Brother slashes total carbon emissions by 60%

Brother Group announced it has achieved a 60% drop in carbon emissions in 2007 compared to its CO2 levels in 1990. The Group has also shaved off its total energy consumption of electricity and fuel use by an equivalent of 31 tons of CO2 emissions in 2007. The tremendous results of the company’s environment-focused initiatives are in line with the launch of a trade-specific voluntary action plan in its global headquarters’ location in Japan, which is set to decrease the industry’s production of carbon wastes by 28% in 2010 against levels in 1991.

In adherence to industry mandated regulations, the company has been implementing Environmental Action Plans (EAPs) since 1995, which charts environment-focused activities within a three-year period.

“As a major player in the printing, communication and digital imaging market, we fully support the increased efforts by the whole industry towards achieving a more environmentally-sound stance across all phases of operations,” said Shinji Tada, Managing Director, Brother Gulf.

Implemented through its environmental management system, EAPs are focused towards integrating eco-friendly practices as a significant part of the Group’s operations. Brother’s fifth EAP is centred on chemical management, which involves reducing CO2 emissions to prevent global warming and lessen energy consumption, thus improving manufacturing efficiency. In addition, the current EAP also promotes increased consumer support for products that have acquired an environmental label, which is an indicator that a given product shows consideration for the environment. Environmental labels are standardized by the International Standards Organization (ISO) based on a product’s level of compliance within a specific performance criterion, and as a part of its aim to set relevant environmental targets, the Group has set an objective to achieve labels for all its new products by 2009.

In addition to environment-focused initiatives, Brother Gulf’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities have extended to another important issue, which is combating counterfeit imaging consumables that are flooding the global market. According to Cap Ventures, counterfeit imaging products accounted for 7% of the USD 39.5 bln EMEA imaging consumables market in 2005. Through its partnership with the Imaging Consumables Coalition of Europe (ICCE), an anti-counterfeit coalition in the imaging consumables industry, Brother Gulf joins five other coalition members in conducting the first counterfeit awareness workshops in the UAE.