Environmental Policy | Aisin Seiki Global Website

AISIN Consolidated Environmental Policy

In order to realize Aisin’s Corporate Principles, which are based on “Quality First”, we take an approach rooted in contributing to society and customers, a continuous process of improvement and respect for each and every person. Through business activities centering on monozukuri (manufacturing expertise in value-added products), we contribute to the creation of a sustainable society in which people will be able to coexist in harmony with the environment far into the future.

Establish annual policies based on a long-term vision and carry out continuous improvements and periodical reviews of our environmental management system toward achieving targeted objectives all over the world.
Promote efficient environmental management linking to original operations, through the sharing of information with governments, customers, local communities, suppliers and our employees, as well as cooperation with our consolidated companies.
Promote innovative technology, enrichment of facilities, greater and more enlightened training and awareness by investing adequate management resources.
Promote the development of new earth-friendly products and technologies that take life cycle into account, as well as environmentally friendly manufacturing.
In addition to complying with international standards, laws and regulations and pollution control agreements stipulated by respective countries, establish voluntary standards in an effort to prevent pollution.
Minimize usage and waste through resource and energy savings, procurement of materials with minimal environmental impact, logistics streamlining and expansion of recycling activities and other initiatives.
Promote global nature and environmental conservation activities.

Organizational Diagram of Consolidated Environmental Committee

Working groups lead AISIN Group’s environmental activities

ALL AISIN Working Groups play a crucial role in implementing AISIN Group’s environmental activities globally (see figure above). We currently have Energy-saving, Environmental Conservation, EMS and Products Environmental working groups. All of these consist largely of members from our 13 core group companies, with our affiliate companies also participating in these activities.

Common roles of working groups

Creation of medium- to long-term activity plans for each working group based on our consolidated medium- to long-term activity plans
Creation of annual activity plans based on the mediumto long-term activity plans for each working group and semiannual reporting of activities.
Establishment of various relevant consolidated guidelines, standards, etc.

Initiatives of our working groups

Energy-saving

Reduction of CO₂ emissions in our production work

Environmental conservation

Outperforming every other company in each region by achieving zero abnormalities and complaints related to the environment
(1) Legal compliance activities
(2) Risk management such as activities to prevent environmental accidents

EMS

Consolidated EMS training and training of consolidated auditors
Reporting of assessment plans at the All-Aisin Environment Meeting
Creation of EMS-related documents

Products

Investigation and sharing of elements such as indexes for measuring a product’s impact on the environment and methods for managing chemicals
Visualization of the degree to which we are contributing to environmentally friendly products
Investigation and sharing of trends in laws and regulations concerning the impact of products on the environment

Changes in the world around us

AISIN Group believes that it is important to adapt flexibly to the ever-changing world around us in order to build a sustainable society. In particular, environmental laws and regulations are becoming more and more stringent every year.

With our businesses expanding around the world, AISIN Group assesses the degree to which each country’s laws and regulations affect our business and discusses how to handle this. The measures that are decided on are adopted by the Consolidated Environmental Committee and other relevant committees, and are incorporated into our policies.

Vision for 2050>How our vision was established

Our future-looking Seventh Environmental Action Plan

AISIN Group has continuously strengthened its environmental initiatives by establishing AISIN Environmental Plans. Our Seventh Environmental Action Plan, which comes into effect from fiscal year 2022, contains plans and targets that are backcast like our SDG initiatives, rather than forecast like conventional plans. We are helping to build a sustainable society, with a particular focus on reducing CO₂.

Results of activities for the Sixth Environmental Action Plan in fiscal year 2020

Establishment of a low-carbon society

Evolutions: Reduction of CO₂ emissions to zero over the entire life cycle of products, from manufacture and use to disposal

Measures

FY2020 results

(1) Promotion and expansion of development of products with new functions for substantial reduction of CO₂ emissions

Began mass production of the eAxle electric drive unit (150kW) as part of initiatives to popularize EVs that emit no CO₂ at all while driving. The unit is used in Toyota’s CH-R and IZOA EVs
Began mass production of the next generation of cooperative regenerative brake systems, which enable reclamation of more energy (and are therefore more energy efficient) than conventional 4-wheel drive control as the front and rear wheels are controlled independently

(2) Increased transparency of factors that cause environmental load

Completed draft of scenarios for AISIN Group in FY2031 with the aim of achieving the reduction targets set in our LCAs^*1. Integration of scenarios for FY2031 at 4 design companies

(3) Reduction of CO₂ emissions in our production work
Overseas:
Establishment of a CO₂ reduction system similar to the one currently in place for operations in Japan
Japan:
Maintenance and continuation of the high level of our current CO₂ reduction system

Shared examples of energy conservation for the purpose of reducing CO₂ with local staff at personnel liaison meetings in China, Thailand, Europe and North America. Promoted energy conservation activities at each site

				FY2021	FY2020
Reduction coverage	Scope of business operations covered by reduction efforts	Item	Base year	Goal	Target	Result	Evaluation
CO₂ emissions from production	Global operations (consolidated CO₂ emissions from production in Japan and overseas)	Emissions per sales	FY2010	20%	18.2% reduction	20.2% reduction

(4) Establishment of an AISIN clean-energy factory and commencement of operation

Completed scenarios for reduction of CO₂ at 12 core manufacturing companies in AISIN Group by FY2031
Ascertained the current status of initiatives for renewable energy worldwide with the aim of optimal procurement for renewable energy within FY2021

(5) Improvement of transportation efficiency in distribution activities
Overseas:
Improvement of CO₂ reduction system in line with expansion of overseas operations
Japan:
Continuation of improvement activities through the shared use of specific CO₂ reduction methods (know-how)

