Environmental Management
The Kubota Group has systematically established its environmental management systems in order to facilitate business operation throughout the entire value chain including business sites and operational divisions based on the Kubota Global Identity and the Environmental Charter. The Group also promotes environmental management that is appropriate for the type of business activities of the site/operational division. Production sites, in particular, are associated with large environmental loads related to energy and waste, as well as the risks of air pollution and water contamination. In order to properly address such risks, the Group has established environmental management systems based on ISO 14001 and EMAS, and is endeavoring to promote business management in accordance with the required rules and the continuous improvement of environmental conservation activities.
- Compliance with Environmental Laws and Regulations
- The Kubota Group’s Environmental Management System
- Supplier Management
- Environmental Education and Enlightenment
- Status of Environmental Management System Certification Acquisition
Compliance with Environmental Laws and Regulations
To ensure compliance with environmental laws and regulations and prevent environmental accidents, the Kubota Group conducts its business in accordance with the rules and regulations it has formulated in relation to environmental conservation.
For exhaust gas, wastewater, noise, vibration and other variables, the Group has set and thoroughly manages its own control values at each production site, which are stricter than the corresponding laws and regulations, and has also established a system to promptly report any instances of non-compliance or complaints relating to environmental laws and regulations to relevant government bodies and the head office.
Each year, the Kubota Group also conducts environmental audits to confirm that the environmental conservation systems and activities are properly implemented at each site, as well as environmental risk assessments to clarify the status of environmental risks and establish improvements, with the aim of preventing the violation of environmental laws/regulations and environmental accidents.
Despite these efforts, however, in RY2019 in Japan we had three cases of inadequate disposal processing of fluorocarbons, one case of misunderstanding the type of service contracted in waste product treatment, one case of paint run-off due to rain, one case of diesel flowing into sewers, and one case overseas of wastewater exceeding regulation levels. We investigated any impact on the ambient environment and are working to prevent recurrence. Furthermore, we were not subject to any fines or punishments.
The Kubota Group’s Environmental Management System
The diagram below shows the structure of the environmental management system of the Kubota Group.
1. Environment-related Rules and Regulations
The Kubota Group has formulated environment-related rules and regulations based on its internal control system, targeting Kubota Corporation, all of its consolidated subsidiaries and a part of its affiliated companies accounted for under the equity method that are highly significant in its environmental management.
The rules and regulations are classified as follows:
These rules and regulations are reviewed every year, according to the business environment and revisions of laws and regulations. The latest version of these rules and regulations are available on the Group portal site, allowing employees around the world to refer to them.
2. Investigation and Management of Environmental Data for Understanding by the Kubota Group
In order to practice environmental conservation activities on a global scale, the Kubota Group utilizes the “KUBOTA Ecology Data E-System” (KEDES) to collect environmental data, which includes information from our business sites on their energy usage, amounts of generated and discharged waste, water usage, and VOC emissions, etc.
“KEDES” is a system that collectively manages environmental data at global business sites. Staffs at each business site register monthly environmental data, which is used for target management of their own site. The Environmental Protection Department aggregates and analyzes the data, and uses it for reporting inside and outside the group. The boundary of the environmental data aggregation covers Kubota Corporation and all (100%) of its consolidated subsidiaries.
3. Environmental Auditing
Each year, the Environmental Protection Department conducts an environmental audit that incorporates a document audit targeting all production sites, service sites, offices, and construction and maintenance management departments in Japan, as well as overseas group production sites.
Moreover, in addition to the environmental audit by the Environmental Protection Department, annual internal environmental audits are conducted at production sites. Through these means, and by taking the initiative to self-check the status of environmental management, every effort is being made to further improve management levels.
Number of sites | 267 (254 bases and 13 agricultural machinery sales companies) |
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Number of audit items | 21 (for maintenance and management departments) up to 50 (for service sites)
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Audit details | Water and air quality management, noise and vibration management, waste discharge and chemical substance management, climate change prevention, response to abnormalities and emergencies, and environmental management system |
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Environmental audit
Kubota Baumaschinen GmbH (Germany)
Environmental Audit Implementation Status
- *1.For agricultural machinery distributors, the audit was conducted on a company basis instead of on a site basis.
- *2.Departments engaged in the business of operation or maintenance of environmental plants
4. Environmental Risk Assessment
Environmental risks for facilities are evaluated from the function and management methods, etc. of environment-related equipment, and for facilities that are deemed to require countermeasures, risk reduction activities are promoted to strengthen equipment and management countermeasures until environmental risks are at an acceptable level.
The Kubota Group is proactively working to further reduce environmental risks by conducting environmental audits and environmental risk assessments - two activities with differing perspectives - in parallel.
