Sustainability
Environmental Management Initiatives

Fuji Electric is devoting effort to maintaining compliance with environmental laws, regulations, and standards and implementing environmental management systems based on items 4 and 5 of the Basic Environmental Protection Policy.

Environmental Management in accordance with ISO 14001

Fuji Electric has put in place environmental management systems at all of its production and sales bases in Japan as well as all of its overseas production bases (within the scope of Fuji Electric’s environmental management) and is working to acquire third-party certification.

In addition, all employees take part in environmental education programs, and everyday environmental activities, such as those targeting reductions in energy and water use as well as waste production, have become an entrenched part of our corporate culture.

The Status of ISO 14001 Certification

(As of April 1, 2024)

Sites not yet acquired are the two companies of Fuji Gemco Private Limited and Fuji SEMEC Inc.

The coverage ratio of ISO's environmental standards is 40/42 (95.2%) in terms of our operational sites and 95.8% in terms of employees.

Internal Environmental Audits

Environmental site inspection at Fuji Electric (Zhuhai)Co. Ltd
Environmental site inspection at Fuji Electric (Zhuhai)Co. Ltd

Since fiscal 2003, the departments in charge of environmental management have been conducting environmental inspections, which double as internal audits, of our ISO14001-certified sites.
In our environmental inspections, we use fact sheets* to visualize environmental risks at each site. To reduce identified risks, we work with site personnel to lower environmental impacts and improve environmental management levels.

Inspections are conducted annually at all sites in Japan, and include both direct visits incorporating field inspections, as well as remote inspections via web conferencing systems. In fiscal 2023, we carried out 10 field inspections and 10 remote inspections.

For overseas sites, field inspections are conducted once every three years; in years where no inspections take place, we use check sheets to carry out paper-based inspections. In fiscal 2023, we carried out 5 field inspections; this increased our inspection coverage ratio to 100%, and enabled us to ascertain the state of our compliance and environmental risk management.

*

Fact sheets combine records of inspections on the compliance and environmental risk management status of each site and an environmental performance sheet, which is used to record environmental performance at each site, including energy consumption, chemical substance discharge, and waste volume.

Environmental Violations in Japan

*1

Government administrators indicated a violation in the BOD concentration of wastewater.
The cause was due to a malfunction in septic tank equipment. Repairs were completed and reported to the administration.
The anomaly caused no impact to the environment.

*2

This was a violation of an obligation to use an electric manifesto for the processing of specially controlled industrial waste. We have submitted reports outlining the causes of this violation and our measures to prevent its reoccurrence to the relevant authorities. We have received no penalties, recommendations for improvements, etc., as a result of this violation.

Environmental Violations in overseas sites

*1

China: Violation of import declaration classification in relation to the marine environment protection (penalty: RMB 10,000; recourse to domestic procurement in China)

*2

Thailand: Supervisor in charge of handling chemical substances (vacancy for a qualified person: currently available)
Malaysia: Exceeded wastewater (oil particulate) limits (All of these cases have been modified already.)

*3

Malaysia: Violation of fluorine concentration in wastewater(All of these cases have been modified already.)

Status of environmental communication with local communities In Japan

Fiscal 2023 examples

73 community cleanup activities, 6 tree-planting activities, 27 volunteer activities, 10 factory festivals,15 external lectures, 4 social events, 5 neighborhood briefings

Status of environmental communication with local communities Overseas

Fiscal 2023 examples

4 community cleanup activities, 2 tree-planting activities, 12 volunteer activities, 1 factory festivals, 10 external lectures, 25 social events

Environmental Risk Management

To maintain a stable production system, it is essential that we strengthen environmental risk management at our production sites. For this reason, we actively promote education and understanding of competence for personnel at our production sites on such topics as mitigating climate change risk, preventing pollution, and increasing environmental risk sensitivity.

At all our production sites in Japan, we use fact sheets to manage risks related to both facilities and equipment and environmental performance. We will continue enhancing our fact sheets and using them not only for risk management but also for energy and resource conservation initiatives.

Measures for Responding to Climate Change Risks

As part of our TCFD activities, in fiscal 2022 we carried out an assessment of the risk of inundation from flooding and tidal surges due to frequent extreme weather events; in fiscal 2023, we started implementing measures at our Japanese and overseas sites, according to their assessed risk levels. In addition to implementing physical measures, we are also drawing up action timelines that will help us predict the outcomes of extreme weather events and carry out any necessary disaster prevention procedures.

In addition to the above, each site implements its own countermeasures against potential risks.

Visualization of Environmental Risks

Fuji Electric creates specific environment risk maps for each factory in order to guide environmental preservation activities and help reduce the impact on the environment should an accident occur. Accordingly, these maps make it easier to share and communicate environmental risk information. These maps provide diagrams that illustrate a clear picture of information regarding the facilities, equipment, and work processes with the potential to impact the environment as well as information related to the factory premise and buildings.
We maintain environmental risk maps for all of our domestic production sites. These maps are reviewed and updated annually to ensure they contain the latest information.
We create, review, and annually update soil-related environment risk maps for our production sites in Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Prevention of Emission of Pollutants into Water and Air

We prevent environmental pollution of air and water.
In order to prevent air pollution, we have equipped in-house generation equipment (excluding emergency-use backup generators) with emission treatment equipment to limit the release of NOx into the atmosphere. We also strive to limit the release of SOx into the atmosphere by using low-sulfur fuels.

In order to prevent water pollution, Fuji Electric has installed treatment equipment at bases that utilize chemical substances and manages the quality of water used in these bases to ensure that chemical levels do not exceed established environmental standards. We also conduct periodic emergency response drills to guarantee that we are prepared should an abnormality be detected. In addition, we implement checks on the automatic shut-off function of drainage gates and ensure that the internal reporting system operates within the allowable time for the reservoirs.

Soil Purification

By fiscal 2007, we achieved a full understanding of the status of soil and underground water pollution at all production sites in Japan. We then started purification programs at all 13 sites, of which purification has since been completed at nine site.

Subsequently, we conducted soil investigations in the case stipulated by the Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act of Japan*1 and identified the sites that required groundwater monitoring. As of June 2024, three sites*2 pursue water purification and four sites*3 pursue groundwater monitoring.

Overseas countries are also enacting laws and regulations similar to Japan’s Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act, and in response we have started conducting land-use history assessments and compiling digital maps.

Furthermore, we perform soil investigations prior to purchasing or selling land, whether in Japan or overseas, to check for risks of contamination and other problems.

*1

Soil investigations are performed when closing down specific facilities designated by the Water Pollution Control Act or when conducting land alterations beyond predefined levels.

*2

Three sites are Mie, Matsumoto, and Azumino factories of Fuji Electric Meter Co., Ltd.

*3

Four sites are Kawasaki, Fukiage, Saitama factores of Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. and Hokuriku factory of Fuji Electric Power Semiconductor Co., Ltd.