Environmental Activities at Operational Sites (Produce) | Reducing CO2 at Operational Sites
Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Energy Conservation
Canon has long understood the importance of preventing global warming. In 1996, even before the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol, we established the Operational Site Energy Efficient Special Committee under the Global Environment Promotion Committee. Since then we have promoted energy conservation activities across the Group, including developing technologies to prevent global warming and making improvements to production facilities and air conditioning equipment that consume substantial amounts of energy.
In 1998, we established the Countermeasure Sub-Committee on PFCs (perfluorocarbons) and began working to eliminate non-CO2 greenhouse gases. By 1999, we had successfully eliminated PFCs, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), which are used as cleaners, solvents and aerosol propellants. We have also been reducing trifluoromethane (HFC-23), tetrafluoromethane (PFC-14) and hexafluoroethane (PFC-116), which are greenhouse gases emitted in the semiconductor manufacturing process, by installing burners to eliminate greenhouse gases through forced combustion.
In 2009, the aggravated economic climate had a major impact on production activities. However, Canon established a budgetary management scheme that classifies CO2 emission volumes into fixed CO2 emissions, which are largely independent of trends in manufacturing, and production-linked CO2 emissions. We pursued energy consumption reduction activities according to these divisions, creating a structure to manage forecast and actual emissions.
Specifically, to cut CO2 emissions from fixed sources, we introduced energy-efficient equipment and minimized energy consumption of equipment in standby mode; to lower CO2 emissions linked to production, we consolidated our energy-related equipment and promoted efficient operation.
In addition to continuing with the aforementioned scheme, in 2011 Canon also formed the Power Supply Countermeasure Team in response to the power supply issues resulting from the Great East Japan Earthquake. Among the measures implemented in summer were production line peak-time cuts and shifts, as well as the introduction of summertime hours. Power-saving measures were implemented during autumn and winter as well. We also launched the Canon Group Energy Management Committee in December 2011. Canon plans to develop optimal management programs to cope not only with anticipated power shortages, but with all energy issues in the future across our entire network of facilities in Japan.
As a result, in 2011 we cut greenhouse gas emissions by 5% year-on-year, to 944,000 tons. This converts to a per-unit reduction year-on-year of 1%, which is 26.5 tons CO2/¥100 million.
Canon will continue to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by strengthening energy-saving production techniques and improving manufacturing efficiency.
CO2 Emission Management Schematic
| Actions to reduce fixed CO2 generation | |
|---|---|
| Canon Ayase Office | Stabilized clean room humidity and realized greater energy efficiency through improvement of air handler controls* |
| Nagahama Canon | Reduced power consumption through improved ventilation of coating line |
| Canon Marketing Japan |
|
| Other | Proper operation of all equipment and installation of high-efficiency equipment carried out at each site |
| Actions to reduce CO2 emissions associated with industrial production | |
Canon Chemicals Inc. Tsukuba Site |
Reduced power consumption through efficient compressor operation |
| Canon Precision Inc. Kitawatoku Plant | Reduced power consumption through installation of new automated cartridge assembly equipment featuring such improvements as a changed drive system and increased efficiency |
| Ueno Canon Materials | Reduced processing time by increasing the unit-hour processing volume in the toner manufacturing process |
| Canon Components | Reduced processing time by increasing conveyor speed (1.2X) of the automated production line |
| Oita Canon Inc. Oita Plant | Improved method of boiler pipe insulation, reducing amount of gas wasted due to heat loss* |
- *Examples are placed in the lower half of the page.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scope 1 | 176,377 | 181,682 | 156,525 | 187,317 | 184,630 |
| Scope 2 | 894,294 | 817,112 | 704,598 | 809,387 | 759,371 |
| Electricity | Gas | Oil | Other (steam, wide-area heating and air conditioning) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MWh | km3 | kL | GJ | |
| Japan | 1,263,722 | 36,888 | 9,461 | 30,516 |
| Americas | 84,561 | 2,642 | 28 | 0 |
| Europe | 86,259 | 6,222 | 0 | 27,983 |
| Asia and Oceania (except Japan) | 406,035 | 1,637 | 1,100 | 125,069 |
| Total | 1,840,577 | 47,389 | 10,589 | 183,568 |
- *Energy data for the Océ Group has been added.
