Seiko Epson uses recycled paper for development

At the foot of the Alps in Nagano Prefecture in Japan, Lake Suwa, which is surrounded by clear water, moistens nearby residents. The world-famous Seiko Epson Group was born in 1942 in a quiet environment. The company’s entrepreneurs of the year once set an oath: They must not pollute Suwa Lake and must not cause trouble to local residents and strive to become a factory that people accept. The heirs of the company carry forward the beliefs of the older generation and realize the promise of “symbiosis—friendship with nature” in the development of the company.

Clear water and flowers in harmony with fish

At the end of February in Japan, the beginning of spring was early, and it was 200 kilometers north of Tokyo. Seiko Epson’s headquarters is located in a densely populated residential area in the city center. A dial-shaped pool outside the front door reminds people of the company’s world-renowned housekeeping product, the Seiko quartz watch. Today, quartz watches account for less than 10% of company sales. With the continuous availability of information and electronic components such as printers, projectors, semiconductors, liquid crystal displays, and crystal oscillators, Seiko has become a globally renowned company. Its name also evolved into Seiko Epson. "Eppe" means printing, "birth" means descendants. The new name means that the business created by the older generation is handed down from generation to generation.

Into the Seiko Epson headquarters building, everywhere there are three different shapes of the logo. In the oval pattern, "living colors" are written. In the diamond pattern, energy-saving words are marked. The meaning of the two patterns in one place is to be a pioneer in environmental protection. Another round of "symbiosis" signs depicting fish, flowers, and water gives a harmonious beauty. "Our business philosophy is to give priority to customers, to environmental protection, and strive to become a company that is trusted by people all over the world, to develop together with the community, and to open up." Mr. Kusabaro, General Manager of the Seiko Epson Group, is concise and concise. Mr. Kusama who joined Seiko Epson in 1963 experienced decades of ups and downs in the company's growth and witnessed Seiko Epson's focus on environmental protection.

Kusama Saburo believes that: “In the corporate social responsibility, including the concern for the global environment. The investment in the environment can not measure its profitability in the short term, it should be viewed in the long-term perspective. It is necessary to do Further investment should also be implemented. In the end, this has a close relationship with enhancing corporate competitiveness."

It was out of this recognition that as early as the 1960s, Seiko Epson proposed the slogan of “Ensuring Labor Safety and Health”; in the 1970s, it formulated stricter internal standards than Japan’s anti-pollution laws, in terms of energy saving and sewage A large amount of money was invested in processing. In 1988, Seiko Epson made an amazing move. It was the first to issue the “Freund-Free Declaration” to the world and set a goal to completely abolish Freon within four years.

Mr. Kimura, who had participated in this environmental action, was currently the vice president of Seiko Epson. He said: “We used to clean the circuit board with Freon. We learned later that this kind of thing would destroy the ozone layer of the atmosphere and we made such a comprehensive repeal. The Declaration on the use of Freon was considered impossible at the time, but we just wanted to make the impossible possible, and finally found a solution based on our own strength. This declaration enhanced the company’s international image and promoted our global trade. ."

Environmental management must start from scratch

At the Seiko Epson headquarters, the reporter also saw the vice chairman of the bridge. In the desert of Inner Mongolia in October last year, the reporter had interviewed Mr. Qiaozuo when he was participating in the "China Desertification Green Support" sponsored by Seiko Epson. Mr. Qiao Zou, who has 40 years of service, is the company’s Minister of the Ministry of the Environment and focuses on environmental management.

What are the contents of environmental management? Mr. Shiqiao explained that the core of this concept is: to coordinate corporate activities with the global environment as the goal, and actively commit to high-level environmental protection. As a corporate citizen who abides by his duties, all products produced must exceed international organizations. The highest standards established require that the quality of the product include environmental performance. For this reason, Seiko Epson has adopted Quality + Environment/Cost/Delivery as the basic policy for environmental management since 2003.

This policy is mainly composed of five aspects: creating and providing products that are in harmony with the environment; reforming the entire process flow, setting up new technological processes to achieve the goal of reducing the environmental burden; promoting the recovery and reuse of used commodities; Contribute information publicly to the international community; continuously improve the environmental management system. "We require full participation and joint efforts."

The environmental management of Seiko Epson is not a slogan but a real goal. One of the company's new goals is: By 2005, completely eliminate the uselessness of the current production process, further realize high functionalities, reform and shorten the existing technology, and reduce energy consumption by about 40%. By 2010, through technological innovation, the complex process of up to about 300 steps will now be reduced to 80 steps, and energy consumption will be reduced by about 84%.

In order to meet the high standards proposed by the company, Seiko Epson has developed a number of major energy-saving technologies. What they are most proud of is the “Overall Map of the Expandable Minimal Fab Concept”. Mr. Shiqiao explained that the current production of electronic components often requires the construction of an ultra-large clean room, which consumes a lot of energy. The "Minimum Expandable Fab Concept" miniaturizes and standardizes cleanrooms, minimizing energy, materials, space, and production time. This not only reduces environmental impact, but also improves work efficiency, reduces production costs, and strengthens The competitiveness of the company.

In environmental management, we must focus on the bigger picture and more on the smaller ones. When the reporter visited the company, he found that in the washroom of the internal washroom and in each compartment, an automatic control system was installed to turn on the lights and the lights went off; the lights that were not used in the office were all turned off, and the temperature was adjusted at any time; Visitors to the company, any employees of the company can not use paper cups; after the paper is used on both sides, they must be used for pasting the bills for reimbursement; many materials used by the company are recycled paper.

In addition to the social benefits, how does Seiko Epson's environmental management benefit the company? The general manager of Kusama Saburo believes that “we have entered an era in which society has generally demanded that environmental performance be regarded as the quality of products. Paying attention to environmental protection has become the foundation for business survival. In fiscal 2002, we invested 19.2 billion yen for environmental protection. The increase of 28% year-on-year was mainly due to the development of environmental goods and energy-saving production processes, and at the same time, we achieved an economic effect of 7.06 billion yen.In this 7 billion yen, due to energy saving and The effect of recycling of waste accounts for 83%. Our environmental investment has increased year after year and will continue to be so in the future."