Yamaha Corporation of America Strengthens Commitment to Environment
BUENA PARK, Calif. The Yamaha Corporation has long been a leader in the area of environmental consciousness and practices. The firm instituted an Environmental Management Division in 1974 and issued the first of a series of detailed annual environmental reports in 2000. By 2003, all of its factories had achieved ISO 14001 certification, which recognizes compliance with an environmental management system devised by the International Organization for Standardization.
Yamaha Corporation of America, the largest subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation, Japan, has also established new business practices designed to reflect concern for and sensitivity toward the environment.
Yamaha Corporation of America recently instituted its Green Procurement initiative intended to reduce and eventually eliminate hazardous chemicals in its products. As part of the company's continuing commitment to identifying and eliminating potential environmental hazards in connection with the company's products, the procurement system requires Yamaha's suppliers to evaluate their processes from the assembly of raw material to the product's end-of-life disposal and to certify that their products are not hazardous or disclose the presence of any potentially hazardous chemicals in their products.
One main goal of this initiative is to identify any particular products that may contain any one of six potentially hazardous substances: cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium, mercury, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PDE).
Yamaha provides all suppliers with a Green Procurement Form. For those items that either do not contain any hazardous materials or do not contain a potentially hazardous amount of the prescribed chemicals, suppliers are asked to complete a "Letter of Compliance" testifying that the product in question complies with Yamaha's stated standards for reduction and elimination of the proscribed chemicals. Suppliers who do not respond to the survey may be disqualified from the procurement system. Suppliers who cannot certify that their products do not contain an identified potential hazard may be subjected to additional safety requirements, disapproval of their products for use or sale by Yamaha, or other action in Yamaha's discretion. "As a responsible corporate citizen, Yamaha Corporation of America is committed to conducting its business a way that will ensure a better future for our children," said Terry Lewis, Executive Vice President, Yamaha Corporation of America. "Yamaha has long been proactive in protecting our environment, but as so-called green consciousness grows, we aim to be at the forefront of this important trend."
Furthering this commitment, Yamaha is also dedicated to green printing practices. The company uses paper stocks certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) along with soy ink. When a job is submitted to a printer for a price quote, the printer's estimating department submits paperwork to the FSC, which issues a certificate and an identification number for the project. This number and the council's seal are then imprinted along with the American Soy Association's Soy Ink logo on the finished piece.
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.
Yamaha Corporation of America, the largest subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation, Japan, has also established new business practices designed to reflect concern for and sensitivity toward the environment.
Yamaha Corporation of America recently instituted its Green Procurement initiative intended to reduce and eventually eliminate hazardous chemicals in its products. As part of the company's continuing commitment to identifying and eliminating potential environmental hazards in connection with the company's products, the procurement system requires Yamaha's suppliers to evaluate their processes from the assembly of raw material to the product's end-of-life disposal and to certify that their products are not hazardous or disclose the presence of any potentially hazardous chemicals in their products.
One main goal of this initiative is to identify any particular products that may contain any one of six potentially hazardous substances: cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium, mercury, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PDE).
Yamaha provides all suppliers with a Green Procurement Form. For those items that either do not contain any hazardous materials or do not contain a potentially hazardous amount of the prescribed chemicals, suppliers are asked to complete a "Letter of Compliance" testifying that the product in question complies with Yamaha's stated standards for reduction and elimination of the proscribed chemicals. Suppliers who do not respond to the survey may be disqualified from the procurement system. Suppliers who cannot certify that their products do not contain an identified potential hazard may be subjected to additional safety requirements, disapproval of their products for use or sale by Yamaha, or other action in Yamaha's discretion. "As a responsible corporate citizen, Yamaha Corporation of America is committed to conducting its business a way that will ensure a better future for our children," said Terry Lewis, Executive Vice President, Yamaha Corporation of America. "Yamaha has long been proactive in protecting our environment, but as so-called green consciousness grows, we aim to be at the forefront of this important trend."
Furthering this commitment, Yamaha is also dedicated to green printing practices. The company uses paper stocks certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) along with soy ink. When a job is submitted to a printer for a price quote, the printer's estimating department submits paperwork to the FSC, which issues a certificate and an identification number for the project. This number and the council's seal are then imprinted along with the American Soy Association's Soy Ink logo on the finished piece.
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.