| Energy-Saving Measure | Reduction Effect |
|---|---|
CO2 reduction (t-CO2) |
|
| 1 New and untapped energies | 41 |
| 2 Cogeneration, thermal storage | 0 |
| 3 Introduction of high-efficiency equipment (air conditioning, lighting, etc.) | 1,656 |
| 4 Management reinforcement (waste elimination, equipment capacity revision) | 27,700 |
| 5 Production process or quality improvements | 5,903 |
| 6 Control method improvements (use of inverters, unit control, etc.) | 1,712 |
| 7 Waste heat utilization | 7 |
| 8 Loss prevention (thermal insulation) | 1,035 |
| 9 Fuel conversion | 144 |
| 10 Others | 10 |
| Total | 38,208 |
- *Océ Group measures are not included.
Case Study: Operational Site Efforts
Reducing heat loss from boiler pipes (Oita Canon Inc. Oita Plant)
The Oita Canon Inc. Oita Plant uses steam as its heat source, and this steam is produced using city gas-fired boilers. In order to run the boilers efficiently and reduce the use of city gas, the steam must be supplied to the plant without losing heat along the way. To achieve this, engineers at the Oita Plant turned their attention to the problem of heat loss that occurs when the steam travels through pipes, and devised measures to prevent it.
Normally, heat loss from pipes is reduced through the use of insulation. However, when insulation gets wet it cannot be reused, so it couldn't be applied to pipe joints that are prone to steam or water leaks. It is also difficult to attach insulation to areas of pipe that are an unusual shape.
These problems were addressed at the Oita Plant through the use of "insulating jackets" to wrap the pipes. Applying a coating to the inside of these insulating jackets makes it possible to reuse them even if they get wet, so they are easy to attach and remove.
This measure has reduced steam heat loss, and the resulting reduction of city gas use converts to an annual CO2 emission reduction benefit of approximately 95 tons.
Insulating jackets for steam pipes
Reducing Energy Loss by Clean Rooms Through Improved Air Handler Controls (Canon Inc. Ayase Office)
Most of the power used by the Canon Inc. Ayase Office, which manufactures CMOS sensors and other devices, is consumed by clean room manufacturing equipment.
Clean rooms are supplied with purified air 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to maintain the cleanliness of the room environment. Outside air is taken into the air handler and filtered to remove dust and particulate matter, and then supplied to the clean room after the temperature and humidity have been adjusted depending on the season; for example, in summer the air is cooled with cool water and moisture is removed, while in winter the air is warmed with steam and humidified.
Technicians at the Ayase Office sought to optimize the air handler controls, and conducted a four-month test run after repeated checking and examining of control operations. This resulted in reductions during the test run for one air handler unit of 5% for cooling water used and 12% for steam used. Similar measures are currently being planned for the remaining units, with further energy conservation benefits anticipated.
Air handler for supplying air to a clean room
Utilizing Low Environmental Impact Energy Sources
Canon is promoting conversion to energy sources that have a lower environmental impact, such as switching from kerosene to electricity and LNG, and the use of renewable energy sources, including solar power generation.
For example, the EU requires that 49% of the energy purchased by our European sales companies consists of renewables. Similarly, in Australia we must also cover 22% of our energy needs through renewables.
In Japan, the Canon Precision Inc. Kitawatoku Plant converted its boilers from kerosene to natural gas in 2011, cutting CO2 emissions by 302 tons annually. And, in China, Canon Dalian is using solar energy to power external lighting in the industrial site's gardens.
Nonetheless, the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake put pressure on power supplies, forcing a switch from electrical power to fuel. Therefore, at some of our business sites we have met our power needs by using home generators fueled by city gas or kerosene, cogeneration systems, or other means.
Canon will continue to introduce equipment that maximizes production efficiency in order to improve energy use efficiency.
