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The 20th Toshiba Group Environmental Exhibition

[16 February, 2011]

On January 27 and 28, the 20th Toshiba Group Environmental Exhibition was held at Toshiba headquarters. Toshiba Group companies displayed their latest environmentally conscious products and publicized what we are doing to minimize environmental impacts based on the concept of the three "Greens"−Greening by Process, Greening of Product, and Greening of Technology −all towards realization of Toshiba Group Environmental Vision 2050. While publicizing Toshiba Group's contribution to the emergence of a sustainable society, a new global brand “eco style” and new initiatives for conservation of biodiversity were introduced to visitors.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the exhibition, a time-line indicating the history of the Toshiba Group Environmental Exhibition over the past two decades was also put on display.

A notable new feature of this year's exhibition was an area devoted to conservation of biodiversity, right next to the "Introduction" area. Initiatives under the three "Greens" were presented in dedicated area, and there was also a "Communications" area that publicized Toshiba's environmental communications with wide-ranging stakeholders, including regional activities.

Biodiversity

The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10) was held last October in Japan. In the "Biodiversity" area, Toshiba Group's approach to conservation of biodiversity was introduced in terms of three aspects: products, factories, and social contribution.

Regarding products, assessment of impacts on biodiversity using the ‘life-cycle impact assessment method based on endpoint modeling’ (LIME*¹ ) was introduced by referring to the examples of LED lamps and other products and services.

Exhibits of activities at factories included wastewater management based on Whole Effluent Toxicity*² (WET) and operation of biotopes at Yokohama Complex. In addition, the results of "assessment of biodiversity potentials"*³ of 15 sites of Toshiba and its subsidiaries were presented.

With respect to social contribution, Toshiba Group 1.5 Million Tree-planting Project was introduced. This global project is implemented through collaboration with NPOs and local governments.

Greening of Process

Initiatives to achieve the world's lowest environmental impacts of manufacturing processes were displayed, including environmental considerations concerning construction of Fab 5, a new facility at Yokkaichi Operations for NAND flash memory, energy-saving clean rooms, measures to reduce CO₂ emissions and energy consumption of overseas subsidiaries, and development of new technologies for recycling of home appliances.

Greening of Products

Toshiba Group's products and services with excellent environmental performance and reduced environmental impacts throughout their life cycles were showcased, including LCD TVs, PCs, LED lamps and other home appliances, multi-air-conditioning systems for buildings, a diagnostic ultrasound system, and other industrial equipment, a permanent magnet synchronous motor for railways, storage devices and other key devices.

Greening by Technology

Using mockups, this corner covered a wide range of cutting-edge technologies contributing to reduction of CO₂ emissions from power generation and transmission systems using mock-ups. Exhibits included the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR), carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology for thermal power plants, mega solar power generation, and a smart grid, the next-generation power supply network.

Communications

Toshiba Group's various environmental communications with wide-ranging stakeholders were introduced, including classes on environmental topics for children that are both fun and educational; communications in the communities where Toshiba Group does business; and communications through exhibitions, the website and other media. Staff from China, the Philippines, and the U.S. explained to visitors what their companies are doing. This corner demonstrated that Toshiba Group's environmental activities are truly international.

Lectures and Special Events

During the exhibition period, lectures on environmental themes and environmental seminars by speakers invited from outside Toshiba Group were held.

On the first day of the exhibition, Mr. Hiroshi Sasaki, a naturalist, delivered a keynote lecture on the relations between animals in urban areas and human society, explaining how our day-to-day activities impact on animals. On the second day, Professor Eiji Hosoda of the Faculty of Economics, Keio University, gave a presentation on the role of the electric and electronics industry in a recycling-based society from the viewpoint of resource utilization. He discussed the present situation in which recycling of platinum, plastics and various other resources is becoming global in scope and talked about the companies handling these resources, centering on the relationship between Japan and the other economies of East Asia. In their lectures, which grabbed the audience’s attention, Mr. Sasaki and Professor Hosoda drew on their wealth of knowledge and experience, while also making excellent use of humor.

Environmental seminars were led by speakers from Toshiba Group companies. On the 27, Mr. Michiyuki Sugihara, general manager, Environmental Management Division of TERM Corp., made a presentation on "comprehensive environmental solutions contributing to management." Seminars on the 28 were "Smart Community from Toshiba" by Mr. Tetsuya Shinohara, Technology Executive, Smart Community Division, Toshiba Corp. and “Water-related solutions of Toshiba” by Mr. Kunio Tamura, Technology Executive, Social Infrastructure Systems Company, Toshiba Corp. All the seminars were well attended.

*1: Life cycle impact assessment method based on endpoint modeling, LIME for short, was developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology through an LCA project. LIME incorporates assessment of biodiversity in evaluation of environmental impacts.

*2: Whole Effluent Toxicity, WET for short, is a wastewater management technique using bioassay.

*3: Quantitative evaluation of the potential contribution of Toshiba Group's major sites to establishment of local biodiversity networks (green corridors) through land use.

The new "Biodiversity" area sparked keen interest