Reduction of Environmental Burden through Environmentally Conscious Products
Environmentally Conscious CSR/CSV Products
At Maxell Group, we evaluate the quantitative environmental impact of new products at each stage of their life cycle in accordance with environmentally conscious design assessment criteria at the design and development stages, and register those that meet certain standards as "environmentally conscious products." When a product does not meet the standards for "environmentally conscious products," we conduct environmentally conscious CSR/CSV product assessments. Products deemed to meet certain criteria through this assessment are registered as environmentally conscious CSR/CSV products that contribute to the achievement of the SDGs.
We are currently upholding a 100% registration ratio of environmentally conscious CSR/CSV products; as we seek to further reduce the environmental burden and solve social issues, we have decided to establish and award new certification standards that pick out excellent products from among the environmentally conscious CSR/CSV products with the goal of increasing awareness and motivation among product designers and developers, and initiatives to demonstrate the degree of contribution to environmental issues, a subject of heightened importance around the world.
These excellent products will be named and approved as "Eco Excellence," if they exceed certain standards when compared to existing products or products from other companies, based on five criteria: (1) CO2 reduction, (2) weight reduction, (3) use of recycled materials/materials with a low burden on the environment (alternative materials), (4) long life, and (5) recycling when the product is to be disposed of.
Environmental Design Assessment
Products and services that consume natural resources and energy contribute to global warming and resource depletion throughout their lifecycle (LCA: Life Cycle Assessment), from procurement and manufacturing to distribution, use, and disposal. The purpose of environmental design (eco-design) is to minimize this environmental impact.
CSR/CSV Product Assessment
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to address major challenges in the economy, society, and environment. Our products and services that contribute to the 17 goals and 169 targets of the international goals to be achieved by fiscal 2030 are evaluated and certified based on their value creation, applicability, and scope.
Sales Ratio of Environmentally Conscious CSR/CSV Products *1
In accordance with the "Act on the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources," Maxell has joined an association called the Japan Portable Rechargeable Battery Recycling Center (JBRC) and displays recycling symbols on the lithiumion batteries manufactured and sold, and promotes the use of the association's collection and recycling system to customers.
In fiscal 2023, through such supporting activities, the amount of small lithium-ion batteries collected by JBRC was 589 tons (100% compared to the previous year), which was approximately the same amount as in fiscal 2022. We believe that recycling is becoming an ingrained habit among consumers. With regard to projectors, in April 2019 we received approval from the Ministry of the Environment under the "wide area certification system" to promote recycling, and we have continued to collect projectors for recycling since then. As for hair dryers and shavers, they fall under the "Act on Promotion of Recycling of Small Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment," and collection is carried out by each municipality.
*1 Environmentally Conscious CSR/CSV Products include both environmentally Conscious products and CSR/CSV products.