Based on KYOCERA Document Solutions’ many years of expertise in unique long-life technology for printers, under the basic philosophy of “Continuing to develop and produce remarkable environmentally conscious products true to the name of the printer brand ‘ECOSYS’ all through the ages,” KYOCERA Document Solutions is developing environmentally conscious products and technologies in various aspects.
ECONOMY: Optimised workflow efficiency
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is the true lifetime cost of a device as operating expenses can significantly exceed the original purchase price. ECOSYS devices are designed to minimise both direct costs, such as consumables, and indirect costs, such as energy usage and administration, invariably offering the lowest TCO in their class.
ECOLOGY: Minimised environmental impact
KYOCERA’s long-life technology utilises our extensive expertise in ceramics. The durable drum is integral to the printer; the only consumable is the toner cassette. ECOSYS printers consume fewer materials in manufacture, generate less waste and simplify recycling, thereby minimising environmental impact.
SYSTEM: Effortless system integration
With KYOCERA ECOSYS devices offer a wide range of enhancements designed to maximise document output productivity. Additional functionalities and upgrades are available, optimising the long-term benefit of investment. Finally, KYOCERA Document Solutions’ integrated system software ensures long-term and cross-network compatibility.
KYOCERA believes that improving the usability of its products leads to improving operational efficiency for the customers that use its products. Aiming at producing genuine, easy-to-use products, the company incorporates universal design into various products in various ways.
What should KYOCERA Document Solutions MFPs be like?
Developer’s statement:
Following numerous discussions, every KYOCERA Document Solutions employee is constantly pursuing “what the customer wants most” as well as “quality that warrants customer satisfaction.” Reducing a product’s operational noise even by a single decibel (dB) requires an incredibal amound of effort. In particular, in the case of multifunctionl product that are often used beside one’s desk, the realizeation of a non -disruptive level of operation nooise was a major issue. In making these improvements, we were able to achieve levels five decibels (dB) quieter than when compared to prior machines.
TONER COMPARISON: KYOCERA FS-C5200DN vs. HP Colour Laserjet CP2025DN TEST CONDITIONS: 500 pages per month, 36 months, full colour printing, photo test page „Drucker channel“ SOURCE: Information according to „Drucker channel“, 01/2009, (German test magazine; www.druckerchannel.de) |
When using a printer it is usually necessary to replace a complex toner cartridge, containing the photoconductor drum and peripheral parts, every few thousand pages. Instead, KYOCERA has implemented a long-life design concept utilizing various ECOSYS technologies, including a-Si (amorphous silicon) drums, so that only the toner needs to be regularly replaced. As a result, as many as 300,000 pages can be printed with having to replace anything except toner, significantly reducing both waste and cost.
KYOCERA Document Solutions incorporates positively-charged photoconductors that generate less ozone into our products and parts, including a-Si drums.
In the TASKalfa 500ci series, color multifunctional products launched in January 2009, and FS-C540DN, a color printer launched in April 2009, the company has adopted a system in which an a-Si drum is combined with the positive charging roller system, thereby successfully reducing the generation of ozone, which was generated in small quantities in products using conventional systems, to a negligible level.
ECO Labels
Nordic Swan is an environmental label for which shared criteria are stipulated by the Nordic Eco-Labeling Board and which is used in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark. It is operated by the relevant ministries and agencies of these countries. The “Swan” is the official Nordic eco label, introduced by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Swan logo demonstrates that a product is a good environmental choice. The Swan checks that products fulfil certain criteria using methods such as samples from independent laboratories, certificates and control visits. The Swan’s requirements are: attention to the product’s impact on the environment from the raw material to waste throughout the product’s lifecycle; and standards with regards to quality and performance. Many of KYOCERA Document Solutions’ devices comply with the Swan. For more details about awarded products please go to the award site.
The Blue Angel eco-label is one of the most famous environmental labels in the world. Awarded by the German Institute for Quality Assurance and Certification, the label signifies that a product has exceptional ecological credentials and meets the detailed criteria of a comprehensive body of legislation set by the Federal Office for the Environment. The objective of the “Blue Angel” eco label is to keep the impact of harmful substances, energy consumption and waste on the environment to a minimum. The award of the “Blue Angel” eco-label has a long-standing tradition at KYOCERA Document Solutions. Blue Angel is an environmental label whose criteria are stipulated by the Germany Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and which is operated by the German Institute for Quality Assurance and Certification (RAL). For more details about awarded products please go to the award site.
