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As a measure to mitigate climate change, the Toshiba Group is emphasizing the development of environmentally conscious products with minimal environmental impacts throughout their life cycles, from design and manufacture to usage and disposal.
For the wide-ranging Toshiba Group products, ranging from household electric appliances to power plants, the distribution of the breakdown of CO2 emissions from their product life cycles vary widely. (See the figure shown below.) For example, a larger load at a raw-material procurement stage is imposed on digital products, such as mobile phones and notebook PCs, whereas the load at a manufacturing stage predominates in the case of semiconductor products, such as SD memory cards.
On the other hand, many energy supply products, products with high energy-consumption and other products to be used over long periods of time constitute the majority of the load resulting from power consumption, etc. at their usage stages. These facts reveal that the energy saving of products is the most effective means to reduce CO2 emissions.
For this reason, and in order to evaluate its diverse product lineups appropriately, Toshiba Group did a trial calculation of the effects of one year’s reduction if products bought in FY2000 were replaced by new ones, not only taking into consideration the stage of use, but also the entire product life cycle. In this way it estimated the CO2 emission reduction effects obtained through its products and is working to increase such effects.
The volume of CO2 emissions reduced in FY2008 was three million tons. Since shipments of consumer electronics, which constitute a major portion of CO2 emissions, were sluggish, the volume was smaller than in FY2007.
From FY2009 on, in order to facilitate measures to cope with global warming at the product level, Toshiba Group will form a working group to promote such measures, thus identifying key factors, sharing advanced case examples, and using the underlying technology for all relevant products. It will also increase CO2 emission reduction effects by globally offering digital products as well as LED light bulbs and other home electric appliances that are highly effective in energy conservation, particularly by expanding business in these areas in the markets of emerging economies where demand is growing rapidly. We will create many No. 1 energy-saving products by continuing to the next level in environmentally conscious designs, taking the entire product life cycle into account, and striving to reduce CO2 emissions even more by having more customers use our products.
Although, as exemplified by the top-runner standards in the industry, products for which energy saving is demanded have been increasing in Japan, the EuP (Energy-using Products) directiveNote, a new environmentally conscious design regulation in Europe, is currently about to be formulated. In this respect, a design capable of meeting energy-saving and standby power standards is required for individual products. From around the end of 2009 onward, individual products meeting the requirements of this EuP directive will all be required to have a CE mark attached. Since other regulations that mandate a rigorous energy-saving design, as exemplified by the EuP directive, are expected to increase in each country, we consider it our mission to create a series of industry-leading products, which comply with such regulations.
With the highest-level of energy-saving performance in the industry and its energy monitor (an industry first*), which shows power consumption in real time, the home-use room air-conditioner Daiseikai™ PDR Series achieves both “energy-saving at the time of use” and “visible energysaving.” Toshiba Carrier estimates that these efforts enable the airconditioners to reduce CO2 emissions by 22% during their entire life cycle.
By stopping the operation of one of the two cylinders in the compressor and letting only the other operate at the time of low load, the Daiseikai™ PDR Series can reduce the minimum power consumption to 45 W, comparable to that of electric fans. This keeps the room temperature stable, making users more comfortable.
The energy monitor was developed in response to the needs of users who said, “Even if I buy an energy-saving air-conditioner, I don’t know if it’s really saving energy,” and “I want to know the electricity rates I am being charged when I use an energy-saving air-conditioner.”
The current power consumption is displayed on the front panel of the indoor unit, and the character mark and the eco mark are lit during energy-saving operation, an indication of the high energy-saving nature of the Daiseikai™ PDR Series (from the start of operation to the time when the room temperature becomes stable, the operation power level displays the amount of electric power consumed, and later, the current power consumption is displayed).
For example, if the set temperature is raised or curtains are closed, the amount of electric power consumed falls. Since users can look at the power consumption and what they are being charged during operation, they can feel that they have a direct connection with energy-saving efforts and easily participate in energy-saving efforts at home.
Within the large product range of the Toshiba Group, the largest amount of CO2 is emitted at the usage stage of all their life cycles, from design and manufacture to usage and disposal. For example, CO2 emissions account for about 60% of total emissions from digital products and about 80% of the same from household electric appliances and social infrastructure systems. With this in mind, the Toshiba Group has been tackling the reduction of energy consumption of products during their usage by setting different annual targets for each fiscal year since the launch of the Second Voluntary Plan in fiscal 1996.
For example, an increasing range of energy-saving measures have been taken year after year for 32-inch LCD TVs, as shown in the right hand figure (Case Study 1), maintaining leading industry levels of energy-saving efficiency.
Use conditions: Calculated based on the assumption of 600 washing operations/year and 300 drying operations/year.
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