Five of Japan's leading electrical appliance manufacturers announced on November 27, 2006 that they have established standardized guidelines on what they call "Factor X," an index for environmental efficiency improvement of electronic products, for four household appliances: air conditioners, refrigerators, illumination lamps (bulbs and fluorescent lights) and light fixtures. Until now, the five companies--Toshiba Corp., Hitachi, Ltd., Fujitsu Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp.--promoted their products using their own respective indexes to advertise their products' performance and usability as well as lower environmental impacts. The indexes were not easy for consumers to understand or make comparisons between companies, as each company used its own methods for calculating and indicating performance.

As a first step, the companies chose four appliances that consume large amounts of electricity in the home, and standardized their calculation methods for product value (performance) and environmental impacts (greenhouse gas emissions throughout the life cycle). The new guidelines enable consumers to evaluate a given product's improvement in performance and environmental efficiency compared to older models. They also indicate the degree to which consumers can have a positive effect on the environment by purchasing a new version of the same maker's product, although they are of no help when it comes to comparing the products of different makers, because their old models vary among the companies.

The five companies will continue efforts to increase the number of types of household appliances covered by the guidelines and to resolve technical issues. They also plan to promote the use of the guidelines to their associated companies and other electronics makers, with an eye to creating internationally standardized guidelines in the future.

http://www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm

Posted: 2007/02/05 09:26:19 AM
Japanese version

TAG Eco-product/Business , Manufacturing industry , System/Law