1. Green procurement guidelines

Komatsu established the Komatsu Earth Environment Charter in 1992 and declared that they would engage in environmentally conscious business activities to realize a sustainable society. However, social demand for the reduction of environmental burdens and responses to climate change is increasing. Considering this background, Komatsu has established and released the Green Procurement Guidelines, which supplement the environment-related issues described in the CSR Procurement Guidelines. By using these guidelines, we preferentially promote green procurement, which is conscious about the environment, and of the raw materials and procured components/parts, which are important elements in our production. It also prompts business partners to develop their own environmental management activities.

• Komatsu green procurement guidelines(396KB)

2. Support for those obtaining environmental management certifications

We have requested all member companies of the Midori-kai in Japan and China to obtain certifications for environmental management systems (EMS), such as ISO14001 and Eco-Stage, and provided them with instructions and support for obtaining the certifications. In Japan, all 156 member companies have obtained the certifications, and we began to check the renewal status of the certifications in 2018. In China, a total of 60 companies have already obtained the certifications. We encourage Midori-kai companies in U.S., Europe and Thailand to obtain similar certifications, aiming to ensure that 97% of these suppliers (including all manufacturers and excluding trade companies) have been certified by the end of FY 2023.

Over ten years have already passed since the Midori-kai members in Japan obtained the certifications. Like in the case of the safety and health activities, it is important to follow-up the status of the certifications in each company's business activities. To realize this, we started environmental audits for the outsourcing companies of the Midori-kai from 2021, and 2 companies were audited in the first year. Through written surveys on compliance with environment-related laws and regulations, etc. and on-site inspections at each company's offices, we will inspect how EMS has taken root on site and link the results to our support for their improvement in the future. In FY 2022, we will expand check sheet-based voluntary verification to all outsourcing companies of the Midori-kai in Japan and increase the number of onsite audits.

Environmental audits

3. Responding to climate change: reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the supply chain

Komatsu has set a mid-term ESG target of 50% reduction in CO₂ emissions in products and production (compared to 2010) by FY 2030 and promotes improvement activities. In recent years, we have emphasized the importance of reducing CO₂ emissions in the entire supply chain related to its own business, and worked to reduce CO₂ emissions from manufacturing process of purchased parts and materials, which account for about 10% of indirect CO₂ emissions (Scope 3) other than Scope 1 and 2.
From 2012 to 2016, in response to tight power supply and demand and the steep increase in electricity costs following the Great East Japan Earthquake, we began to roll out activities to reduce the power consumption of 96 Midori-kai companies in Japan by setting a target reduction in electricity consumption of at least 15% compared to 2010. Despite comparative obstacles due to large fluctuations in production volumes and new capital investments, we almost achieved our target by the end of FY 2016. As a result of the expansion of these activities across all our suppliers, some suppliers won the ECCJ Energy Conservation Grand Prize Award. Since 2017, we have worked to maintain and improve the level of reduction through independent improvements at each company.
Since FY 2019, we also set a target of reducing CO₂ emissions from all kinds of energy, including heavy oil, gas, and electric power, by 15% (by FY 2030, compared to 2010). As a first step, we conducted a fact-finding survey of ten casting and forging companies and heat treatment companies that emit large amounts of greenhouse gases and provided them with information about the improvements we had successfully made. While providing concrete support to help these 10 companies to improve, we also requested that 156 Midori-kai companies set mid- and long-term reduction targets and implemented tangible improvement activities to reach those goals. Progress is monitored through periodic CO₂ emissions surveys and SAQ questionnaires.

Changes in electric power consumption
(Midori-kai 93 companies)

Independent practitioner's assurance

Change in CO₂ emissions
(Midori-kai 93 companies)

Independent practitioner's assurance

4. Addressing water risks

We are inspecting 135 offices of 96 Midori-kai members in Japan to understand their general water risks, including the above-mentioned flood and tsunami risks, location environments, potential and actual water intake/discharge capacities, water quality, and how they address these issues. We also use Aqueduct in these analyses.
In response to these investigations, we have been conducting activities to reduce water consumption since FY 2017. In these activities, the top ten companies in the consumption of clean water are considered to be model companies and we present Komatsu improvement examples and provide guidance on improvement through on-site visits, with a target of 15% reduction of water consumption by FY 2021. In FY 2018, the target was achieved. Since then, we have voluntarily stayed aware of the amount of water used and have extended the activities to other Midori-kai companies through the distribution of improvement examples from Komatsu and ten other companies. We also conduct environmental audits and confirm compliance with the Water Pollution Control Act and other water-related laws and regulations.

Changes in clean water consumption by the top 10 largest water users in the Midori-kai

5. Responding to environmental regulations in China

The basic goal of the environmental regulations in China is the elimination of three things: exhaust gases, discharged water, and solid waste. However, when operating under those regulations, the regulations and standards set forth by each local government have priority. Regarding discharged water from plants, to address the aggravated water pollution in rivers and lakes, the standards for BOD/COD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand/Chemical Oxygen Demand), which are indexes of amounts of organic substances in discharged water, are especially strict when compared to the country-wide standards in Japan, and there is an increasing number of cases where centralized water treatment systems for discharged water, etc. need to be installed.
Komatsu checks the regulatory compliance status of the Midori-kai members in China on a regular basis.

In addition, in China, extremely tough environmental regulations were imposed in 2015, mainly in the coastal areas, aiming to improve air pollution issues (PM2.5) drastically. As a result, companies engaging in businesses such as painting, welding, casting and plating are required to take thorough measures to reduce exhaust air, smoke and soot (including VOCs). Working together with member companies of the Midori-kai in China, we provide support for complying with the regulations, including the installation of facilities. As a result of measures taken by the companies, 18 companies had been certified as exempt from the regulations (as green companies) as of March 31, 2022. We will continue to work with each company to reduce risks to our business continuity.
 

6. Dealing with biodiversity

In 2011, Komatsu established “the Declaration of Biodiversity by Komatsu”, a declaration that we will work for the reduction of environmental impact through our business activities and for the conservation of biodiversity through our social contribution activities. Receiving support for our policies from Midori-kai members in Japan and other countries, we are conducting community contribution activities in cooperation with them, such as environmental conservation. We also provide educational programs and encourage the companies to implement their own endeavors in accordance with their unique situations and geographical locations. We request each company to report on the details of their efforts. 

Support for construction and environmental conservation of the Yusen-ji copper mine in Komatsu, Ishikawa prefecture