In 1997, Canon distributed its Green Procurement Standards to approximately 3,000 suppliers with the aim of having them comply with rules for specific chemical substances in parts and materials. Canon purchases from suppliers the parts and materials that best abide by these standards. To comply with the RoHS Directive on hazardous substances established by the EU in 2003 and with future laws and regulations, we have reinforced our assurance system for chemical substances under which compliance with our Green Procurement Standards is a condition for dealing with suppliers.
To ensure that suppliers are thoroughly aware of and abide by these Green Procurement Standards, we hold explanation meetings in regions around the world each time there are revisions to the standards and have officers responsible for regional assessments carry out audits of suppliers.
Dual-Tracked Assessment
To ensure proper management of chemical substances in products, Canon carries out assessments of primary suppliers’ structures and assessment of parts and materials.
In assessments of primary suppliers’ structures, Canon evaluates suppliers to ensure that they have a system for managing chemical substances, including in their own products, and conducts environmental assessments of businesses partners as specified in the Green Procurement Standards. Canon will only do business with suppliers that pass this assessment.
As for the assessment of parts and materials, Canon requests that suppliers carry out surveys of the chemical substances contained in parts and materials, with the results going into a common Canon Group database that can be used in developing new products.
For parts and materials with manufacturing processes that make them susceptible to infiltration by specified hazardous chemicals, Canon carries out in-house analyses as well as regular assessments of parts and materials.
Assurance System for Chemical Substances in Products
Manufacturers like Canon require their suppliers to carry out individual chemical substance surveys and build management systems. However, this can lead to an extra burden of labor for suppliers. To resolve these problems, Canon is working on the following measures with other companies.
Japan Green Procurement Survey Standardization Initiative and Introduction of Consistent Survey Criteria
Canon called on other companies in the industry to cooperate over a uniform 24 survey substances under the Japan Green Procurement Survey Standardization Initiative (JGPSSI), inaugurated in 2001, and to standardize the survey format.
Discussions between the JGPSSI and electronics industry associations in the United States and Europe with the aim of making these guidelines an international standard resulted in May 2005 agreement on the 24 survey substances and unified survey criteria.
Related site: Green Procurement
Specifying to Suppliers Common Guidelines on Managing Chemical Substances in Products
In 2005, the JGPSSI committee established the Guidelines for the Management of Chemical Substances in Products, which standardize the target chemical substances in the survey, as well as the survey format, and define a system for suppliers to manage chemical substances.
In August 2006, these guidelines were incorporated into our Green Procurement Standards with the aim developing activities to spread the use of the guidelines among like-minded electrical and electronic equipment manufacturers and to further strengthen management throughout the supply chain. Canon intends to call on the industry to make these guidelines an international standard in the near future.
The risk from materials listed under the EU’s RoHS directive is high in the plating process. Furthermore, simple analysis by fluorescent x-ray methods is difficult, so in September 2003 Canon established a Plated Product RoHS Response Team to work toward removing RoHS-specified substances from major plated products.
Accordingly, our specialists visit plating companies that handle Canon products to confirm that process management can respond to the EU’s RoHS directive with regard to plating solutions and post-processing solvents and provide appropriate guidance. Furthermore, analysis of plating samples ensures thorough compliance with the RoHS directive. Canon only registers in its supplier database those companies that meet its standards.
If suppliers subcontract to plating companies, to thoroughly implement risk management we specify that suppliers may only use companies that are registered in our supplier database.