The new ENERGY STAR specification for imaging equipment introduced by the Government of the US and the EU helps users of office and home technology to protect the environment and save money through energy efficient products labeled with its logo. The new ENERGY STAR rating for imaging equipment has stricter requirements than its predecessor, particularly with regards to paper consumption. All of KYOCERA Document Solutions’ current printers and multifunctional products produced after 1 April 2007 fulfil and exceed the requirements of the new ENERGY STAR specification. ENERGY STAR rated printers can cut electricity use by over 60 per cent and an ENERGY STAR rated MFP can save about 160 EUR in electricity bills over its lifetime in comparison to non-rated devices. For more details about awarded products please go to the award site.
Eco Mark is an environmental label established by the Japan Environment Association (JEA) in 1989. Products that have low environmental impact throughout their entire life cycle from production to disposal and are useful for environmental protection can be labeled with this label.
Reduction of environmental load
KYOCERA Document Solutions has made various efforts to reduce the environmental load incurred
through delivering our products to our customers. We contribute to environmental protection not only through its products, but also by ensuring that its manufacturing facilities and methods are environmentally friendly throughout all development, production and distribution processes. This often involves aggressive measures, such as installing solar power generating systems on facility rooftops.
In the past, KYOCERA Document Solutions’ products destined for Europe had been transported via
truck to its warehouses after discharging them at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Since its new warehouse began its operation in 2007 (in Beringe, southern Netherlands), its mode of transportation has been shifted to trains and/or barges*, which are considered to cause less strain on the environment, reducing its truck transportation accordingly. The proportions of its modes of transportation in fiscal 2009 were: 84% for trains, 7% for barges, and 9% for trucks.
In addition to the above-mentioned approach, KYOCERA Document Solutions, since June 2009, has reduced the number of trucks it uses for transportation in order to improve its shipping efficiency travelling from the Netherlands to Italy by using double-decker trailers.
* Barges: Small transport vessels that carry containers from ports to the destination using rivers and canals.
KYOCERA Document Solutions had used two outside warehouses in Japan to store products for domestic shipments until May 2009, when the two warehouses were integrated into the Hirakata Plant. This allowed us to abolish the truck transportation of products manufactured at the Hirakata Plant (Osaka Prefecture) to a location outside our company. In addition, we have been able to integrate our inventory, which had previously been stored at the Tamaki Product Center (Mie Prefecture), into Hirakata Plant, rendering our truck transportation from Hirakata Plant to Tamaki Product Center unnecessary since August 2009.
Our products for the Chinese market were once transported via land to AVX/KYOCERA (Tianjin) International Trading Co., Ltd., which is our sales company in China. This was done by way of Shanghai after shipping from the Shilong Plant in Dongguan City to a warehouse in Guangzhou, using trucks for transportation. To reduce CO2 emissions from transportation, we reviewed our mode of transportation and changed it to shipping products to Shanghai and Tianjin by sea from fiscal 2009.
Export containers from our Shilong Plant, which had once been transported via truck to Yantian Port in Shenzhen, are currently transported via truck to Changping Railway Station in Dongguan City (Guangdong, China), the location of the Shilong Plant, and via railway from Changping Railway Station to Yantian Port. The shift in mode of transportation in the area between Changping Railway Station and Yantian Port has allowed the transport distance by truck to be reduced.
KYOCERA Document Solutions United Kingdom – Environmental Company of the Year
Recognizing the technology of the ECOSYS printer and our efforts towards resolving environmental issues, KYOCERA Document Solutions was elected the Environmental Company of the Year at the Microscope Awards for Channel Excellence (ACE). In addition to our efforts in regard to environmental issues, we were also deemed to have made achievements that set a good example to other companies; an evaluation that was connected to our receiving this award.
KYOCERA’s Commitment to the Environment
The 21st century is becoming known as the “environmental century.” KYOCERA has known since its early days that business activities can influence the environment and human life. Thus, we as KYOCERA Document Solutions established a clear vision to seek harmonious balance between economic development and environmental protection. Our goal is to provide attractive products and services while taking active measures to prevent global warming, reduce waste, promote energy efficiency and conserve resources. Here are some global activites initiated by KYOCERA Document Solutions.
KYOCERA UK – 10:10 Climate Pledge
KYOCERA UK has signed the 10:10 climate pledge and committed to reducing our carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. We’re publishing our progress towards achieving our 10% – if you’d like to see how we’re getting on click here.
