The Ajinomoto Group announced on September 21, 2005 that it has launched a new program with specific environmental goals for the period 2005 – 2010, the "Ajinomoto Group Zero Emissions" program. The group, led by Ajinomoto Co., a major Japanese food and seasoning manufacturer, intends to minimize its environmental impacts on a group-wide basis in and outside Japan. In the announcement, the group also reported its environmental performance in fiscal 2004.

The reduction targets in the program address three types of emissions: 1. waste: achievement of a recycling rate of 99 percent or more at all facilities; 2. waste water: a decrease in the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) value to 10 ppm or less, and the amount of nitrogen to 5 ppm or less through waste water treatment at all production facilities (these levels are one tenth of the world's strictest standards); and 3. greenhouse gases: a reduction in the amount of CO2 emissions per sales by 20 percent compared to fiscal 2002 levels, and discontinued use of specified chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of fiscal 2007.

The group achieved substantial results in these fields in fiscal 2004. Its 24 plants producing seasonings, feed additives and food products in 10 countries achieved "zero waste" (waste recycling rate: 99.0 percent or more), and the recycling rate of the entire group reached 97.8 percent. As for waste water, six plants at home and abroad successfully cleared former targets by reducing waste water from their production processes and adopting a biological denitrification (BDN) method. The amount of CO2 emissions per product by weight was cut by 4 percent from the previous year, while the modal shift rate rose to 26.3 percent in domestic distribution.

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Posted: 2006/04/05 03:16:03 PM
Japanese version

TAG Manufacturing industry , Material reduction