Environment Ministry Announces Its Environmental Targets under ISO 14001

Japan's Ministry of the Environment is managed based on ISO 14001 and monitors its achievements quarterly. It recently announced its own fiscal-year targets in 12 areas.

ISO 14001 is an international standard for environmental management systems, under which private businesses and other organizations voluntarily initiate, implement and review their programs for environmental preservation, in order to continuously reduce their environmental impacts. The Ministry of the Environment is at present Japan's only central government ministry certified under ISO 14001, although by the end of October 2002, 397 municipalities had obtained that certification. (Japan has 3,233 municipalities in 47 prefectures.)

The 12 main objectives and targets set by the Ministry are as follows:

1. Implement green procurement.
2. Use recycled paper. Keep the amount of virgin pulp below the fiscal 2001 level.
3. Introduce low-pollution vehicles and replace all vehicles with eco-friendly ones by fiscal 2004.
4. Reduce electricity-use per unit of office area to not more than about 90 percent of the fiscal 2001 level, in fiscal 2006.
5. Reduce emissions of CFC refrigerants.
6-1. Reduce the fuel used for official vehicles to not more than about 85 percent of the fiscal 2001 level, in fiscal 2006.
6-2. Reduce the number of official vehicles by car-sharing after studying their current use.
7. Use taxis less frequently in order to alleviate air pollution, such as by reducing overtime work (taxis are often used by employees to return home when they work late)
8. "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle" to curb the total waste output to not more than about 75 percent of the fiscal 2001 level, in fiscal 2006.
9-1. Cut back on paper use, keeping the amount to the fiscal 2001 level, in fiscal 2006.
9-2. Establish a paperless system by improving the current information systems.
10. Promote water-saving.
11. Encourage contractors to practice environmental preservation activities.
12. Support the employees of the Ministry and its agencies in their voluntary efforts to promote environmental preservation activities.

According to Ministry report on its own environmental management programs in fiscal 2001, 14 of its 24 official vehicles (58 percent) were of the low-emission type. The Ministry also achieved a 7 percent cut in electricity usage and a 16 percent cut in fuel usage for all vehicles, relative to the fiscal 1999 level. By using taxis less frequently, the Ministry also curbed carbon and nitric oxide emissions by 9 percent from the fiscal 1999 level and saved 21 million yen (about U.S.$171,000). On the other hand, paper use increased by 18 percent from the fiscal 1999 level, meaning that the reduction target for paper was not reached.


- Ministry of the Environment acquires ISO 14001 certification (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/17-j

Posted: 2003/01/15 08:47:01 AM
Japanese version