Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through manufacturing

In FY2011, the Group pressed forward with a variety of energy-saving measures, including countering air leakage in machining lines, aluminum melting furnaces, and heat-treatment furnaces; and ensuring facilities are switched off when not in operation. As a result, the amount of CO₂ emitted per ¥100 million in net sales fell by 4.4% compared to the previous fiscal year, to 40.5 tons.

Moving forward, AISIN will strive to reduce CO₂ emissions, aiming for a 12% reduction in emissions per ¥100 million in net sales by FY2016 compared to FY2008 levels.

Total emissions of CO₂ / sales unit
(From the Group's 10 main manufacturing companies in Japan^*1)

Emissions of non-CO₂ greenhouse gases
(From the Group's 10 main manufacturing companies in Japan)

(tons-CO2)	FY2009	FY2010	FY2011
HFCs*2	531	429	14
SF6*	82,455	3,585	8,365

^*1The Group's 10 main manufacturing companies in Japan: Aisin Seiki, Aisin Takaoka, Aisin Chemical, Aisin AW, Aisin Keikinzoku, Aisin Kiko, Aisin AI, Aisin Sin'ei, Aisin AW Industries, Hosei Brake Industry
^*2Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs): Greenhouse gases with a warming effect estimated to be from 140 to 14,800 times that of CO₂
^*3Sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆): A greenhouse gas with a warming effect estimated at 23,900 times that of CO₂

Reducing CO₂ emissions from aluminum melting furnaces (Aisin Seiki)

Aisin Seiki introduced a system that automatically optimizes the fuel gas/air mixture ratio for burners for five aluminum melting furnaces.

This made it possible for the Company to reduce fuel gas use and lower annual CO₂ emissions by 1,125 tons.

Improving the fuel/air mixture ratio

Reducing amount of materials for metal molds to lower CO₂ emissions (Aisin Seiki)

Outer frames of metal molds degrade considerably more slowly than inner frames, which come into direct contact with the molded material. However, in conventional molds, the outer and inner frames are formed as an integral piece, making it necessary to replace the mold in its entirety, including the undamaged outer frame, when the inner frame has degraded.

Aisin Seiki therefore modified the molds so that they have a cassette-type structure in which the outer and inner frames are provided as separate elements. This configuration makes it possible to replace the inner frame only when it has degraded, without having to replace the outer frame as well. This allowed the Company to reduce the amount of energy used in the plant to manufacture the outer frame, thereby reducing annual CO₂ emissions by 292 tons.

Cassette-type mold structure

Air-blowing technical adjustments to reduce CO₂ emissions (Aisin AI)

Conventionally, a substantial amount of energy was used for air-blowing to remove spent chips during cutting processes.

Aisin AI reduced the number of air-blow pipes from five to one by establishing an aggregate configuration in which all spent chips are blown in a predetermined direction. As a result, the quantity of air used was reduced to less than a quarter, allowing the amount of CO₂ emitted through energy consumption to be reduced by 1.32 tons per year.

Blow pipes

Compressors upgraded to energy-efficient models (Hosei Brake Industry)

Coordinated air valve shutdown to reduce CO₂ emissions (Aisin Chemical)

Aisin Chemical linked the facility standby switch to the opening and closing of the air valves so that the supply of air is automatically halted when the facility is not in operation.

This reduced the amount of energy consumed by the air compressors, lowering CO₂ emissions by 6 tons a year.

Eco-friendly factory design (Aisin Chemical)

Reducing Power Consumption by Adding Insulation to Equipment (Aisin Sin'ei Co., Ltd.)

Insulation was applied to plastic molding machines in order to minimize heat loss, which helped reduce heating unit power consumption by 4,704 kWh annually.