The FUJIFILM Environmental Report/2001 Edition

OPENING REMARKS
Minoru Ohnishi
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Masayuki Muneyuki
Vice Chairman
As we enter the 21st century, the population of the world
continues to grow at an explosive rate. The current population of
more than 6 billion is expected to rise to 8 billion by 2020 and
exceed 10 billion by 2050. Population growth and lifestyle
changes spotlight the importance of the preservation and
protection of our natural resources, safely disposing of industrial
and household waste, and combating pollution caused by
chemical substances. As a global company, Fujifilm regards
resource preservation and protection to be the highest priority.
We believe it is essential to develop new energy- and resourcesaving
technologies and to adopt progressive resource policies
at a global level. For Fujifilm, the biggest concerns of the 21st
century are, without a doubt, environmental awareness and
protection.
In the past, Fujifilm has centered its environmental policies on
three basic pillars: constantly giving due consideration to the
natural environment, ensuring safety with regard to chemicals,
and preventing the wasteful use of resources (source reduction).
To meet these obligations, Fujifilm follows a Responsible Care
program. Under Responsible Care, companies independently
set and pursue their own policies, targets, and standards for
environmental protection across the full spectrum of their
activities—from product development through manufacturing,
distribution, use, and waste disposal. Responsible Care is an
international protocol, and chemical companies across the world
have committed themselves to meeting its goals. Fujifilm
became a member of the Japan Responsible Care Council at
the time of the council’s establishment in 1995 and began to
publicize its Responsible Care activities. To support an
integrated environmental management system, Fujifilm began
obtaining ISO 14001 certification prior to Japan’s formal
adoption of the Environmental Management Standard in fiscal
1996. All of our main Japanese plants had obtained certification
before 1996.
Recently, Fujifilm has initiated additional action programs to
identify risks and hazards associated with chemicals, as part of
Shigetaka Komori
President
efforts to avoid or modify the use of chemicals identified in specific
classes. Risk management programs are regularly updated.
Our basic identification-awareness tool is our proprietary
Chemical and Environmental Safety Information Database.
Through our in-house network, such information is available to all
Company employees.
All our policies for reducing the environmental impact of our
activities are based on the following source-reduction measures:
◆ Designing products with low energy consumption,
◆ Reducing energy loss during product manufacturing,
◆ Reducing environmental impact arising from the use of
products, and
◆ Recovering parts for reuse and repair while creating wastefree
production cycles.
A very high level of technological expertise is needed to make
products environment-friendly while maintaining and improving
their quality and functionality. But Fujifilm is determined to meet
this challenge. A landmark achievement in this field is our
environment-friendly production process for the Fujicolor
QuickSnap single-use camera, which, in November 2000, won
the “Nikkei Superior Trendsetting Factories and Offices Awards
Millennium Award,” sponsored by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun
Company, and the “47th Okouchi Memorial Technology Prize,”
sponsored by the Okouchi Memorial Committee. We aim to
design all our products to make them as environment-friendly as
the Fujicolor QuickSnap, as we pursue source reduction.
Zero Emission initiatives also form part of our source-reduction
activities. Fujifilm already recycles all waste materials generated
in base-material processing at its four main Japanese plants,
and plans to achieve Zero Emissions for all waste products
generated by all domestic business bases, including the sales
division, by the end of fiscal 2002.
Under the resolute leadership of Fujifilm’s management, every
employee and organization within the Group is engaged in an
ongoing effort to make Fujifilm a company that works for the
environment and for product safety.
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