Initiatives to Become a Resource Recycling Society
Initiatives to Become a Resource Recycling Society
Tamron places importance on the 3Rs by cutting down on waste from raw materials (Reduce), utilizing materials and water that can be repeatedly used (Reuse) and using materials again (Recycle), and carries out initiatives to ensure that resources can be efficiently recycled.
Material Balance
In Japan, Tamron carries out design work, creates prototypes and fabricates metal molds at its head office plant located in Saitama Prefecture, while the Namioka Plant manufactures lenses, the Owani Plant molds plastic components, and the Hirosaki Plant assembles products. Tamron manufactures parts and assembles products at Tamron Optical (Foshan) in China and at Tamron Optical (Vietnam).
These sites use electricity, heavy oil, kerosene and other energy sources for developing, designing and manufacturing, which produce CO2. Our plants in Namioka, Foshan and Vietnam also use water for polishing and cleaning lens elements. The Owani Plant and Tamron Optical (Foshan) manufacture plastics used to make peripheral components for lenses, and these processes produce runner materials(*1) and other waste. Air cargo, marine shipping, and trucks are used to transport components and products between plants, which results in CO2 emissions from the burning of fuel.
1. Waste material that occurs when pouring plastic resin during the production process.
| INPUT | Tamron | OUTPUT | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit | Unit | |||||||
| Iron | 8,228 | t | Procurement of raw materials and parts | CO2 emissions | 162,403 | t-CO2 | ||
| Glass | 1,576 | t | ||||||
| Plastic | 584 | t | ||||||
| Resin | 293 | t | ||||||
| Paper | 118 | t | ||||||
| Chemicals | 65 | t | ||||||
| Cardboard | 43 | t | ||||||
| Energy | 713,000 | GJ | Development, design and production at Tamron | CO2 emissions | 43,247 | t-CO2 | ||
| Electric power | 77,877 | 103kWh | Electric power | 42,476 | t-CO2 | |||
| Heavy oil | 179 | kℓ | Heavy oil | 485 | t-CO2 | |||
| Kerosene | 9 | kℓ | Kerosene | 23 | t-CO2 | |||
| Diesel | 14 | kℓ | Diesel | 37 | t-CO2 | |||
| Gasoline | 1 | kℓ | Gasoline | 2 | t-CO2 | |||
| LPG | 4 | 103m3 | LPG | 26 | t-CO2 | |||
| Natural gas | 89 | 103m3 | Natural gas | 198 | t-CO2 | |||
| Water | 810 | 103m3 | Water discharged | 485 | 103m3 | |||
| Clean water | 631 | 103m3 | ||||||
| Groundwater | 179 | 103m3 | Products | 1,113 | t | |||
| Water reused and recycled | 8 | 103m3 | Total amount of discharged matter generated | 1,990 | t | |||
| Industrial waste (*2) | 1,353 | t | ||||||
| Chemicals | 7 | t | General waste | 637 | t | |||
| Recycling | 1,116 | t | ||||||
| Plastic (*4) | 171 | t | ||||||
| Cardboard | 285 | t | ||||||
| Genaral waste (thermal recycling) | 133 | t | ||||||
| Waste liquid | 186 | t | ||||||
| Waste oil | 114 | t | ||||||
| Metal | 172 | t | ||||||
| Paper | 36 | t | ||||||
| Polishing sludge | 13 | t | ||||||
| Other | 6 | t | ||||||
| Energy (*1) | 204 | kℓ | Transportation | CO2 emissions | 525 | t-CO2 | ||
| Diesel | 167 | kℓ | Diesel | 439 | t-CO2 | |||
| Gasoline | 37 | kℓ | Gasoline | 86 | t-CO2 | |||
| Electric power | 2,559 | 103kWh | Use | CO2 emissions | 1,292 | t-CO2 | ||
Sites covered：
Head office (including Tokyo Office and Osaka Sales Office), the plants in Aomori Prefecture, Tamron Optica (l Foshan) and Tamron Optica (l Vietnam).
Site coverage：96%
1. Data during transportation covers energy used to transport parts and finished products by ground and commercial vehicles connecting Tamron's satellite offices in Japan and Tamron Optical(Vietnam).Tamron Optica (l Foshan) data covers company-owned vehicles only.
Reference guideline：
Manual for Calculating and Reporting Greenhouse Gas Emissions Ver. 4.4
2. Regarding to Pollutant Released & Transfer Registered (PRTR) substances, industrial waste includes 1.3 tons of xylene and 1.9 tons of ethylbenzene. 0.3 tons of xylene and 0.5 tons of ethylbenzene were also released into the atmosphere.
3. The amount of plastics recycled represented 69 tons of thermal energy and 102 tons of material.
Waste Reduction
In order to reduce waste, we are working to reduce the amount of waste, through setting goals for each site, improving production methods. In addition, we are working on recycling waste plastics etc., aiming at zero emissions *.
*Tamron's definition of zero emissions is recycling more than 98% of the industrial waste it produces.
Waste generations
Promoting Design for the Environment (DfE)
Tamron manufactures environmentally friendly products by placing emphasis on the 3 Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle). At the design review stage of product development, we assess the extent to which we have achieved a longer service life (longer use, easier repair), resource savings (lighter weight, more compact, reduction in the number of parts, use of recycled materials, easier disassembly), and energy savings (lower power consumption at manufacture and use stages). Products that are environmentally friendly and that meet Tamron voluntary standards are certified as being Tamron Eco Label products. See here for certified products.
Tamron certifies environmentally friendly products under in-house standards
Photo lenses: List of models presented with the Eco Label
Surveillance/machine vision products: List of models presented with the Eco Label
Regulation of Hazardous Substances
Tamron develops products in line with the policy of not using harmful chemical substances in its materials. Tamron also implements internal analysis work using equipment including Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES) and Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) to ensure only the safest and most secure products are delivered to customers. Tamron’s systems also allow us to analyze four additional substances of RoHS, in addition to the original six substances.
In 2019, the scope of application of RoHS is being expanded from the original six substances ‒ Cadmium, Lead, Hexavalent chromium, Mercury, Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), and Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) – to include four additional substances, all of which are types of phthalates : Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP). Tamron’s systems also allow it to analyze these four substances. Tamron is also establishing the frameworks and systems needed to ensure compliance with other new regulations relating to the control of harmful chemical substances that may be established in different countries around the world in the future.
*PBB and PBDE are brominated flame retardants and are also endocrine disruptors (environmental hormones).