Expanded joint delivery for AISIN Group as a whole in the Kanto region and introduced full trailers
Introduced 4 BDF^*2 trucks

				FY2021	FY2020
Reduction coverage	Scope of business operations covered by reduction efforts	Item	Base year	Goal	Target	Result	Evaluation
CO₂ emissions from distribution	Consolidated subsidiaries in Japan	Emissions per sales	FY2010	11%	10.0% reduction	15.2% reduction
CO₂ emissions from distribution	Overseas companies	Thorough understanding of results

Life Cycle Assessment, an assessment of reductions in CO₂ emissions across product lifecycles as part of the product development process
Biodiesel Fuel, a type of fuel made by collecting and refining food oils

Establishment of a recycling-oriented society

Evolution: Zero environmental load

Measures

FY2019 results

(6) Effective use of metallic resources during the development stage and all-out efforts to promote recycling

Completed activities to ascertain the current state of metallic resources that should be managed by AISIN Group, and confirmed that there is no problem at present

(7) Promotion of recycling of resources in production and distribution, and consequent reduction of the use of resources
Production:
Promotion of reuse of materials within the group
Distribution:
Reduction of packaging materials
Overall:
Shared use of recycling methods and all-out intra-group efforts to promote such methods

Created and shared 12 representative examples of waste reduction and recovery of valuable matter from for AISIN Group
Completed 7 examples of countermeasures against sources of issues overseas

				FY2021	FY2020
Reduction coverage	Scope of business operations covered by reduction efforts	Item	Base year	Goal	Target	Result	Evaluation
Waste materials	Consolidated subsidiaries in Japan	Emissions per sales	FY2010	28%	25.5% reduction	29.5% reduction
Waste materials	Overseas companies	Thorough understanding of results	FY2016	5%	4% reduction	－	－

(8) Effective use of water resources and full-scale efforts to promote recycling of water resources

Set water reduction targets at high-risk sites and began deliberation of measures

Reduction coverage	Scope of business operations covered by reduction efforts	Item
Water	Areas where there are many constraints	Assessed drought risk in FY2018 and identified high-risk sites with an emphasis on the impact on our sites Completed numerical targets in FY2020 and began assessing current status

Establishment of a society in which people coexist with nature

Evolution: Harmony with nature

Measures

FY2020 results

(9) Advance action ahead of the official enforcement of regulations of harmful chemical substances contained in products

Created a road map for the transition between now and FY2025 and shared it with group companies

(10)All-out efforts to prevent abnormal environmental situations

Completed written deliberation of AGES^*3 (exhaust)
Created AGES proposal (soil and groundwater)

(11)Reduction from production of chemical substances that cause environmental load
Overseas:
Establishment of a reduction system similar to the one that is currently in place for operations in Japan
Japan:
Maintenance and continuation of the high level of our current emission reduction system

Began building a chemical substances management system with a view to the merger between Aisin Seiki and Aisin AW
Introduced to eliminate VOCs in the Chugoku district in response to regulations

				FY2021	FY2020
Reduction coverage	Scope of business operations covered by reduction efforts	Item	Base year	Goal	Target	Result	Evaluation
VOC	Consolidated subsidiaries in Japan	Emissions per sales	FY2010	19%	17.3% reduction	47.3% reduction
VOC	Overseas companies	Thorough understanding of results

(12)Implementation of regional programs aimed at preserving biodiversity

Conducted nature protection activities in five regions of Japan that are home to AISIN Group sites (Aichi, Hokuriku, Hokkaido, Tohoku and Kyushu)

AISIN Global Environmental Standard

Fundamental activities that cover all themes

Measures	FY2020 results
(13)Reinforcement of environmental compliance through the establishment of a system to centralize the collection of relevant information	Distributed information at personnel liaison meetings held in various regions with regard to laws and regulations that will have an impact and/or need to be addressed Continued to promote treatment of high-density PCB waste jointly within group Completed treatment according to our plan in FY2020
(14)Establishment and operation of a globally consolidated EMS evaluation system	Identified weaknesses and achievable improvements in each of our sites and conducted more stringent consolidated environmental assessments than those set in the Fifth Environmental Action Plan at both our domestic and overseas sites based on our findings. The targets were achieved by 47 companies in FY2020
(15)Reinforcement of environmental management regarding supply chains and promotion of environmental activities in collaboration with suppliers	Conducted environmental inspections at 38 suppliers of AISIN Group and carried out follow-up activities after the inspections
(16)Reinforcement of environmental education to develop globally competitive employees	Reiterated our vision for FY2021 and the principles of our training framework, and carried out training with the aim of building training frameworks at our affiliated companies in Japan
(17)Promotion of social contribution activities in the environmental field in cooperation with local communities	Aisin AW Industries has been carrying out conservation activities in Nakaikemi Marsh since FY2015. From FY2020, the company has worked together with local junior high school students with a keen interest in the rice fields and their biodiversity Aisin Keikinzoku’s Ariso Plant caught and released native fish that live in nearby rivers as an initiative to breed and protect these fish Other group companies also continued to devise and engage in environmental activities with local communities
(18)Enhancement of communication with various stakeholders in the environmental field	Held events such as AISIN Group Consolidated Environmental Symposium for AISIN Group employees to promote awareness and understanding of our environmental activities Promoted AISIN Group’s environmental activities by taking ecological action and conducting biological surveys for local elementary school students
(19)Worldwide management of office environment	Verified that environmental activities tailored to various functions are being conducted in each workplace each year