環境マネジメント

Environmental Management

The Hoshizaki Group adheres to a corporate philosophy to be an evolving company that supports customers as well as society.

Based on this corporate philosophy, we work with our partners and promote activities that reduce impact on the environment. All departments at factories throughout Japan are engaged in environmental improvement activities. We also formulated the Hoshizaki Eco Plan, which underpins efforts that include developing environmentally conscious products, encouraging recycling and recovery of fluorocarbons from products.

ISO 14001 Environmental Policy

Guided by the idea that a good product comes from a good environment, which is our corporate philosophy, Hoshizaki strives to create a factory environment rich in greenery and also, recognizing that protection of the environment on a global level is a priority issue that people everywhere share, the Company strives for business activities that can be sustainably developed in harmony with the environment.

  1. As a manufacturer that develops and produces food service equipment, such as ice machines, refrigerators, dishwashers and dispensers, Hoshizaki acknowledges the impact that these business activities have on the environment. With this in mind, the Company established a structure to support constant improvement in its environmental management system, which extends to environmental performance, and thereby prevent pollution.
  2. Hoshizaki naturally strives to fulfill environment-oriented compliance obligations, but the Company also sets its own control standards and strives to raise the bar on environmental management.
  3. The following measures are considered priorities to effectively address environmental impact stemming from business activities undertaken by Hoshizaki.
    • ・Reduce energy consumption rate
    • ・Conserve resources, control generation of waste
    • ・Reduce impact on environment from transport operations
    • ・Decrease use of chemical substances, improve level of management
    • ・Promote development and design of environmentally conscious products
    • ・Protect natural environment
  4. To implement these measures, Hoshizaki will set environmental targets where technically and economically feasible, work toward these targets, and review progress on a regular basis.

The Company puts these measures in writing, implements them and maintains them. Through training and PR activities, the content reaches employees as well as everyone involved in Hoshizaki operations throughout the organization. In addition, the information is available to anyone outside the Company who asks for it.

January 6, 2020

Environmental Management System

Applied scope

Environmental policy guides Hoshizaki in building an environmental management system, pursuing continuous improvement of the system, and promoting a robust program of environmental protection activities.

The scope to which our environmental management system is applied is described below.

  1. Company name
    HOSHIZAKI CORPORATION
  2. Business sites (functional and physical locations)
    • (1) Head Office and Head Office Factory
      3-16, Sakae-cho, Minamiyakata, Toyoake, Aichi
    • (2) Shimane Head Office
      271-13, Kisuki-cho Yamagata, Unnan, Shimane
    • (3) Shimane Factory No.1
      546, Kisuki-cho Jiryo, Unnan, Shimane
    • (4) Shimane Factory No.2
      834, Kisuki-cho Kisuki, Unnan, Shimane
    • (5) Shimane Factory No.3
      231-3, Kisuki-cho Yamagata, Unnan, Shimane
    • (6) Shimane Yokota Factory
      2525-1, Nakamura, Oku-Unnan-cho, Nita-gun, Shimane
  3. Activities, products and services
    Design, development, production and sales of food service equipment, as well as services conducted on company premises that involve subcontractors who make or transport products and over whom Hoshizaki has an influence
  4. Employees
    Hoshizaki employees as well as employees of subcontractors, temporary staffing agencies and others who are assigned to the Company and are involved in Hoshizaki business activities

Promotion structure

Hoshizaki maintains a structure that encompasses all departments in all factories to promote participation in environmental improvement activities. We draw on companywide goals for improvement as a basis for medium-term targets over a three-year period across all sites and at each department level. Every year, we formulate action plans in two-month increments that clarify concrete measures to be unrolled over this timeframe, and promote improvement activities to reach the end goal.

Hoshizaki Eco Plan

At Hoshizaki, we adhere to the Hoshizaki Eco Plan, based on a corporate philosophy that has guided us since our earliest days in business. We have embraced various approaches to environmental protection, including environmentally conscious product development and recycling, as well as replacement and recovery of fluorocarbons, which impact the environment, and have turned these approaches into systems that underpin our position on environmental protection.

