Management of Chemicals for Products

Minimization of chemicals’ environmental impacts

Regulations on chemical management have become stricter than ever in recent years. In particular, EU REACH^*1 regulations mandate collection and provision of information regarding the chemicals contained in products, thereby requiring companies to properly manage information on the chemicals contained in their products throughout their supply chains.

With a view to achieving the goal of minimizing risks involved in the use of chemicals in accordance with the precautionary principles adopted in the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD^*2) and other conferences, Toshiba Group has been promoting initiatives to eliminate the use of specified chemicals, to reduce the amount of chemicals contained in products and to use substitute materials so that customers can use Toshiba products with a sense of security.

Results of FY2011

The Fourth Environmental Action Plan, which started in FY2005, identified 15 rank-A chemical substance groups and made it a goal to eliminate the use of all these chemicals by FY2010. The percentage of products that do not contain these substances relative to the total sales reached 100% in FY2010 as specified in our action plan. In FY2011, we were able to continue without the use of these substances as planned.

Ratio of sales of products with 15 substance groups eliminated to net sales

*1

REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals): Regulations on registration, evaluation, authorization and restrictions related to chemicals

*2

WSSD: World Summit on Sustainable Development

*3

Regulations on PVC and BFRs in major countries: Many national governments regulate PVC when used as an additive to soften resins (generally known as a “plasticizer”).
Example 1: Phthalate esters contained in PVC (DEHP, BBP, DBP and DIBP) are designated as high priority hazardous substances in the EU REACH regulations (substances to be authorized or to be restricted (under examination)) and the revised RoHS directive.
Example 2: Use of organic tins contained in PVC (DOP and DBP) is restricted in the EU REACH regulations (substances to be controlled) Example 3: In addition to PBDEs and PBBs, which are designated as forbidden flame retardants in the RoHS directive, hazard assessments of various other BFRs are underway in countries around the world.

Future initiatives

Under our Fifth Environmental Action Plan, which starts in FY2012, we will step up our efforts to use substitute materials for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in response to even stricter environmental regulations on chemical management.^*3

Product groups covered by the PVC/BFR substitution initative in the Fifth Environmental Action Plan

Provision of information on chemicals throughout the supply chain

Toshiba Group promotes eco procurement in countries around the world in cooperation with our suppliers. In particular, in order to properly comply with the RoHS directive^*4 and REACH regulations, we share information throughout our supply chain. In addition to participating in JAMP^*5 activities in collaboration with other companies in our industry, Toshiba Group has also developed Eco Socce-T,^*6 a centralized system shared by all Toshiba Group companies, to facilitate obtaining and distributing information on chemicals contained in Toshiba products. Our information on parts and materials is stored in a database and used for various purposes, including certifying newly procured materials, making judgments as to whether or not to replace existing materials with substitutes, or developing environmentally conscious products.

*4

RoHS (Restriction of certain Hazardous Substances) directive: A directive which limits the use of specified hazardous substances in electrical and electronic devices

*5

JAMP: Joint Article Management Promotion-consortium

*6

Eco Socce-T: Eco, Substances of concern exchange & management system in the Toshiba Group

Creating a procurement database, including parts and raw materials

To promote business activities aimed at reducing the environmental impacts of hazardous chemicals and the risks involved in using them, it is essential to obtain the cooperation of suppliers, our business partners, for those activities for which the supply chain as a whole must be targeted. We request the understanding and cooperation of our suppliers in our eco procurement initiatives aimed at creating a sustainable society. We also request that they make environmental assessments and conduct research on and evaluations of the chemicals contained in the materials and parts they supply and report the results of independent assessments on their level of eco procurement (according to Toshiba’s standards) in accordance with ISO 14001.

Suppliers’ levels of eco procurement for FY2011

(%)

Rank S	Rank A	Rank B	Lower than Rank B
85.4	11.8	1.8	1.0

Note: Rank S (Priority), Rank A (Excellent), Rank B and Lower than Rank B (Improvement requested)

Green Procurement Guidelines

Please download a PDF file from the following link to read our Guidelines.

Clicking link with , a separate window will open.

Due to circumstances such as industry trends, details of our requests to suppliers may differ among Toshiba Group companies and are described in the Green Procurement Guidelines issued by the office in charge of procurement of Toshiba Group companies, Toshiba in-house companies, divisions, establishments, factories, etc. For the Guidelines of Toshiba group companies, please check the following link to read.

• Toshiba Digital Products & Services Company
• Toshiba TEC Corporation

Development of Non-destructive Analysis Techniques Using SPring-8

To ensure the reliability of eco procurement and proper management of substances forbidden from being used in products, Toshiba Group has developed group-wide management standards regarding specific substances that have a high risk of being contained in products and is striving to prevent forbidden substances from being mixed into our products by fluorescent X-ray tests and chemical analysis.

In particular, in the past there was no established method for accurately measuring the amount of hexavalent chromium contained in chromate films on metal surfaces, which made it difficult to ensure compliance with regulations. To overcome this difficulty, Toshiba newly developed a lithium hydroxide (LiOH) extraction method which greatly improves the efficiency of extracting hexavalent chromium compared to the conventional hot water extraction method. We also established a method of non-destructive XAFS analysis^*8 using SPring-8,^*7 a large synchrotron radiation facility.

We have confirmed the relationships between this method and the chemical analysis method using lithium hydroxide, thereby contributing to the development of various analysis methods to meet different needs.

*7

SPring-8 (Super Photon ring-8GeV): A large synchrotron radiation facility managed by the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute which generates synchrotron radiation featuring the world’s highest luminance for experiments, research and applications. It is jointly used by various organizations as a cutting-edge tool for analyzing substances.

*8

XAFS: X-ray Absorption Fine Structure

Measurement of hexavalent chromium through the use of synchrotron radiation

Case Studies in FY2010

• FY2010
• FY2008
• FY2007

Case Studies in FY2008

• FY2010
• FY2008
• FY2007

Case Studies in FY2007

• FY2010
• FY2008
• FY2007