New York, NY -- “Recognizing that the Earth's carrying capacity is limited and believing that everyone must share responsibility for reducing environmental impacts equally … At the same time, as a member of the ecosystem Epson will continue to work towards restoring and protecting biodiversity together with local communities.”
Above is the statement that sums up Epson’s vision for the future of their company and its effect on the environment.
Epson is going to carry this vision out through four major conditions:
Reduce their CO2 emissions by 90% across the entire life cycle of each product
Have each as part of their resource reuse and recycling loop
Reduce direct CO2 emissions by 90% and total elimination of other global warming gas emissions
Use of biodiversity as means of restoration and preservation of ecosystems in partnership with local communities
This plan was launched following a report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that indicated the grave state the environmental future of our planet is in given the current societal practices. To continue going at the pace we are on will only guarantee a continual downward spiral if not hasten the negative effects that global warming can have.
The only solution then, as concluded by Epson, is to slow down the process by reducing the CO2 emissions to what the Earth can handle on its own. According to the IPCC report, the Earth’s capacity for CO2 emissions is roughly 11 billion tons. That may seem like a large number, but given that each person has already surpassed their portion, the only alternative is to reduced the emissions.
Epson realizes that while this may seem like an overly ambitious goal, they are making a conscious choice to do what they can to change the health of our planet. Epson is not new to environmental causes and concerns. Back in 1988, it was the first company to “publicly declare a commitment to eliminating ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)” and successfully did so in their own manufacturing processes within four years.
Over a ten year period from 2008 to 2018, Epson plans to kick-start their 2050 goals through the following four steps:
“Reducing CO2 emissions at the component manufacturing stage.”
Because parts account for the largest amount of emissions, Epson will reexamine their product designs to see if the parts they use can be made smaller and lighter and also to reduce the number of parts necessary. This will also involve working with their suppliers to “realign production centers” and “overhauling distribution and logistics.”
“Developing a business model in which end-user products have a longer service life and are ultimately returned to Epson.”
This process will also involve Epson reevaluating and revamping their current business model to incorporate these changes and create a more efficient resource cycle. They will closely examine product reuse, leasing, and rentals.
“Halve cleanroom energy usage by mobilizing an expert project team.”
“Cleanrooms” are responsible for the largest portion of Epson’s direct CO2 emissions, releasing close to 300,000 tons of it. They plan to form partnerships with experts in relevant fields/departments to create a plan to limit the needs of energy. They will also work to consolidate the number of rooms needed.
“Carry out reforestation and environmental initiatives with active employee involvement.”
Epson will work on reforestation efforts in the countries in which it operates in conjunction with NPOs and NGOs as well as local governments to accomplish this. They will also solicit input from their own internal resources, their employees.