We are encouraging all of our customers and busness partners to join the campaign. Find out more about it atwww.1010uk.org.
KYOCERA Document Solutions United Kingdom – Green Card Network
Green Card is the free environmental information network for customers and associates of KYOCERA Document Solutions UK. The aim of the network is to inform our customers about environmentally responsible office practices, relevant legislation and KYOCERA’s own environmental sustainability practices. It is part of KYOCERA’s wider commitment to promoting environmentally responsible business. The principle of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is central to the work of the Green Card network and drives every activity that is undertaken by KYOCERA.
KYOCERA Document Solutions United Kingdom – Environmental Policy
KYOCERA is committed to reducing the impact of its business operations on the environment. The aim is to continuously improve our environmental performance.
In November 2008, KYOCERA Document Solutions became the first company in our industry sector to achieve The Carbon Trust Standard. This accreditation demonstrates our ongoing commitment to reducing the environmental impact of our operations, and recognises the significant contribution of all our staff towards exceeding our carbon abatement targets.
KYOCERA Document Solutions Germany – Environmental Prize
In 2007, KYOCERA Document Solutions Germany along with the German Environmental Aid Association (DUH) and the Federal Association of Medium-size Enterprises (BVMW), established the KYOCERA Eco Award, which is designed to award small- and medium-sized businesses that have contributed to the development of new energy saving technologies and environmental protection projects.
The objective of the joint initiative is to initiate projects among small and medium-sized businesses in Germany for reducing CO2 emissions.
On April 29, 2009, the second award ceremony of the KYOCERA Eco Award was held in Bonn, Germany.
KYOCERA Document Solutions Germany awards the second KYOCERA Eco Award, April 2009
This award has been conducted with a donation of 100 thousand euro in total from KYOCERA Document Solutions Germany, DUH and BVMW, with 50,000 Euro being awarded to the first prize winner, 30,000 Euro to the second prize winner and 20,000 Euro to the third prize winner. The screening this time was conducted by a panel of 10 judges with Prof. Klaus Topfer, then Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and then German Federal Minister for the Environment as chairman, resulting in the selection of the following three companies out of over 60 nominees. On April 29, 2009, the second award ceremony of the KYOCERA Eco Award was held in Bonn, Germany.
First Prize
SkySails GmbH & Co. KG
The company developed high performance sails for freighters. These sails save approximately 50% of the energy previously used during navigation.
Second Prize
Lichtblick GmbH & Co. KG
The company developed natural gas-powered small co-generation facilities in cooperation with the automobile manufacturer, Volkswagen AG. This system can not only reduce household CO2 emission but also network houses to provide extra electricity for local governments as required.
3rd Prize
GROZ Beckert KG
This company developed machine knitting needles that are more lightweight than conventional needles. These needles reduce the electricity used to power knitting machines, as well as contributing to reducing lubricating oil with a change of the material.
KYOCERA Document Solutions America – Evergreen and EIP Award
KYOCERA Document Solutions America received the Technologies and Commodities Category Award at the 2008 Evergreen Awards. Established in 1998, these awards are given to companies that are good models to other companies, in recognition of proactive engagement in enterprise activities designed to reduce waste and recycle in consideration of the environment. This is the second time KYOCERA Document Solutions has won this award, the first being in 2005. We also won the 2008 Industry Green Contractor of EIP Award (Excellence in Partnership Award) – the most competitive category – recognizes companies that provide products that are kind to the environment, and have contributed most to the environment in the areas of manufacturing process and business management.
KYOCERA Document Solutions Australia – Business Clean Up Day in Australia
In February 2009, “Business Clean Up Australia” (a business-oriented volunteer cleaning effort held yearly across Australia) was held. Twelve employees below the president participated as volunteers. Activities included the cleaning of weeds and removal of garbage at Chowder Bay National Park, and the planting of native Australian flora.
KYOCERA Document Solutions South Africa – Donation of Trees
This project has been in continual operation since April, 2008. One tree is planted for each multifunctional product or printer sold, and the customer is asked to become an investor to purchase a tree. Trees are donated to developing areas including West Cape Province and Gauteng Province. It is an excellent opportunity for local natives to learn the importance of protecting trees.
