With the aim of becoming a leader in environmental initiatives, Epson has taken a proactive approach to life cycle assessment (LCA). Its product development activities using LCA methods have been evaluated highly, with Epson being awarded the LCA Japan Forum Chairman’s Prize in the 3rd LCA Japan Forum Awards (given by the Japan Environmental Management Association for Industry (JEMAI)).

The prize also recognized other factors including improvements in device life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis and data reliability based on Epson’s eco-leaf labeling activities as well as the construction of a system for efficient data collection, its application to raising environmental and business efficiency, and its utilization for LIME (a Japanese life-cycle impact assessment method based on endpoint modeling).

Epson’s LCA activities began with efforts to satisfy the standards required for EcoLeaf labeling in Japan, and the inkjet printer business first gained recognition under the EcoLeaf system in October 2003. Now seven product businesses and nine product categories (including Epson Direct) have earned recognition, with more than 100 products carrying EcoLeaf labels. Manufacturing affiliates around the world operate systems to ensure they can smoothly provide data in response to requests from operations divisions or other Japan-based offices.

The LCI analysis methods used in the device business are a distinctive feature of Epson’s LCA activities. The device business was a logical place to start these LCA efforts, since it accounts for 80% of the total environmental impact of group products but only around 30% of total group sales. Reducing the environmental impact of the device business became an urgent priority as the end of the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol loomed. Moreover, in recent years, industrial customers have begun to request more environmental data on the products they purchase, especially components supplied to the automotive industry for installation in vehicles and to the telecommunications industry for use in applications such as mobile phones.

It is vital that companies achieve a balance between environmental and business considerations, and they need to strive for overall sustainability among the individual activities that make up their operations. Epson links ecology and economy by identifying indicators of environmental and business efficiency and using these to determine macro-level direction for its environmental activities. This mindset is important for boosting the motivation of its designers and for promoting environmental activities both within and outside the company. Epson has established two types of indicators – business indicators and product indicators – and in its calculation logic it uses the quantitative data required for LCA to supply environmental impact figures.

In 2004 Epson began using LCA for LIME, a method of placing a monetary value on the costs borne by the company, users and society (environmental impact on ecosystems, etc.) through the acts of making, selling, using and ultimately disposing of products. EcoLeaf data is used for the inventory data that forms the basis of the assessments. This method has been used for a diverse range of life cycle impact assessments, including assessments of new and existing products, recent assessments of the effectiveness of equipment to prevent CO2 emissions in the device business, and assessments of process improvement schemes for industrial applications of inkjet technology.

Before the existence of the LCA method it was not possible to quantify environmental impact. The only way to take measures aimed at reducing environmental impact in a certain area and ascertain their effects was to require quantitative reductions in overall volumes. Now the widespread use of LCA enables us to quantifiably measure environmental impact. "Epson has mastered the LCA method and can now use it without difficulty," says Kiyomi Nakano, group leader of the Trust-based Management Department (with responsibility for environmental issues), which supports Epson businesses in their LCA activities. "In future we want to actively improve our products, plant and processes on the basis of the quantitative figures gained with this method, and actively publicize the effects within and outside the company."