Building a Recycling-Oriented Society
Reduction of Use of Packaging Materials
Konica Minolta is actively working to reduce the environmental impact of packaging materials through improved design and recycling.
Major Initiatives
Reduction of Use of Packaging Materials
In order to substantially reduce the use of packaging materials for its office multi-function peripherals (MFPs) and production printing machines, Konica Minolta is developing new buffer materials, as well as optimizing technologies for conventional buffer materials and expanding their use.
In 2019, Konica Minolta developed a new air cushioning material* that converts the various impact energies produced during transport into heat energy and succeeded in increasing the cushioning efficiency. Compared to conventional packaging from 2005, new packaging that includes this cushioning material uses 83% less styrene foam by weight ratio.
In addition to developing its own technologies, the company has also worked to reduce the use of styrene foam with packaging designs that replace styrene foam with cardboard using TOTO LTD. cardboard cushioning technology (PAT P6362025).
This improvement resulted in smaller packing boxes and a substantial reduction in the use of styrene foam, contributing to greater transportation efficiency, which in turn helped to substantially reduce CO2 emissions during distribution.
The various initiatives undertaken in 2023 reduce the environmental impact of the company’s packaging throughout the entire supply chain from procurement, assembly, distribution, recovery and recycling by the equivalent of approximately 1,200 tons in CO2 emissions per year.
In order to expand the effects, in addition to increasing the types of office MFPs covered by these initiatives, the company also expanded it to peripheral equipment and consumables.
*The new air cushioning material won various awards from the Japan Productivity Center. It also won the President’s Award, one of the top-ranked Japan Star awards, at the Japan Packaging Contest 2019 sponsored by the Japan Packaging institute. In fiscal 2020, it won the 44th Kinoshita Award in the improvement and rationalization category.
Example of downsized packaging for office MFPs and the application of new air cushioning material
Example of downsized packaging for consumables
Recycling Used Packaging Materials
Konica Minolta’s sales companies worldwide are also working hard to recycle used packaging materials. Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) Ltd., a sales company in the UK, established the “Greenhub” recycling center inside its logistics warehouse. It separates used packaging materials for MFPs and production printing machines into cardboard, styrene foam, film, and wood, and then sells them to a local recycling operator as material for recycling. In the Greenhub, it pulverizes and compresses styrene foam, which has poor transportation efficiency due to its large volume relative to weight, in an effort to reduce environmental impact associated with its transportation. The Group is carrying out similar initiatives at sales companies in France, Belgium, Germany, Japan and China.
Foamed polystyrene crusher