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Environmental risk assessment
Kubota Sakai Plant
5. Environmental Patrols
At each site, environmental patrols are carried out to meticulously assess the entire site and confirm the absence or presence of conditions that may lead to environmental accidents or violations of environmental laws and regulations. The Kubota Group aims to reduce environmental risks by conducting environmental patrols and finding situations that may cause any abnormalities at an early stage.
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Environmental patrol
Kubota Okajima Business Center
6. Drills for Responding to Abnormal and Emergency Situations
The Kubota Group is working to identify and minimize environmental risks associated with its business activities through risk-specific response procedures.
We are also conducting drills each year based on response procedures that assume the outbreak of environmental accidents or situations that could arise in environmental accidents, in order to mitigate the impact on the ambient environment.
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Emergency response drill simulating the leakage of oil
Kubota Utsunomiya Plant
7. On-site Investigations of Waste Treatment Contractors and Purchasers of Valuable Resources
In order to promote the proper treatment of waste and other materials including valuable resources at its operating sites in Japan, the Kubota Group is increasingly employing the services of top-rated certified operators. At the same time, the Group is conducting on-site investigations of industrial and other recyclable waste treatment contractors as well as purchasers of valuable resources.
As far as industrial waste where there are large numbers of treatment contractors, the Kubota Group has introduced its own on-site investigation appointing system that is run by its production sites, offices, sales companies, and other companies. In those cases where multiple sites including production sites use the same contractor for the treatment of waste, the officer responsible for the treatment of waste at the production site takes responsibility for the investigation. In this manner, successful steps are being taken to increase the effectiveness of investigations.
Supplier Management
The Kubota Group promotes measures to protect the environment, working closely with suppliers who support our environmental management.
As a specific example of activities, Kubota Agricultural Machinery (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (China) conducts “environmental patrols” of existing suppliers to verify compliance with environmental laws and requests suppliers to take recommended steps for addressing any points for improvement found with the goal of minimizing the risk of supply stoppages for procured components. For new suppliers, patrols are carried out prior to their approval, with only those verified as legally compliant selected as new suppliers.
Environmental Education and Enlightenment
1. Results of Environmental Education in 2019
The Kubota Group offers environmental education programs to raise awareness among its employees. The education program for employees consists of rank-based training, professional training, and general training. The Group also assists external group’s environmental education programs.
Classification | Course title | Frequency | No. of participants | Course descriptions |
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Education by employee-level | Training for new employees | 1 | 173 | Global and local environmental issues and Kubota’s environmental conservation activities |
Training for newly appointed supervisors | 2 | 42 | Kubota’s environmental management and efforts as supervisors | |
Training for newly appointed foremen | 1 | 12 | Kubota’s environmental management and efforts as foremen | |
The Safety, Environment and Quality Forum for executive management | 1 | 300 | A lecture on “Risk Management that the Management Team Should Keep in Check” by Hideki Yoshinari, representative director of Yoshinari Consulting. | |
Professional education | Basics of environmental management | 1 | 25 | Basic knowledge of legal systems, environmental risk, and environmental conservation |
Waste management | 2 | 58 | Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law, practical training in consignment contracts and manifests, etc. | |
Environment-related facility management | 1 | 10 | Pollution control technologies and pollution control laws | |
Education to train ISO 14001 environmental auditors | 1 | 49 | The ISO 14001 standard, environment-related laws, audit techniques | |
Site training | Waste management | 2 | 57 | Waste management (storage and processing of construction waste) |
Total | 12 | 726 |
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Waste management training on site
Kubota Hanshin Plant Mukogawa Site
2. Environmental Achievement Awards
During the Environment Month in June every year, the Kubota Group presents the Environmental Achievement Awards to commend individuals and groups that have made notable contributions to environmental conservation, as well as to boost the Group’s employees’ environmental conservation awareness and activate their environmental activities.
In 2019, environmental conservation activities were evaluated targeting the four segments of production sites, non-production sites, product development, and education and awareness raising. As a result, 46 cases were awarded for their achievements in energy saving, waste reduction, VOC reduction, reducing environmental risks, development of environment-friendly products, and so on. Five cases were awarded as the Excellent Prize.
We will continue to award excellent initiatives that contribute to regional or global environmental conservation, and encourage sharing of the details of such initiatives within the Group, with the aim of further activating environmental conservation activities.
