About us > CSR Activities > Environmental Report > Environment-Consciousness at the Product Use Stage > Evaluation of Environmental Impact of Products

Evaluation of Environmental Impact of Products

Kyocera Document Solutions implements life cycle assessment (LCA) on all its products in order to grasp the negative environmental impact of products over their entire life cycle and then reduce it.

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 take the form of global warming, depletion of natural resources, etc.) enables us to make 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 have 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

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 also 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 effects 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 case of our most recent MFP (multifunctional product). We compared the new A3 monochrome MFP, the TASKalfa 2510i with the TASKalfa 256i, a previous model with almost the same specifications.

Specifications of Target Products

Factor	TASKalfa 2510i	TASKalfa 256i
Factor	New product	Previous model
Printing speed (number of prints per minute)	25	25
Weight (kg)	49	52
Design life (number of prints)	375,000	375,000
Date of release	November 2017	May 2012

• Examples of Assessment Results

Examples of Assessment Results

Evaluation Results

Compared to the previous TASKalfa256i, our new TASKalfa2510i reduces global warming-causing emissions by 17% over its entire life cycle. Most of the product's global warming impact is due to power consumed during use of the product, and consumable supplies such as toner. Our company is making various efforts to reduce global warming impact in these stages of the product life cycle. We have developed our own unique controller technology for managing power consumption, and achieved a major reduction of 30%.

Environmental Education for Engineers

In order to promote the design of environment-conscious products, it is necessary to engage in design with a full understanding of why environment-conscious design is so important.
Every year we conduct environmentally related education aimed at new employees in the Corporate R&D Division. The curriculum explores issues such as the question of, "Are the regulations regarding environment-conscious design that exist within our company related to worldwide laws, regulations, and environmental mark (label) acquisition," and ponders what kinds of social backgrounds in each country and region served as backdrops for the establishment of those environmental laws, regulations, and marks.

Main Subjects for Education