Environmental FAQ
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Regarding Casio’s Environmental Activities.
Environmental Conservation Initiatives
What are Casio’s principles and basic policies on environmental conservation?
In 2021, Casio conducted a general reassessment of its existing environmental vision and environmental policy, and restructured them to create its new Environmental Principles.
The new Environmental Principles bring together all of the elements in a single framework, from the Casio Group Environmental Vision at the top, to the Casio Group Basic Policies and the Casio Group Environmental Action Guidelines, down to the Casio Green Targets 2024, which are targets for separate environmental initiatives taken by each organization. Casio is working hard to ensure that its long-term policies and short-term initiatives are integrated and consistent.
What are some of the major milestones in Casio’s development of environmental policies and initiatives?
| In 1991, | Casio formed the Casio Environmental Conservation Committee, chaired by an executive vice president (at that time). |
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| In 1993, | Casio established the Casio Environmental Charter and Environmental Fundamental Policies, along with the Casio Voluntary Plan for the Environment, which set out specific measures to take in areas from material procurement to collection and recycling. Today, these guide environmental conservation activities across the entire Casio Group. |
| In 1994, | Casio began releasing G-SHOCK dolphin and whale watches as environmental collaboration models. |
| In 1995, | Casio issued an environmental pamphlet (precursor of the Environmental Report). |
| In 1997, | Casio obtained its first ISO 14001 certification. |
| In 1999, | Casio issued the Environmental Report and established the Casio Environmental Action Plan (Clean & Green 21). |
| In 2000, | Casio established Green Procurement Standards. |
| In 2001, | Casio established the Casio Group Guidelines for Green Product Development and launched the Casio Green Products 30 (C.G.P.30) campaign. |
| In 2006, | Casio issued the Corporate Report 2006 (published annually thereafter). |
| In 2009, | Casio began certification of Green Star Products, and issued the Casio Environmental Vision and Casio’s Environmental Declaration as well as the 16th Casio Environmental Action Plan including medium and long-term targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction. |
| In 2010, | Casio issued the Sustainability Report 2010, and established the biodiversity guidelines. |
| In 2012, | Casio revised its environmental vision and declaration to the Casio Environmental Vision 2050 and Casio Environmental Declaration 2020. Casio also established the Casio Green Star Plan. |
| In 2015, | Casio established the “Casio Group Paper Procurement Policy.” |
| In 2017, | Casio Computer Co., Ltd. (Hatsudai Headquarters, Hamura R&D Center, and Hachioji R&D Center) integrated its ISO 14001 environmental management system. Casio also established a committee to promote initiatives on the environmental themes—among its material issues—of realizing a low carbon society, building a recycling society, and living in harmony with nature. Casio updated the medium- to long-term goals for greenhouse gas reduction. |
| In 2018, | Casio concluded a “Tokyo Waterworks: Corporate Forest (Naming Rights)” agreement with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Bureau of Waterworks, and began Casio Forest activities. |
| In 2019, | Casio updated its environmental materiality themes by changing “Realizing a low-carbon society” to “Realizing a decarbonized society.” |
| In 2020, | Casio concluded an agreement on collaboration to reduce plastic waste with Hayama. Casio’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets were validated by SBTi and Casio endorsed the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Information Disclosures. |
| In 2021, | Casio established the Casio Group Environmental Vision, the Casio Group Basic Policies, the Casio Group Environmental Action Guidelines, and the Casio Green Targets 2024, all in a single framework entitled “Environmental Principles.” Casio joined RE100. |
| In 2022, | Casio concluded an agreement for reducing plastic waste with Higashine City in Yamagata Prefecture. Casio concluded an agreement on collaboration to reduce plastic waste with Komagane City in Nagano Prefecture and ktk INC. |
Since 1999, Casio has been disclosing all information on its environmental activities, in its Environmental Report, which later became the CSR Report, the Corporate Report and the Sustainability Report.
Measures to Address Climate Change
What is Casio doing to follow up on the Paris Agreement?
The objective of the Paris Agreement is to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. To achieve that goal, the agreement set out the target of net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by the second half of this century.
In 2020, Casio revised its own medium- and long-term goals, aligning them with efforts to build a decarbonized society. The goal may need to be made even more ambitious in the future to realize a decarbonized society, and Casio will respond appropriately while keeping a close eye on trends in the international community.
Environmental Action Plan
Does Casio have an environmental action plan? If so, please describe the details.
After identifying material environmental issues, Casio established the Casio Environmental Action Targets to clarify its medium- and long-term numerical targets and the deadlines for implementation. The Group is carrying out a plan to achieve those targets using mechanisms based on an ISO 14001 environmental management system.
Environmental Risk Prevention Measures
What kind of system does Casio have for managing environmental risk?
As part of risk management at facilities, each Casio production site and major office has established rules and procedures in order to minimize environmental risks. This is based on emergency preparedness and response, which is a requirement for ISO 14001 certification.
Casio conducts environmentally appropriate design assessments as part of its product risk management activities, and works painstakingly to confirm legal and regulatory compliance, verify usage of hazardous substances, adopt measures to conserve energy and resources, and ensure that environmental adaptations are made for the 3Rs (reuse, reduce, recycle).
Eco-products
What kind of initiatives does Casio have for making eco-products?
