Achieving Zero Waste Level 2 is a strong indicator of a company’s dedication to reducing waste, and several stringent criteria need to be met. As well as continuing to meet Level 1 conditions, sites also have to reduce materials generated by production (aside from the product itself) by 30%.
The sites in China, France, Malaysia, and two in the US are all involved in different areas of Konica Minolta’s production and have each accomplished the waste reduction in different ways tailored to their own production, which also enabled them to cut costs.
For example, Konica Minolta Supplies Manufacturing USA Inc, which fills toner for digital MFPs and printers, reduced waste by reusing the packaging material of toner sent from Japan as well reducing loss when filling bottles with toner.
Likewise Konica Minolta Opto (Dalian) Co. Ltd., which is involved in the production of optical lenses and the assembly of optical units, also introduced reusable boxes, as well as more specialized measures such as reducing the glass abrasive sludge produced during the polishing process.
Konica Minolta is continuing its green agenda on a number of levels, including a long term plan called Eco Vision 2050, with which it intends to cut CO2 waste by 80 percent in the next 40 years.
On a more immediate scale, they have also implemented the Medium-Term Environmental Plan 2015, whereby they will reduce all waste discharged externally by their sites by 50 percent per unit of sale.