Boundary | Company, department | Theme |
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Production sites |
Kubota Utsunomiya Plant | Waste reduction by introducing equipment for regenerating transmission oil for rice transplanters |
Kubota Manufacturing of America Corporation (US) | Reduce Water Resource by Reclaiming E-coat Post Rinse Carry-over | |
Product development |
PW Technology Group, Electronic Equipped Machinery Marketing and Sales Department, Farm Machinery Products and Post-Harvest Division | Commercial humidied air cleaner Pure Washer PW24W-EW1, PW24W-EWL1, PW24G-EW1, PW24G-EWL1, PW24W-EW2, PW24W-EWL2 |
Tractor Division Compact Tractor Engineering Dept. |
AGRIROBO tractor SL60A | |
Farm Machinery Products and Post-Harvest Division Kubota Air Conditioner, Ltd. Research & Development Dept. |
Air handling unit Humidity control outdoor-air processing unit DHM-50C |
Boundary | Classification, No. of winners |
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Production sites | Excellent Prize: 2, Encouragement Award: 10, Good Effort Award: 22 |
Non-production sites | Encouragement Award: 3 |
Product development |
Excellent Prize: 3, Encouragement Award: 5 |
Education and awareness raising |
Encouragement Award: 1 |
Status of Environmental Management System Certification Acquisition
The Kubota Group requires all of its production sites to acquire ISO 14001 certification or other equivalent environmental certification (EMAS, etc.).
As of the end of RY2019, 41 of the Group’s 55 production sites worldwide (acquisition rate of 75%) have acquired environmental management system certification. In Japan, 22 of its 23 production sites (acquisition rate of 96%) have acquired ISO 14001 certification. Of its 32 overseas production sites, 19 sites (acquisition rate of 59%) have acquired ISO 14001 certification or other certification for environmental management systems. The Kubota Group will make continuous efforts to raise the acquisition rate of the certification.
1. ISO 14001 Certification
No | Name | Other Organizations and Subsidiaries Included | Main Business |
Inspecting/Certifying Organization | Date of Certification |
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1 | Tsukuba Plant | Eastern Main Parts Center Tractor and Agricultural Implement Service Dept. Tsukuba Training Center Kanto Kubota Precision Machinery Co., Ltd. |
Engines, agricultural machinery, etc. | LRQA | November 28, 1997 |
2 | Keiyo Plant | Ichikawa Plant Distribution Center |
Ductile iron pipe, fittings spiral welded steel pipe | LRQA | July 16, 1998 |
3 | Hanshin Plant | Marushima Factory | Ductile iron pipes, fittings, rolling-mill rolls, TXAX | LRQA | March 5, 1999 |
4 | Kyuhoji Business Center | Kubota Environmental Service Co., Ltd. KUBOTA Membrane Corp. KUBOTA Keiso Corp. |
Measuring instruments, measuring systems, rice-milling products, waste shredder systems, submerged membranes, and mold temperature controllers, etc. | DNV | March 19, 1999 |
5 | Hirakata Plant | Valves, cast steel, new ceramic materials, and construction machinery | LRQA | September 17, 1999 |
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6 | Okajima Business Center | Industrial cast iron products | JICQA | December 22, 1999 |
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7 | Sakai Plant, Sakai Rinkai Plant | Agricultural machinery, construction machinery, engines and related equipment | LRQA | March 10, 2000 |
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8 | Shiga Plant | FRP products | JUSE | May 18, 2000 |
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9 | Water Engineering & Solution Business Unit | Shin-yodogawa Environmental Plant Center | Sewage and sludge treatment, water purification, wastewater treatment facilities, submerged membrane | ICJ | July 14, 2000 |
10 | Pumps Business Unit | KUBOTA Kiko Ltd. | Sewage and water purification plants, pumps and pump stations | LRQA | July 14, 2000 |
11 | Utsunomiya Plant | Tractor and Agricultural Implement Service Dept. Utsunomiya Training Center | Rice transplanters and combine harvesters | LRQA | December 8, 2000 |
No | Name | Other Organizations and Subsidiaries Included | Main Business |
Inspecting/Certifying Organization | Date of Certification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nippon Plastic Industry Co., Ltd. | Head office and plant, Mino Plant | Plastic pipes, plastic sheets, etc. | JSA | October 27, 2000 |
