Expanding Environment-friendly Products and Services
The Kubota Group is contributing to protecting the global environment and solving social issues in the food, water and living environment fields through the provision of environment-friendly products and services. The Group conducts environmental assessment of products in the design and development stages, and promotes environment-friendliness over the entire product life cycle, from the procurement of raw materials to the disposal of products. The Group internally certifies exceptionally environment-friendly products as Eco-Products, and is working to expand its lineup of certified products.
- Activities towards achieving SDGs
- Environmental Considerations in the Product Life Cycle
- Internal Certification System for Eco-Products
- The Evolution of Environment-friendly Products and Services
Activities towards achieving SDGs
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Major Activity Content |
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2030/2020 Activity Targets (KPIs) |
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Environmental Considerations in the Product Life Cycle
1. Major Initiatives to Ensure Environment-friendliness
2. Analysis of Environmental Loads in the Product Life Cycle
The Kubota Group handles a diverse range of products, from agricultural and construction machinery to pipe systems and water treatment equipment. As part of its product environmental assessment, the Group conducts life cycle assessment (LCA) for its major products to determine the amount of greenhouse gas emissions over each product life cycle. The results of the LCA were subject to third-party review in 2014 by the Japan Environmental Management Association for Industry.
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Results of LCA: Proportions of Greenhouse Gases
- *1.LCA results for tractors were calculated based on the assumption of towing and transporting work for 5,000 hours by the M9540DTHQ-EC agricultural tractor in France.
- *2.LCA results for ductile iron pipes were calculated based on the data reported in the “Study on Piping Technologies for Sustainable Water Supply Service” (Japan Water Research Center). The proportions of raw material procurement, manufacturing, and product transportation were determined according to Kubota’s CO2 emissions data.
Greenhouse gases emitted in the use stage account for around 90% in the life cycle of agricultural tractors, while gases emitted in the manufacturing and construction stage account for around 90% in ductile iron pipes. Thus the frequency and scale of environmental loads in the life cycle vary depending on the product type. The Kubota Group enhances its environment-friendly products and services by reflecting the results of the analysis of environmental loads in the product life cycle in its environment-friendly design development.
3. Major Initiatives to Ensure Environment-friendliness by Product Group
4. Examples of Initiatives to Ensure Environment-friendliness
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①Mini Cultivator
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②Zero-Turn Mowers
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③Air-conditioning equipment
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④Combine Harvesters
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⑤Plastic Pipes
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⑥Johkasou
Internal Certification System for Eco-Products
1. Regarding the Internal Certification System for Eco-Products
The Kubota Group’s internal certification system for Eco-Products was introduced to internally certify products with exceptional environmental friendliness. We evaluate products in accordance with matters related to the five basic items for environmental conservation in the Kubota Group’s environmental management, namely, “Tackling Climate Change,” “Working towards a Recycling-based Society,” “Conserving Water Resources,” “Controlling Chemical Substances,” and “Conserving Biodiversity,” and certify those products that satisfy our internal standards as Eco-Products.
We have also received third-party assurance for our “Sales Ratio of Eco-Products,” which is the ratio of sales generated by Eco-Products certified under our internal system.
2. Eco-Products Certification Committee
The Eco-Products Certification Committee, chaired by the General Manager of the Manufacturing Headquarters, consists of the committee members elected from each Division, as well as the Research and Development Management Department and the Environmental Protection Department. Upon receiving an application from each Division for the certification of a product, the Committee examines the product’s adequacy as an Eco-Product and gives certification.
3. The Pathway to Expanding Certified Eco-Products
Based on our internal certification system established for Eco-Products, the Kubota Group certified an additional 64 products in RY2019, including 3 Super Eco-Products, bringing the total number of certified Eco-Products to 282. The sales ratio of Eco-Products grew to 66.3%, meaning that the Group reached its Medium-Term Environmental Conservation Targets for 2020 one year ahead of plan. We will continue to carry out initiatives focusing on the development of environment-friendly products and expand our Eco-Products lineup.
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Trends in No. of Eco-Product Certifications (Total)
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Trends in Sales Ratio of Eco-Products*
- The sales ratio of products that have fulfilled the internal requirements in our own Eco-Products Certification System
Sales ratio of Eco-Products (%) = Sales of Eco-Products / Sales of products (excluding construction work, services, software, parts and accessories) × 100
- The sales ratio of products that have fulfilled the internal requirements in our own Eco-Products Certification System
4. List of Products Certified as Eco-Products
The Evolution of Environment-friendly Products and Services
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①The Evolution of Iron Pipes
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②The Evolution of Engines
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③The Evolution of Scales
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④The Evolution of Kubota Tractors
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⑤Evolution and History of Rice Transplanters