohibited substances. OKI Printing Solutions has also built a Global RoHS database containing the measurement data and supplier certificates for every component of each model.
OKI Printing Solutions ensures all its suppliers are RoHS compliant. The company is committed to protecting the environment and in addition to RoHS certified suppliers OKI Printing Solutions carries out 'spot checks' to undertake random sampling of components to ensure and maintain ongoing compliance.
Elimination of lead in printed circuit boards
Since 1998, Oki Electric has been developing technology to eliminate lead in printed circuit boards. All printed circuit boards for new products made in Japan now use lead-free soldering. The company has also been promoting the evaluation of lead-free soldering with overseas vendors and has started mass production.
Chromium free steel sheets
The chromium coating of zinc-plated steel sheets contains very small quantities of hexavalent chromium (a substance subject to the RoHS Directive) to improve antirust performance. In Japan, the Oki Group has completed the substitution of these steel sheets with sheets that are free of hexavalent chromium, but still offer superior antirust performance.
Screws free of hexavalent chromium
All screws used in OKI Printing Solutions' products are now free from hexavalent chromium. Precision equipment such as ATMs, one of the Oki Gr oup's major products, contains screws which need to be tightened to specific torques with high accuracy. The Oki Group evaluated trivalent chromium screws as substitutes and defined the specifications for the torque to which the screws must be tightened. The company also trained its workers who assemble the products to respond to the new characteristics.
Environmental indicators
Where relevant, OKI Printing Solutions' products have the EU Energy Star accreditation. This enables businesses to make an informed choice when selecting an energy efficient product for their organisation, helping towards alleviating climate change. As well as benefiting the environment, businesses can also save money by choosing products with low energy consumption.
Other accreditations which OKI Printing Solutions has received for its products include Eco Circle, which incorporates all the elements necessary to meet localised approvals, for example, Nordic Swan and Blue Angel - additional environmental indicators used across Europe.
Effective recycling
Consumables collection and recycling scheme
In July 2004, OKI Printing Solutions launched the consumables returns programme. At a local level, this initiative encourages the company's sales offices to collect used toner cartridges, image drums, fusers, etc before sending taking them to a nominated recycler where they are cleaned and the materials separated for recycling. Alternatively, low-volume users have the option of returning their cartridges in a 'returns bag' free of charge. Currently, OKI Printing Solutions enables the recycling of up to 90 per cent of the materials separated in the consumables returns process.
In 2006, OKI Printing Solutions invested almost €2million in the implementation and ongoing maintenance of environmental initiatives that will continue to be developed year on year. This includes providing and expanding our freepost option for customers' used toner cartridges, the development of bespoke processes to suit larger end users and all associated costs of recycling.
Currently, OKI Printing Solutions does not remanufacture any items. This ensures no sub-standard consumables are supplied to customers. However, the company is conducting research into this area to see if it is possible to use remanufactured items whilst providing its usual high standards of quality and reliability.
