First Supply Chain Resource Conservation Model Grand Prize awarded to a team from Panasonic Ecology Systems Co., Ltd. for its successful reduction of the amount of by-products by 11%

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has been conducting the “Supply Chain Resource Conservation Partnership Program,” which aims to support resource conservation activities by SMEs by dispatching experts who can “visualize resource losses” and help them conserve more natural resources.

As part of the Program, METI established an award program for increasing the recognition of successful projects. A jury consisting of external experts reviewed 20 projects adopted in FY 2008.

As a result of the review, this fiscal year’s “Supply Chain Resource Conservation Model Grand Prize” was awarded to a team from Panasonic Ecology Systems, which had successfully reduced the amount of manufacturing by-products by 11% through information sharing among companies.

As a product of this Program, the results of all teams’ projects were compiled into a document that describes examples of resource conservation activities.

1. Award program

(1) Purpose of the awards

The Supply Chain Resource Conservation Partnership Program aims to support resource conservation activities by SMEs by dispatching experts who can “visualize resource losses” and assist SMEs in reducing resource losses and adopting environmentally conscious designs through a partnership of companies constituting the manufacturing phase of a supply chain. The Program also intends to develop projects successful enough to set a good example to other corporate teams facing similar challenges and thereby foster reductions in costs and environmental burdens in Japan’s manufacturing sector.

For the purpose of increasing the recognition of successful projects implemented under the Program, the Supply Chain Resource Conservation Model Grand Prize is given to a corporate team to recognize its achievement of the most outstanding results in this Program.

(2) Review procedure

A jury consisting of external experts (Chairman: Katsuhiko Kokubu, professor at Graduate School, Kobe University) reviewed 20 corporate groups selected to participate in the Program in FY 2008.

(3) Description of prizes

(a) Supply Chain Resource Conservation Model Grand Prize

This prize is awarded to a corporate team that has the highest potential to set a good example to other companies with respect to challenges identified through the visualization of resource losses, improvement measures devised for them, and a system established for activities under this Program.

Recipient :

Team from Panasonic Ecology Systems Co., Ltd.

Target product :

Equipment cooling unit

Project description :

In the process of molding products from resin sheets, about 30% of the resin sheets were wasted as by-products in the past.
By directly sharing information with the resin sheet manufacturer, with which information sharing had taken place only through the trading company before, Panasonic Ecology Systems found that the width of the resin sheet may be changed. By having the resin sheet width reduced, Panasonic Ecology Systems successfully reduced the amount of resin sheet by-products by 11%.

The company also found that the by-products can be recycled as a raw material for production, and has started discussions about the possibility of recycling.

(b) Green Supply Chain Prize

This prize is awarded to a corporate team that has achieved results close to the Grand Prize winner and has established a new framework for collaboration.

Recipient 1 :

Team from Ohu Wood Works Co., Ltd.

Target products :

Work tables for cooking lessons and sinks for educational facilities

Project description :

Ohu Wood Works discovered that the lack of attention to the standard size of stainless material in the stainless sinks design phase partly contributed to the generation of by-products during sink manufacturing. The company has started to consider the standard size of stainless material in the design phase, analyze the amount of by-products for each component, and share the results among all those concerned.

Recipient 2 :

Team from Kurashiki Kako Co., Ltd.

Target product :

Rubber cushions for automobiles

Project description :

Kurashiki Kako has been considering recycling its manufacturing by-products as a raw material for production, but the company was uncertain as to what kinds of economic and environmental impacts this would have as compared with the current means of disposal which consists of selling them as fuel.
Under the Program, the company conducted an assessment of both the rubber grinding and recycling processes and found that recycling as a raw material for production would reduce input costs and environmental burdens throughout the supply chain.

(c) Excellent Kaizen Prize

This prize is awarded to a corporate team that has achieved results close to the Grand Prize winner and has already launched measures for improvement.

Recipient :

Team from Koizumi Lighting Technology Corp.

Target product :

Fluorescent ceiling lights

Project description :

By previous quality standards, 70-80% of defective parts identified at a parts supplier were determined to be defective due to flaws in areas that would be hidden in the finished products. Koizumi Lighting Technology revised their quality standards. This created an estimated improvement effect worth about 1.5 million yen for the supplier.

2. “Projects of the Supply Chain Resource Conservation Partnership Program (provisional translation)”

METI has compiled “Projects of the Supply Chain Resource Conservation Partnership Program,” a document describing the results of visualization of resource losses and consideration of improvement measures of all the teams participating in the Program in FY 2008, and is distributing it. METI expects that manufacturers facing problems unsolvable on their own will use this as a guide.

This document also lists consultants assigned to individual teams.

The document is now distributed in booklet form as well as in electronic form, which is downloadable at the following site (in Japanese):
http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/recycle/main/3r_policy/casebook.pdf (PDF:7MB)

Press Releases