Furukawa Electric Group has incorporated the promotion of resource conservation and recycling into the "Basic Environmental Policy" and has been working to reduce waste, minimize the use of resources, and recycle. As for waste reduction, the Group began activities to reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste in FY 1993. Since FY2001, we have been promoting zero emission activities. As of FY2014, we have been promoting activities to reduce the total amount of waste generated, including valuable resources.
In 2021, new effort was started to deal with plastic issues, including the issue of plastics in the seas and oceans. In March 2021, the "Furukawa Electric Group Environmental Vision 2050" was formulated to promote the use of recycled materials and minimize the impact on ecosystems throughout the value chain.
We will continue to work on more efficient use of resources in order to contribute to realizing a recycling-based society.
Targets and achievements for FY2022 are shown in "Targets and Performances of Environmental Conservation Activities". In FY2022, the total waste generation in Japan (Per unit of net sales) decreased by 4.8% compared to FY2020. We work to reduce the generation of waste in the production process, such as by introducing liquid waste treatment facilities to reduce liquid waste.
Targets and Performances of Environmental Conservation Activities
Plastics have excellent properties, but concerns about the environment have also been pointed out, such as ocean pollution of plastic. The Group has formulated the Environmental Targets 2030 and promotes initiatives based on the following three perspectives.
・To reduce the use of new materials
・To identify and reduce the amount of disposable plastic packaging
・To reduce the total amount of plastic waste generated
We will minimize the impact on the environment through these initiatives.
We worked to reduce the use of new plastic materials and developed products that use 100% recycled polypropylene in FY2022. In addition, we have been developing individual packaging using biodegradable biomass materials as an initiative to reduce the use of single-use plastics.
We have begun the initiative in FY2022 and set the target for FY2023. The total volume of plastic waste generated by Furukawa Electric was 3,756t in FY2022, which was 11% decrease from FY2021.
Furukawa Electric Ecotec Co., Ltd. (FETEC), one of our group companies, is in the business of recycling waste electric wires and optical cables by separating them into metal and plastic. FETEC has an established system for collecting waste electric wires, and almost 100% of metals such as copper, which is a conductive material, are recycled. The coating material is also recycled from recycled plastic back into the wire coating. In addition, FETEC is developing technologies to improve the accuracy of material separation and pursuing application technologies to expand the effective use of recycled products, and is continuing to take on the challenge of reducing the waste of wires and cables to as close to "zero" as possible.
Recycling of Electric Wires and Optical Cables at FETEC (only available in Japanese)
Since around 1990, Furukawa Electric has actively worked to use recycled materials including cable waste and plastic packaging and containers. In 2019, The Company developed a single-process technology for upcycling difficult-to-recycle disposable plastic products and wastepaper into reinforced plastic. Cellulose fiber, the main component of paper, and plastic typically do not blend well, but when utilising Furukawa Electric’s Advanced Paper Fibre Upcycling (APFU) technology to break down the paper into loose cellulose fibers while blending it with plastic, it is possible to upcycle these materials into plastic with about twice the strength as the original plastic. With the aim of expanding the use of the technology, we are partnering with government agencies in Japan and abroad, as well as the plastic and recycling industries. For example, Furukawa Electric participates in WIPO GREEN, a platform for technology exchange related to environmental conservation operated by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) of the United Nations, and has registered the technology. By promoting technology exchange through the use of intellectual property, we will contribute to the spread of environment-related technologies.
The Group works on recycling copper which is the main raw material. Our group companies collect copper from used wires and cables collected from customers. The Copper Foil Div. uses this 100% recycled copper as a raw material to produce electrolytic copper foil.
Completed UL 2809 validation for copper foil containing 100% recycled copper
In FITEL Products Div., we developed individual packaging made of biodegradable pulp, which is available for precision instruments, with collaboration with our suppliers. We started switching to use it from plastic packaging and will reduce the amount of single-use plastic disposed of after transportation, thereby promoting effective use of resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions during disposal.
The Group participates in the following initiatives for resource conservation.
Total Plastic Waste Generation Data
Hazardous Waste Generation Data
Data on Environmental Conservation Costs Related to Pollution, Waste, and Resource use