Casio is committed to the development of eco-products in terms of planning, design, and engineering, in order to minimize the environmental impact of its products. In 1993, Casio began product assessment evaluations to encourage the systematization of eco-products. Under this system, preliminary evaluations were made of new products for their impact on the environment, and products that passed the standards were certified as Casio Green Products.
In 2009, Casio began certifying Casio Green Star Products, which are products that received excellent evaluations. Then, in 2016, Casio began certifying Casio Super Green Star Products, which have even higher environmental performance.
Green Procurement and Green Purchasing
What is the status of green procurement at Casio?
Casio has implemented its Green Procurement Standards to comply with various regulations concerning chemical substances contained in products. The standards apply to all parts and raw materials that are included in products manufactured by its production sites.
Casio also manages the levels of chemical substances in components and raw materials as legally required. The Green Procurement Standards are regularly updated to reflect the latest environmental laws and regulations.
Waste Reduction Measures
What is Casio doing to reduce waste emissions?
Casio’s production sites and main offices operate an ISO 14001 environmental management system and dispose of waste properly in accordance with local laws. Casio is strengthening both its initiatives to reduce the generation of waste and initiatives to increase its recycling rate.
Recycling for Used Products
What kind of recycling efforts for used products are you carrying out?
Collection and recycling of printer toner and drum sets, ink ribbons for label printers, and leased units.
Casio started collection and recycling in 1999.
Collection and recycling of PCs and rechargeable batteries
With the enactment of Japan’s Act on the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources in April 2001, Casio set up a system for collection and recycling of PCs and rechargeable batteries.
- Business PCs
Casio collects and recycles business PCs, which are first collected at Casio’s recycling centers and then entrusted to a recycling company. - Rechargeable batteries
Casio collects rechargeable batteries replaced by its service centers, and sends them to recycling companies designated by the Japan Portable Rechargeable Battery Recycling Center (JBRC).
What kind of recycling efforts is Casio carrying out for small electronic devices?
With regard to the recycling of rare metals contained in used small electronic devices such as cellular phones and digital cameras, Japan’s Act for Promoting Recycling of Used Small Electronic Devices came into effect on April 1, 2013 after a study group led by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of the Environment completed its work and collection trials were done by local governments.
Manufacturers are responsible for making their products easier to disassemble and are required to use recycled materials. Casio is conducting a review of its environmental design criteria while confirming industry association policy. As the Act applies to small devices, many Casio products will be affected, and Casio has been taking steps in partnership with the business sector. Casio cooperated in the production of the Recycling Design Guidelines for the Creation of Product Assessment Manuals by the Japan Business Machine and Information System Industries Association (JBMIA) in 2014. Casio’s approach to environmentally sound design standards are therefore incorporated into those guidelines.
Biodiversity Preservation
What is Casio doing to protect biodiversity?
Casio’s efforts to help preserve biodiversity began in 1994 with a G-SHOCK environmental collaboration product, the Dolphin and Whale Model, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2019.
Casio carries out activities based on its Biodiversity Guidelines, established in 2011. In 2015, focusing on indirect impacts in the supply chain, it established the Casio Group Paper Procurement Policy, under which it avoids purchasing paper products suspected of destroying forests with a high conservation value.
In 2017, Casio began shifting to certified paper for product catalogs in Japan and started conservation activities for rare plants and insects discovered in surveys of its business sites in Japan.
To enhance its support for nature conservation groups through collaboration models of watches, which began in 1994, in 2018 Casio launched employee participation in those groups’ activities as well as field activities such as Arakawa River Clean-aid and Casio Forest mainly powered by employee volunteers seeking to deepen understanding of social issues related to biodiversity.
For more details, visit the following link to the page on Living in Harmony with Nature.
Disclosure of Environmental Information
Terms such as "environmentally friendly" often seem vague. Does Casio have standards for such terms?
In January 2008, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment issued its Guidelines for Environmental Representations (Eco-labeling) with the aim of providing environmental labeling information that is easy for consumers to understand. Based on this, Casio has prepared and is now implementing the Casio Environmental Labeling Guidelines.
Initiatives to Reduce Environmental Impact, Such as Use of Clean Energy (Renewable Energy)
Do you have a track record of introducing clean energy?
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- Since first launching the SL-801 solar-powered calculator in 1981, Casio has developed, manufactured, and sold numerous calculators, watches, and clocks powered by solar cells.
- Some watch products use parts made with biomass plastic.
- Plastic use was reduced by reviewing the plastic packaging previously used with general watch products and instead using packaging materials that are made primarily with recycled paper.
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- As just one example of renewable energy use in Casio’s business facilities, the energy-saving building newly constructed for Casio Europe (Germany) in January 2009 features an air conditioning system that uses geothermal heat.
- Casio Thailand uses electricity generated with solar panels for a part of plant equipment.
- The electricity used at the main sites in Japan (Casio Computer Co., Ltd. headquarters, Hamura R&D Center and Hachioji R&D Center, Casio Techno Co., Ltd. headquarters and Technical Center, Casio Marketing Advance Co., Ltd.) was switched to renewable sources in fiscal 2022.
- The Casio Computer Co., Ltd. headquarters stores power by using power at night, when demand for power is relatively low, and uses a heat storage system for heating and cooling during the day, when activity is greatest.