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CSR Procurement Guidelines

2.Pollution and resources (air, wastewater, hazardous waste, waste reduction, raw materials, etc.)

2.1 Compliance with environmental laws and regulations

  • It is necessary to understand and comply with the environmental laws and regulations of the country, and obtain, maintain, and manage the required environmental permits, licenses, and registrations.

2.2　Green procurement

  • To reduce environmental impact associated with the provision of products and services, business partners are asked to give priority to procuring from suppliers who actively work to conserve the global environment (e.g., by taking steps to prevent global warming, recycling resources, and working to preserve biodiversity).

2.3　Chemical substance management

  • It is necessary to identify, label, and manage chemical and other substances posing hazards to humans or the environment, and to ensure safe handling, transport, storage, use, recycling, reuse, and disposal of such substances.
  • During the manufacturing process, it is necessary to comply with regulations and directives concerning prohibition, restriction, and management levels of specific substances contained in products, as well as satisfying any accompanying requirements from customers.

2.4　Effective utilization of resources and waste reduction

  • It is necessary to implement appropriate waste management based on laws and regulations and also to reduce, reuse and recycle to effectively utilize resources and minimize the environmental impact of waste generation.
  • We must continuously work to reduce waste by setting voluntary waste reduction targets and minimizing the amount of waste generated.

2.5　Environmental consideration in product design and in handled products

  • It is necessary to strive to design products with consideration for the environment, with attention to such areas as saving resources, energy-efficient design, and compliance with regulations on chemical substances contained in products.

Supplementary Explanations

2.1　Compliance with environmental laws and regulations
Environmental laws and regulations in Japan include the following:

  • Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act, Air Pollution Control Act, Water Pollution Control Act, Act on Rational Use and Appropriate Management of Fluorocarbons, laws on the management of chemical substances, Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act, and Energy Savings Act

Some of these laws include the obligation to assign a manager who has obtained a qualification stipulated by law. Among them are the Wastes Management and Public Cleansing Act (a manager for specially controlled industrial waste), Energy Savings Act (an energy manager in plants that use a certain level of energy), and Air Pollution Control Act (a pollution prevention manager at plants that emit chemical substances, dust, or smoke).
Furthermore, companies may be obligated to assign a manager responsible for poisonous/ deleterious substance management, designated chemical substance management, and hazardous substance management, depending on the chemical substances used in their businesses.
It may also be necessary to receive permission for facilities that handle hazardous substances and environmental impact assessments, depending on the type of business conducted and the location of plants.

2.2　Green procurement
Azbil distributes the “azbil Group Green Procurement Standards” to explain transactions involving raw materials, parts, consignment production, and processed goods required for product production, and we ask azbil Group business partners to submit a Green Procurement Evaluation Form. We begin to transact business when our evaluation standards have been met, and we continue to periodically update and evaluate our green procurement activities accordingly.

2.3　Chemical substance management
In Japan, companies must manage substances according to the Chemical Substance Control Act, Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act, Industrial Safety and Health Act, Fire Service Act, and the PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register). They must also pay attention to chemical substance management in manufacturing processes.

The same is true of the substances contained in products. Companies must consider customers’ requirements in addition to complying with laws and regulations in Japan and overseas (such as the destination countries of overseas products). They are also responsible for managing the components that go into their products. Therefore, upstream companies must provide downstream companies with the necessary information. Taking exports to the EU as an example, such information would cover RoHS and REACH among other pertinent regulations as well as specifics on the relevant controlled substances. Companies must also consider the substances that are added, mixed, or bonded during the manufacturing process.
In addition, organic solvents with GHS compliance labels that are used on-site in rust-proofing, paints, adhesives, and cleaning during construction, maintenance, and inspection are subject to the law.

The azbil Group has set “Guidelines for the Construction of Chemical Substance Management Systems” to prevent environmental pollution caused by hazardous chemical substances contained in our products. We ask for the understanding and cooperation of our business partners in striving to reduce hazardous chemical substances throughout the supply chain.

2.4　Effective utilization of resources and waste reduction
It is necessary to identify and manage waste not identified to be hazardous even when discarding it, to implement a systematic approach for responsible disposal or recycling, and to work to reduce waste. Means for achieving these aims include changing production facilities at the source, substituting materials, reusing resources, and recycling. Voluntarily setting targets and taking action accordingly is also an effective way of complying with laws and regulations.

Major laws and regulations in Japan include the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act, the Basic Act on Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society, and various recycling laws.

2.5　Environmental consideration in product design and in handled products
Aiming to create environmentally friendly products, Azbil conducts environmental assessments in eight categories (energy efficiency, resource conservation, environmental conservation, long-term usability, reuse/recycling, ease of disposal, packaging materials, and provision of information) and then assesses new products by comparing their improvements over equivalent existing products.