DENSO's new environmental policy covers
trash, water use, emissions and more
It was a mistake.
It was a mistake that led DENSO to focus on environmental consideration long
before many other companies.
Here’s what happened.
Some time after DENSO established its first factory in the midst of the rice farms
in rural Kariya, Japan, we accidentally released wastewater that contaminated the rice
farms around us, causing a poor rice crop for local farmers. While DENSO immediately
responded by totally changing the factory’s wastewater drainage system, the event was
a forceful reminder that we cannot exist without considering the environment and the
communities around us.
That happened nearly 50 years ago, but we will never forget it.
One of DENSO’s key management principles remains: Environmental reservation
and harmony with society. That’s not an easy principle to maintain with an estimated
800 million automobiles in operation around the world.
“Automobiles are an essential part of our daily lives,” said Mitsuo “Matt”
Matsushita, DENSO International America (DIAM) president and CEO. “But they do
have a negative impact on the environment. So it’s our responsibility to do everything
we can to reduce that environmental burden and realize an advanced automotive
society where autos and people can co-exist in harmony.”
And that’s why the North American environmental team has created a five-year
environmental action plan for North America. The plan is based on DENSO’s global
EcoVision 2015, our most recent 10-year environmental strategy for worldwide DENSO
group companies.
DENSO’s environmental action plan kicked off in April at all DENSO group
companies in North America, and DIAM announced the plan in March to journalists at a
special media event.
The action plan is divided into four categories:
Eco Products: DENSO will develop products that are
lightweight and energy saving and consider environmental
improvement. We will reduce our use of resources; control and
reduce environmentally hazardous substances such as hexavalent
chromium, cadmium, mercury and lead, and make environmental
planning part of the product design process.
Eco Factory: We will work to reduce the environmental
impact of our manufacturing facilities through reduced water
reduced CO2 emissions; reducing landfill waste, and reducing
emissions of hazardous substances.
Eco Management: DENSO will develop environmental
action plans and reinforce environmental partnerships
with suppliers through activities such as developing green
procurement guidelines and promoting the purchase of
environmentally friendly products.
Eco Friendly: We will encourage and support environmental
activities; proactive information disclosure and communication
with stakeholders; environmental education, and environmental
and social contributions.
“This isn’t just a fad, and this isn’t just a new horizon,” said
Matsushita. “When we say we’re going to use less energy and
resources, reduce emissions of hazardous substances and reduce
landfill waste, we mean it, as we have done historically.”
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DENSO’s commitment to the environment was the topic of
our news conference at the North American International
Auto Show in Detroit, Mich., earlier this year. More than 60
journalists attended the news conference and interviewed
DENSO executives, including Mitsuo “Matt” Matsushita,
DENSO International America president and CEO.
By the numbers
In manufacturing facilities
DENSO will reduce:
• Water use to 50 percent of our
1999 levels.
• Landfill waste by 75 percent of
1999 levels
• Hazardous substance emissions
by 30
percent of 2000 levels
• CO2 emissions by 18 percent
(by 6 percent in
non-manufacturing facilities)
By 2010, DENSO will eliminate four hazardous
substances from DENSO products and
processes: mercury, cadmium, hexavalent
chromium and lead.
Gary Vasilash, editor of Automotive Design and Production magazine,
quizzes Gary Hughes (center) and Cory Tallent (right), both of DENSO
Manufacturing Tennessee, about their gold-medal winning Quality Circle
team, House of Payne. House of Payne helped DMTN save money and
the environment by developing a system that reduces and reuses the
ink waste created during the instrument cluster printing process. DENSO
manufacturing facilities in Takatana, Japan; Laguna, Philippines, and
Guadalupe, Mexico are incorporating this improvement into their plants. |