2 | Kubota Construction Co., Ltd. | Design and construction of civil engineering structures and buildings | JQA | December 22, 2000 | |
3 | Kubota Environmental Service Co., Ltd. | Installation, maintenance and management of environmental systems for service water, sewage, landfill disposal, raw waste and waste plants, etc. | MSA | November 20, 2002 | |
4 | Kubota ChemiX Co., Ltd. | Tochigi Plant | Plastic pipes and couplings | JUSE | March 27, 2003 (integrated authentication in 2011) |
Sakai Plant | |||||
Odawara Plant | |||||
Kyushu KUBOTA Chemical Co., Ltd. | |||||
5 | KUBOTA Air Conditioner Co., Ltd. | Tochigi Plant | Central air conditioning systems | JQA | August 27, 2004 |
6 | KUBOTA Precision Machinery Co., Ltd. | Hydraulic valves, hydraulic cylinders, transmissions, hydraulic pumps, hydraulic motors, etc. | LRQA | March 17, 2007 | |
7 | KUBOTA KASUI Corporation | Design, construction and maintenance management of environmental conservation facilities | BCJ | February 1, 2010 | |
8 | Kansouken Inc. | Package software supporting water business | JCQA | April 14, 2014 |
No | Name | Main Business |
Inspecting/Certifying Organization | Date of Certification |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | SIAM KUBOTA Corporation Co.,Ltd.[Headquarters](Thailand) | Small diesel engines and agricultural machinery | MASCI | February 28, 2003 |
2 | P.T. Kubota Indonesia (Indonesia) | Diesel engines and agricultural machinery | LRQA | February 10, 2006 |
3 | Kubota Materials Canada Corporation (Canada) | Cast steel products, TXAX | SGS (U.S.) | June 15, 2006 |
4 | KUBOTA Precision Machinery (Thailand) Co.,Ltd. (Thailand) | Equipment for tractors | LRQA | August 5, 2015 |
5 | Kubota Manufacturing of America Corporation (U.S.) (including Kubota Industrial Equipment Corporation (U.S.)) |
Small-sized tractors, mowers, utility vehicles and tractor accessories | BSI | September 20, 2012 (integrated in 2015) |
6 | SIAM KUBOTA Corporation Co., Ltd.[Amata Nakorn](Thailand) | Tractors and combine harvesters | BV | September 27, 2012 |
7 | KUBOTA KASUI VIETNAM CO., LTD. [Bac Ninh] (Vietnam) | Chemical agents for water treatment | BSI | January 18, 2013 |
8 | KUBOTA SANLIAN PUMP (ANHUI) Co., Ltd. (China) | Pumps | CCSCC | May 29, 2013 |
9 | Kubota Agricultural Machinery (SUZHOU) Co., Ltd. (China) | Combine harvesters, rice transplanters and tractors | SGS | November 13, 2013 |
10 | Kubota Construction Machinery (WUXI) Co., Ltd. | Construction machinery | CQC | December 11, 2014 |
11 | SIAM KUBOTA Metal Technology Co., Ltd. (Thailand) | Cast iron products for engines and tractors | BV | December 19, 2014 |
12 | Kubota Engine (WUXI) Co ., Ltd. (China) | Diesel engines | SGS | March 22, 2015 |
13 | KUBOTA Engine(Thailand) Co., Ltd. (Thailand) | Diesel engines | LRQA | July 3, 2015 |
14 | Kubota Saudi Arabia Company, LLC (Saudi Arabia) | Cast steel products | TÜV | September 30, 2016 |
15 | Kubota Farm Machinery Europe S.A.S (France) | Tractors | BV (France) | February 20, 2017 |
16 | KUBOTA KASUI VIETNAM CO., LTD. [Binh Duong] (Vietnam) | Chemical agents for water treatment | BSI | May 22, 2018 |
17 | Kverneland Group Manufacturing Lipetsk (Russia) | Tractor accessories | Russian Register | June 6, 2018 |
LRQA: Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance Limited(U.K.)
DNV: DNV Certification B.V.(Netherlands)
JUSE: Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers ISO Center
ICJ: Intertek Certification Japan Limited
JICQA: JIC Quality Assurance Ltd. (Japan)
JSA: Japanese Standards Association
JQA: Japan Quality Assurance Organization
MSA: Management System Assessment Center (Japan)
BCJ: The Building Center of Japan
JCQA: Japan Chemical Quality Assurance Ltd
MASCI: Management System Certification Institute (Thailand)(Thailand)
SGS(U.S.): Systems & Services Certification,a Division of SGS North America Inc.(U.S.)
TÜV: TÜV Rheinland Cert GmbH(Germany)
SGS: SGS United Kingdom Limited(U.K.)
BSI: BSI Assurance UK Limited(U.K.)
BV: Bureau Veritas Certification Holding SAS - UK Branch(U.K.)
CCSCC: China Classification Society Certification Company(China)
CQC: China Quality Certification Centre(China)
BV(France): Bureau Veritas Certification France(France)
2. EMAS certification
No | Name | Main Business |
Inspecting/Certifying Organization | Date of Certification |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kubota Baumaschinen GmbH(Germany) | Construction machinery | IHK | January 3, 2013 |
IHK: Industrie- und Handelskammer fur die Pfalz(Germany)