Fiscal 2009 Achievements
Environmental Accounting
Scope and Period of Data Compilation and Basis of Calculation
Scope and Period of Data Compilation
- Period: April 1, 2008-March 31, 2009
- Scope of Data Compilation: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and 100 of its affiliates and subsidiaries in Japan and overseas (76 in Japan, 24 overseas)
- *
- The scope of data completion is the same as the scope covered in this Environmental Report. The number of companies within the scope declined by two from the previous year.
Basis of Calculation
- Data is calculated for environmental conservation costs, environmental conservation benefits (environmental performance) and economic benefits from environmental conservation activities (actual profit or cost-saving benefits) in accordance with the Environmental Accounting Guidelines (fiscal 2006 edition) issued by Japan's Ministry of the Environment.
- Economic benefits are ascertained in terms of real benefits, which consist of earnings and savings, and estimated benefits. Estimated benefits include the economic benefits to customers of using our products, such as lower electricity bills, and environmental improvements produced outside our business sites.
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- Environmental conservation costs reflect straight-line depreciation for capital investments made over the past five years and assumed to have useful lives of five years. The annual benefits of earnings and savings attributable to capital investments, too, are assumed to have resulted from investments over the past five years.
Summary of Fiscal Year 2009
Environmental Conservation Costs
Fiscal 2009 capital investments came in slightly below the prior year's level, but costs increased markedly.
- Capital Investment
Fiscal 2009 capital investment totaled 4.7 billion yen (1.0 billion yen decrease versus the previous year) for the Group, and 2.9 billion yen (0.9 billion yen decrease versus the previous year) for Mitsubishi Electric. In keeping with the Energy Conservation Action Plan, which took effect in fiscal 2005, we continued with efforts begun the previous year to actively invest in high-efficiency equipment, energy-saving support equipment, and photovoltaic power generation adoption to help counter global warming (for details, see the pages on the "Energy Conservation Action Plan" in Preventing Global Warming). In addition, we maintained a solid level of investment in pollution-prevention measures. Examples include expenditures on upgrades and maintenance of facilities for treating atmospheric emissions and wastewater, and investments in replacement vehicles to meet regulatory requirements. - Costs
For Mitsubishi Electric, costs increased by a significant 2.5 billion yen, to 16.7 billion yen for the year. The total for the Group came to 21.8 billion yen. Funds were spent primarily on the development of heat pumps using hydrocarbon as a natural refrigeration medium, technology for creating high-efficiency photovoltaic cells, high-purity plastic recycling technology, and other areas of environmental R&D. In addition, money was spent to conduct groundwater and soil surveys in connection with building upgrades and yard construction, and on responses to results.
Environmental Conservation Benefits (Environmental Performance)
For the third consecutive year, previous fiscal year totals for greenhouse gas emissions, transfers and releases of chemical substances into the atmosphere, water, and soil, and final processing of waste showed a year-on-year decline. Water resource inputs, total wastewater discharges, and total waste disposal, on the other hand, increased. By unit of net sales, increases were noted in nearly all areas because of lower sales compared to the prior year. Water resource inputs and total wastewater discharges increased because of the acquisition of a semiconductor factory. The Mitsubishi Electric Group will continue its efforts to conserve water through reduced usage and recycling/reuse.
Economic Benefits from Environmental Conservation Activities (Real Benefits)
Earnings and savings both declined slightly for Mitsubishi Electric, but increased for the Group.
Economic Benefits from Environmental Considerations in Products and Services (Estimated Benefits)
Successes were achieved in producing environmental improvements and lowering electricity costs associated with customer usage of products like Lossnay commercial ventilator/air cleaner products, photovoltaic power generation systems, hydroelectric generation plants, and energy-saving refrigerators and air conditioners.
