DIGI Group Activities to Reduce the Burden on the Environment

At DIGI, we have systematically undertaken environmentally friendly business activities throughout the company. In addition to pursuing these activities at company facilities, we are also working on reducing environmental impact in the three areas described below. Our focus has been on parts procurement, operations within production environments, distribution, and recycling and waste disposal.

1) Environmental Management Initiatives

DIGI I’s (Iwate prefecture), a production hub of the DIGI Group, achieved compliance with ISO14000 guidelines in 2000. With energy reduction and zero-emission activities as major pillars of its work, DIGI I’s is striving to constantly improve its efforts toward protecting the environment. The company periodically reports the details of its activities to homes and businesses in the area.

These are some of the company’s activities.

Energy-saving Activities

  • Saving Power through Demand Monitoring
  • Compartmentalizing Lighting Control
  • Switching to LED Lighting
  • Setting Air-Conditioner Temperatures to 28 Degrees Celsius
  • Applying Insulation Coatings to Shutters
  • Installing Green Walls
  • Checking for Compressor Air Leaks

Zero-Emission Activities

  • Analyzing Sorted Waste Disposal by Waste-weighing Management System
  • Reducing Paper Usage
  • Introducing the Kanban System and Returnable Containers to reduce waste

2)Initiatives in the Aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake

DIGI I’s and Teraoka Systems, which are DIGI Group members, both suffered damage during the earthquake of March 2011. At DIGI I’s, company employees volunteered to help restore the factory to working condition, enabling resumption of full-scale production after only four days. Based on the experience during the earthquake, the company explored approaches that would drastically reduce electrical consumption. One result of this was the introduction of gas air conditioning to replace electrical air conditioning at DIGI headquarters. Currently, Teraoka Corp., and DIGI I’s are the DIGI Group companies that use gas air conditioning. Solar panels have also been installed at DIGI I’s new company premises, which were completed in May 2013, so that factory operations can continue even during power outages.

Switching to Gas Air Conditioning

We introduced gas air conditioning at TERAOKA SEIKO in July 2012. When we converted from electrical air conditioning to gas in two of our four buildings, we achieved a 24% reduction in electrical usage. Presently, DIGI Group members Teraoka Corp. and DIGI I’s have introduced gas air conditioning.
During the period of mandatory electricity rationing after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, we implemented a 15% reduction in power consumption. We took all the power-reduction measures we could, including reducing lighting, installing green walls, suspending elevator operation, and raising air-conditioner temperature settings, together with the use of fans. Nonetheless, when the temperature inside offices exceeded 30 degrees, we used the gas air conditioning (with greatly reduced electrical consumption) to reduce the temperature in the working environment. We also developed an electrical power visualization system to enable employees to see how much power they are using.

Installing Solar Panels

DIGI I’s, a production hub of the DIGI Group, installed solar panels at their new factory which was completed in May 2013. DIGI I’s expects that it will soon be able to sell electricity generated by the solar panels back to the electrical company. The company has installed a total of 480 panels, with a maximum output of 100 kW (equivalent to that of about 27 homes). Although DIGI I’s would normally sell the electricity to the electrical company, in emergencies the electricity could be used by the company. An independent power controller converts DC power from the solar panels to AC power, so control is possible even during blackouts. The company is considering establishing measures to respond to large-scale blackouts, to enable continued operation of customer call centers, servers, and communication infrastructure; to allow the factory kitchen to continue to provide meals; and to allow residents in the area to also use the kitchen. This approach was based on DIGI I’s past experience of sufferig damage during the 2011 earthquake.

3) Environmentally Sensitive Activities of Our Employees

At DIGI, we are introducing environmentally friendly activities within the context of our day-to-day business.

My Bottle Initiative

In order to promote employee use of their own water flasks, tumblers, and cups, we installed DIGI pure water coolers in the dining hall at DIGI headquarters, so that employees can refill their containers with warm or cold water at any time.

Recycling Drink Containers

We installed one of DIGI’s reverse vending machines in the employee dining hall at DIGI headquarters, and employees are actively using it to recycle PET bottles and aluminum cans.

Ecocap Initiative

Company employees are participating in an activity where caps that are removed from PET bottles are separately recycled, with the proceeds used to provide vaccinations for children in developing countries. We have sent a total of 360,000 PET bottle caps (equivalent to vaccinations for 446 children) to the organization conducting the program.