  1. Protect environment and maintain ISO 14001 certification
    Hoshizaki established the Hoshizaki Green Foundation to promote initiatives that protect the natural environment, and under the Company’s environmental policy, robustly engage in activities that contribute to a healthy environment for all.
  2. Promote recycling in eco-factories
    At our eco-factories, which handle recycling operations, used Hoshizaki-made products, including end-of-lease equipment, are refurbished, based on our equipment cleaning process. Currently, we have 12 sites in operation in Japan.
  3. Recover fluorocarbons from products

    The Act on Rational Use and Proper Management of Fluorocarbons (Fluorocarbons Recovery and Destruction Law) was enacted in Japan in April 2015.

    The Hoshizaki Group robustly supports customers in legal compliance efforts by ensuring that key points of the Fluorocarbons Recovery and Destruction Law are explained to customers when equipment in use is inspected or repaired.

  4. Offer maintenance support
    The Hoshizaki Group conducts equipment checks to ensure products continue to perform as intended through proper maintenance and identify any resource waste that may arise as products age. This helps to reduce running costs, first and foremost, but also extends the service life of equipment, and that contributes significantly to a lighter environmental burden.
  5. Develop and promote green products
    The Hoshizaki Group develops and sells electrolyzed water generators that contribute significantly to a decrease in detergent, which kitchens tend to use in large quantities, and underpin efforts to prevent the formation of trihalomethanes, a carcinogenic substance. The value presented by electrolyzed water has promoted widespread use beyond kitchens to agriculture and livestock applications.
  6. Develop energy-efficient products
    Guided by our eco plan, we strive to develop environmentally friendly products. Our commercial-use refrigerators and dishwashers are examples of products that deliver dramatic energy efficiency.

Protecting Biodiversity

The Head Office Factory and the Shimane Factory are rich in greenery and surrounded by many trees. Hoshizaki has conducted surveys of such content as vegetation and other aspects of the natural environment at factory sites, and management recognizes that nothing has a greater impact on local biodiversity than factory location and equipment. Going forward, Hoshizaki will strive to operate its factories in harmony with the abundant nature in each area.

In Compliance with Environmental Laws

Provisions under environment-related legislation and ordinances, including the Act on the Rational Use of Energy and the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) Law, obligate companies to submit many documents. To ensure all legally required notifications are submitted without omission, Hoshizaki puts together an at-a-glance table that shows such items as facility for which notification is required, reason for notification, name of document, place of submission, due date and legal provisions, broken down by law, such as those addressing air, water, noise, vibration and soil. Enactment and revision status of each regulation is constantly monitored. In addition, at a designated time every year, Hoshizaki implements a compliance evaluation to comprehensively ensure that all required notifications have been submitted.

Note that in fiscal 2021, there were no violations of environment-related laws and no penalties imposed in the Hoshizaki Group.

Internal Environmental Audit

ISO 14001 calls for regular implementation of internal audits and evaluation of compatibility between ISO requirements and requirements determined by Hoshizaki as well as the effectiveness of systems. We conduct internal environmental audits of all departments at all sites every autumn.

To enhance the effectiveness of measures to correct shortfalls identified through an internal environmental audit, Hoshizaki has four people—someone in the audited department, the attending auditor, the chief auditor and the chief environmental management officer—verify effectiveness. If the cause of the shortfall is unclear or the effectiveness of corrective measures is low, advice is offered and measures are reviewed to achieve the desired results.

Enhancing skills of internal environmental auditors

Hoshizaki conducts its own checks—internal environmental audits—every year to see if environmental management systems at each business site conform to predetermined rules and if the rules are being properly applied and upheld. These internal audits are performed by qualified internal environmental auditors, but skills may decline over time. To maintain and further refine the capabilities of internal audit staff, Hoshizaki holds seminars prior to annual audits as an opportunity to refresh skills. An active environmental auditor is invited to provide instruction, and participants polish their skills with each other through intense practical training based on actual case scenarios. The knowledge gained is put to use in the internal environmental audits that take place soon after.

Cultivating Environmental Awareness among Employees

Hoshizaki issues an Environment/Quality Policy Card to employees who work at an ISO 14001- or 9001-certified workplace. This card outlines the Company’s environmental and quality policies. Carrying this card provides employees with a tangible reminder of quality and environmental management systems, and reinforces awareness of compliance efforts.