On March 20, 2010, KYOCERA Document Solutions Thailand carried out a volunteer clean-up campaign known as “Big Cleaning Day.” This activity was initiated from the rise of consciousness among employees about contributing to the protection of the global environment in the process of KYOCERA Document Solutions Thailand acquiring its ISO14001 certificate. The first campaign was conducted on June 3, 2006. In this campaign, the fifth Big Cleaning Day, approximately 50 employees participated in cleaning the beach of Khung Kraben Bay in Chantha-buri Province in eastern Thailand and collected litter filling 10 trash bags. KYOCERA Document Solutions Thailand has also planted mangroves as its social contribution activity helping to prevent global warming. In the future, KYOCERA Document Solutions Thailand will also be actively engaged in such environmental protection activities.
Environmental News
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KYOCERA Document Solutions has established a resource recycling system. Under this system, all collected used products are transported to recycling centers operated by KYOCERA Document Solutions and carefully disassembled by hand. After that, an inspection identical to that conducted on newly manufactured parts is conducted on the disassembled parts; reusable parts are reused while any parts not reusable are recycled to the utmost extent. The company has been continuing to achieve zero landfill waste (zero emissions) with this resource recycling system.
In Japan, KYOCERA Document Solutions collects and recycles products and toner containers no longer used by customers through its eight collection centers and recycling centers located throughout Japan. By locating its centers in eight regions throughout the country, the transportation distance can be shortened to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by transportation.
At collection centers, the quality conditions of products collected from customers together with the status of their use by customers are confirmed. After that, the products are transported to recycling centers.
At each recycling center, the products are sorted out based on their quality conditions, and only parts that passed the standards are transported to the company’s Reconditioning Plant. The company has achieved zero emissions by thoroughly sorting out non-reusable parts and focusing on material recycling. (Final landfill rate: less than 1%)
KYOCERA Document Solutions places top priority on reuse, rather than recycling, of used products and toner containers. However, portions that are not reusable are recycled; items are carefully disassembled by hand, focusing on material recycling, and the disassembled parts are sorted out by material such as metal, plastic and glass.
The portions that are not recyclable through material recycling are recycled through chemical or thermal recycling. Through these efforts, KYOCERA Document Solutions successfully reduces landfill waste to as close to zero as possible, and has continued to achieve zero emissions since fiscal 2008.
Reuse of Parts
KYOCERA Document Solutions is also engaged in the business of supplying reusable parts recovered from collected used products to the market as reuse parts.
Based on the information about used products confirmed in the collection centers, reusable plastic parts, printed circuit boards, electric parts and other parts are sorted out, cleaned and inspected for quality at the recycling centers. After that, stricter inspection is conducted on these parts and only parts that passed the inspection are shipped as reuse parts.
Easy administration and ecological waste disposal
Using original KYOCERA toner can substantially reduce the administrative effort and cost associated with disposing of empty toner cassettes. In most European countries KYOCERA has established a toner return program. The service is free of charge – just order a collection box for empty KYOCERA toner cassettes. Contact our service provider for an immediate pick-up and replacement with an empty one. What could be more simple and efficient?
By using an official KYOCERA returns program you are also assured that empty cassettes will be recycled or disposed of in the most ecological way possible. KYOCERA does not offer this service for non-genuine toners.
In fiscal 2009, 512 tons of used toner containers were collected and 198,000 toner containers, were reused. Since model change was conducted for products using reusable toner containers in fiscal 2009, although the weight of the collected toner containers increased by approximately two percent from fiscal 2008, the number of reused toner containers decreased by about 20 percent.
Staff health
Firms are obliged to protect the health of their staff. To satisfy the requirement of germany’s Blue Angel ecolabel, KYOCERA toner must be free of harmful substances such as: Mercury; Cadmium; Lead; Nickel, ChromiumVi compounds, and Dyes that might release carcinogenic particles. Because original KYOCERA toners pass the Blue Angel tests, KYOCERA purchasers can be sure that they have fulfilled their obligation to provide a safe working environment.
Device health
The longlife design of KYOCERA devices is fundamentally different to other laser products. the durable components in ECOSYS devices are designed to operate in conjunction with original KYOCERA toner.
Preserving resources by avoiding waste
Depending on the model, conventional printers can require 15 to 20 times their volume in consumables during their service life. KYOCERA devices produce significantly less waste because, unlike other makes, the ECOSYS concept does not involve the replacement of the photoconductor drum and developer unit when the toner runs out (see pictures below).
We dramatically reduce waste: an average competitor’s toner container includes 60 separately manufactured components; an original KYOCERA toner cassette includes four.
Please read the brochure below which will give insight about positive effect original toner have.