August 28, 2002
The Yokohama Laboratories of Furukawa Electric (General Manager: Yusaku Himono, Director; Location: Nishi-ku, Yokohama) has acquired the ISO14001 certification, an international standard for the Environment Management System (EMS). The date of certification was June 14, and the certificate was issued on August 16. The certification was examined by DET NORSKE VERITAS AS (DNV, located in Kobe) with its headquarter in Norway, and was registered in RAAD Voor Accreditatie (RvA) --the Dutch certification agency.
The Yokohama Laboratories is a key center of Furukawa's research and development activities. It is engaged in research work on semiconductors, electronic appliances for automobiles, antennas for terrestrial digital broadcasting, etc., as well as manufacturing of optical devices. Its optical device section already acquired the ISO9001 certification for the Quality Management System in March 2000.
Taking this occasion of certification acquisition, the Laboratories intends to promote the maintenance and improvement of the EMS and associated environmental performance, whereby such specific activities are targeted at as environment-conscious research and development, strengthening the control of chemical substances, reduction and reuse of wastes, and energy conservation.
Furukawa Electric considers that all activities should be based on an awareness of its effect on the global environment, and environment preservation activities should be continued. Thus the company is promoting an action plan of acquiring the ISO14001 certification by all of its twelve business bases by the end of fiscal 2002; and the Yokohama Laboratories is the ninth following the Chiba, Mie, Hiratsuka, Kambara, Osaka, Shinagawa, Copper Product Plant of Nikko, and Fukui Works. The remaining three Works are concentrating their efforts to acquire the certificate by the end of this fiscal year.
Furukawa Electric publishes the information on its environment preservation initiatives as described below:
- Environment Report 2002 (Japanese edition to be published in early September; English edition in October)
- Furukawa Electric's Material Recycling (a brochure in Japanese)
- Furukawa Electric Review No.110 (in Japanese), a Special Issue on Environment-Harmonized Polymer Materials and their Applications
- Furukawa Review No.22 (in English), Selected Papers from the Special Issue on Environment-Harmonized Polymer Materials and their Applications
- Furukawa Electric's Home Page at http://www.furukawa.co.jp/