- Environmental Conservation Costs
Top figure: Mitsubishi Electric Group (consolidated basis) /Bottom figure: Mitsubishi Electric /Unit: (100 million yen)
| Item | Capital Investment | Costs* | Year-on-Year Change | Main Costs | |
| Business Area Activities | 45.4 28.2 |
104.2 64.4 |
3.1 (0.7) |
- | |
| Pollution prevention | 7.4 4.9 |
43.4 25 |
4.9 1.7 |
Replacement, operation and maintenance of ventilation and wastewater treatment facilities, investment for replacement of vehicles, PCB content investigation, etc. | |
| Global environmental protection | 33.3 22.5 |
32.4 22.3 |
4.5 2.7 |
Investment for conversion to high-efficiency equipment (e.g., air conditioners and refrigerators), implementation of PV cells, investment in rooftop greening, etc. | |
| Resource recycling | 4.7 0.8 |
28.4 17.1 |
(6.3) (5.1) |
Waste processing, reduced use of wood packing materials, product scrap recycling, etc. | |
| Green purchasing/procurement and product-related activities at upstream/downstream of production | 0.6 0.2 |
13.3 11 |
(0.2) 0 |
Investigation of products compliant with the European RoHS-directive, recycling of disposed of products, etc. | |
| Management activities | 0.1 0 |
38 30.9 |
3.2 6.4 |
Environmental training, environmental management system activities, environmental exhibitions, greening of premises, etc. | |
| Negative environmental impact reduction and R&D activities | 0.5 0.5 |
51.3 49.5 |
11.4 11.9 |
Development of natural refrigerant-based HC heat pumps, technological development to enhance the efficiency of photovoltaic cells, development of new structured power modules, development of water quality control technology, etc. | |
| Community activities | 0 0 |
1.2 1 |
0 (0.1) |
Offsite cleanup activities and local woodland preservation activities in communities | |
| Environmental damage | 0.3 0.3 |
9.7 9.7 |
7 7 |
Surveys on the contamination and purification of soil or groundwater | |
| Total | 46.9 29.2 |
217.7 166.5 |
24.5 24.5 |
- | |
| Year-on-year change | (10.1) (9.0) |
24.5 24.5 |
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- Includes depreciation of capital investment over the past five years.
- Environmental Conservation Benefits (Environmental Performance) *
Top figure: Mitsubishi Electric Group (consolidated basis) /Bottom figure: Mitsubishi Electric /Unit: (100 million yen)
| Item | Unit | Fiscal 2009 | Year-on-Year Change | Year-on-Year Per Net Sales |
| Total energy used | 10,000 GJ | 1,558 1,141 |
32 81 |
113% 118% |
| Total water used | 10,000 m3 | 993 730 |
140 101 |
129% 128% |
| Total greenhouse gas emissions | 10,000 tons-CO2 | 108 77 |
(0.3) 6 |
110% 120% |
| Total atmospheric emissions of chemical substances | tons | 783 701 |
(39) (18) |
105% 107% |
| Total water discharged | 10,000m3 | 841 677 |
184 183 |
141% 151% |
| Total discharge of chemical substances in the water and soil | tons | 15 13 |
(0.3) 0.2 |
108% 112% |
| Total waste discharged | tons | 127,198 81,801 |
(16,802) (4,399) |
98% 104% |
| Final disposal | tons | 572 121 |
(393) (14) |
65% 99% |
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- Excluding overseas affiliates
- Economic Benefits from Environmental Conservation Activities (Real Benefits)
Top figure: Mitsubishi Electric Group (consolidated basis) /Bottom figure: Mitsubishi Electric /Unit: (100 million yen)
| Amount | Year-on-Year Change | Main Benefits | |
| Earnings | 43.5 24.4 |
2.8 (0.8) |
Profit on the sale of saleable resources such as the recycling of metal scrap |
| Savings | 40 18.9 |
2.1 0.2 |
Reduced electricity bills by introducing high-efficiency equipment, lower water bills via the reuse of water, a reduction in the use of wood packaging materials by using returnable packaging materials |
| Total | 83.5 43.3 |
4.9 (0.6) |
- Economic Benefits from Environmental Consideration in Products and Services (Estimated Benefits)*
Top figure: Mitsubishi Electric Group (consolidated basis) /Bottom figure: Mitsubishi Electric /Unit: (100 million yen)
| Amount | Main Products | |
| Customer Economic Benefits | 789.7 765.4 |
Improvement in the power generation efficiency of turbine generators, total heat exchange ventilators (Lossnay), energy-efficient refrigerators, air conditioners and electrical discharge machines, elevators with inverters, etc. |
| Environmental Improvement Effects | 26.3 26.1 |
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- Excluding overseas affiliates
