About us > CSR Activities > Environmental Report > Efforts at Each Stage of Product Life Cycle > Product Use Stage — Evaluation of Environmental Impact of Products
Product Use Stage — Evaluation of Environmental Impact of Products
Kyocera Document Solutions implements life cycle assessment (LCA) on all its products in order to evaluate and, ultimately, reduce the negative environmental impact of products over their entire life cycle.
What is LCA?
LCA is the method of visualizing the overall environmental impacts of each product and service, by clarifying the numerical values of the amount of consumed resources, consumed energy and generated waste at every life stage of the product/service concerned, including "resources procurement," "production," "transportation," "use," "waste disposal" and "recycling."
This visualization of environmental impacts (which takes the form of global warming, depletion of natural resources, etc.) enables us to make an objective evaluation of the effectiveness of our environmental action plans and achievements.
The LCA scheme is officially stipulated by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the calculation method of LCA is prescribed by ISO14040 and ISO14044. Also, the standardized declaration process is described in ISO14025.
We have acquired the EcoLeaf environmental label (the only Type III environmental label using the LCA tool in Japan) for our products. Building an internal data collecting system for implementing LCA and acquiring EcoLeaf System Certification has made it possible for the company to continue implementing LCA and to release information on EcoLeaf-certified products to the public in a timely manner.
• Life Cycle Stages
Expected Effects of LCA
Implementation of LCA is expected to produce the following effects:
- 1The conversion of impacts into numerical values enables us to make a logical choice of an optimal technology or the best method among multiple options.
- 2Visualization of environmental impacts in each stage of a life cycle enables us to clearly understand, specifically, what measures in which stage are the most effective in reducing environmental impacts.
- 3Understanding of environmental impacts (and the level of significance thereof) in respective stages enables us to be prepared for any potential consequence (such as a consequent emerging problem) in a specific stage, and to implement any necessary measures to prevent identified impacts from affecting other stages.
- 4Clarification of numerical values that show the effectiveness of measures and the degree of effectiveness enables us to use these values as grounds for scientific and objective judgment and determination of measures.
- 5The utilization of LCA data as our product data, which can be released through our website once the product is introduced into the market, enables us to ensure the timely provision of environmental information to the public.
Reducing Environmental Impact at Each Stage with LCA
As an example of reducing environmental impact, we will explain the evaluation of our most recent MFP (multifunctional product). We compared the new A3 color MFP, the TASKalfa 4053ci with the TASKalfa 4052ci, a previous model with almost the same specifications.
Specifications of Target Products
| Factor | TASKalfa 4053ci | TASKalfa 4052ci |
|---|---|---|
| New product | Previous model | |
| Printing speed (number of prints per minute) | Mono 40/Color 40 | Mono 40/Color 40 |
| Weight (kg) | 95 | 95 |
| Number of sheets that can be printed during lifetime | Mono 480,000/Color 480,000 | Mono 480,000/Color 480,000 |
| Release date | January 2019 | August 2016 |
• Examples of Assessment Results
Evaluation Results
Compared to the previous TASKalfa4052ci, our new TASKalfa4053ci reduces global warming-causing emissions by 17% over its entire life cycle. Most of the product's global warming impact is due to electricity consumed during the stages of material manufacturing, standby, use of the product, and consumable supplies, such as toner. We have made various efforts to reduce the global warming impact in these stages of the product life cycle. As for TASKalfa 4053ci, 6% of the environmental impact was reduced at the stage of material manufacturing, and 45% of impact was reduced at the stage of consumable usage, due to the reduction of packaging materials.
Environmental Education for Engineers
In order to promote the design of environmentally-conscious products, it is necessary to engage in design with a full understanding of why environmentally-conscious design is so important.
Education about our chemical substance control system, 3R*, environmental labels of each country, and outline of LCA are provided to young engineers in the technical division. Also, practical operations education, such as environmental labels of each country and their requirements, environmentally-conscious design standards, and the method of calculating LCA is provided to the persons in charge of development of the products.
*3R: Reduce·Reuse·Recycle
Main Education for Young Engineers
- Chemical substance control system in Kyocera Document Solutions
- 3R
- Environmental labels of each country
- Energy conservation regulations of each country
- Outline of LCA
Main Education for the Persons in charge of Development of the Products
- Environmental labels of each country and their requirements
- Environment-Conscious Design Standards
- Method of calculating LCA
- Chemical substance control system in Kyocera Document Solutions
- KYOCERA Document Solutions' CSR
- Environmental Report
- Efforts at Production Centeres and Offices
- Efforts at Each Stage of Product Life Cycle
- Product Development Stage — ECOSYS Concept
- Raw Material and Part Procurement Stage — Control of Chemical Substances Contained in Products
- Distribution Stage — ECO Logistics
- Product Use Stage — Evaluation of Environmental Impact of Products
- Product Use Stage — Environment-Consciousness of Products
- Product Use Stage — Compliance with Environmental Product Standards
- End-of Life Stage — Recovery and Recycling of Used Toner Containers
- Social Performance Report
- Plant Report
- Feature
- Download CSR Report
- Other
About us > CSR Activities > Environmental Report > Efforts at Each Stage of Product Life Cycle > Product Use Stage — Evaluation of Environmental Impact of Products