Green Purchasing
Honda has formulated Green Purchasing Guidelines, and is working with its suppliers to maximize procurement of materials and parts that have minimal environmental impact.
* Covers consolidated Group companies
(those considered subsidiaries or consolidated affiliates under law)
Promotion of Green Purchasing Guidelines
Moving proactively to implement environmentally responsible purchasing of parts and materials, we formulated Green Purchasing Guidelines in FY2002. (Please refer to the outline of our guidelines below.) Sharing targets and action items with our suppliers, we are working to attain our targets by FY2011.
Handling of Substances of Concern
Honda has nearly completed its transition from the use of four metals considered to have a particularly harmful impact on the environment—lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, cadmium—in its production of motorcycles, automobiles and power products in Japan.
In FY2007 Honda nearly completed the transition to metal products containing less than 0.35wt% of lead or lead alloys, as mandated by our guidelines.
Environmental Impact of Parts Production by Suppliers
In FY2007 Honda applied its LCA System in an initiative to seek reductions in CO2 emissions and landfill waste generated by suppliers. As a result, CO2 emissions by suppliers were reduced 12% from FY2001 levels, and landfill waste was reduced 97% from FY2001 levels. In both cases, these achievements were the result of a cooperative effort between Honda and its suppliers.
In FY2008 we will continue to seek further reduction in the use of substances of concern as defined in the Guidelines and reduction in the environmental impact of our suppliers' activities.
Promoting ISO 14001 Certification for Suppliers
In FY2007 we worked proactively to encourage suppliers to acquire ISO 14001 certification. As a result, 98% of our suppliers, a total of 403 companies, have now acquired this certification.
•Honda Green Purchasing Guidelines: Outline
* Guidelines governing the handling of substances of concerns as defined in the EU regulations (lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, cadmium) and other substances of concern defined independently by Honda; in particular the reduction in the use and elimination of these substances
Case Study
Service Replacement Parts Purchasing Initiative
•Results for FY2007
11,899 molds recycled
1,660 tons of molds recycled
Since most molds are made of metal, they are recycled when no longer needed. Making molds from recycled molds reduces CO2 emissions 25% over making molds from raw materials. Ideally, suppliers would simply recycle their molds as soon as possible. However, many molds are used to make service replacement parts, making it difficult to determine when molds should be recycled. As a result, old molds can end up being stored for a long period of time. In FY2003 Honda began an initiative to share with suppliers guidelines for decision-making on the recycling of molds, leading to standardization of recycling procedures and more proactive recycling. In FY2007 we continued cooperating with suppliers to ensure the timely recycling of old molds.
