Implementation of Environmental Audit at Toshiba Group
Implementation of Environmental Audit at Toshiba Group
Since 1993, the Toshiba Group has been conducting regular environmental audits covering most sites of Toshiba and its Group companies through its proprietary Toshiba Group Environmental Audit System. This system is based on the "3 Zen (all) approach," which promotes management of all facilities in all areas by all employees; the “3 Gen (actual) approach," which emphasizes measurement of the actual situation of actual items at actual plants; and the "visual control" approach, which includes, for example, the practice of labeling every piece of equipment to indicate its proper status so that it can be checked easily in the field for compliance.
Audits at manufacturing sites, called "site environment audits," are executed every other year (Note) at all manufacturing sites in Japan and every year at sites outside Japan.
The audit is conducted for two days by an audit team that consists of qualified auditors from within the company. The sites receive audits on the following items: 1) environmental management, 2) legal compliance and 3) plant management, as displayed in the figure below. The plant audit, in particular, is conducted at 19 facilities and includes checks of waste water treatment equipment, recycling, and chemicals warehouses and facilities that use chemicals, as well as training for handling emergency situations. Compliance, measurement control, 4S (Seiri, Seiton, Seiketsu, and Seisou, meaning in English: sorting (removing unnecessary things), straightening (keeping things orderly and available as needed), sanitation, and sweeping (maintaining a clean workplace)), and employee education are also strictly monitored. Any audited site which receives instructions for improvement, if any, must implement corrective measures within six months.
Aiming to improve the environmental performance by deploying the Toshiba Group Environmental Audit System, Toshiba Semiconductor & Storage Products Company Group has structured the environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001. We promote this through compliance with various laws and regulations and through mitigation of environmental impact at work sites, so that these two environmental audit targets are inseparable.
- (Note) Some domestic operations with higher environmental impact are audited annually. The operation sites that are audited biennially conduct a self-audit every other year between the official audits.
The results of Toshiba Group Environmental Audit System implemented in Toshiba Group in FY 2010
Level evaluation
The Semiconductor & Storage Products Company has obtained fine results in its internal Toshiba Group Environmental Audit System by promoting continuous improvement in environmental performance.
The results of Toshiba Group Environmental Audit System are assessed in alphabetical grades. While the number of companies that have obtained the highest level of "A" in both the environmental management audit and plant audit in FY 2010 is 40 % throughout the Toshiba Group, it is as high as 77 % in the Semiconductor & Storage Products Company Group.
The reasons for the high ranking of the Semiconductor & Storage Products Company Group include both the effective utilization of the environmental management information system to share data on good environmental practices throughout the group companies, and global improvement of the management system by the implementation of measures that also comply with ISO 14001
- The photos show Plant audits at manufacturing sites in Japan and overseas
Specific examples of findings at Toshiba Group Environmental Audit System
Here are some specific examples of the findings of Toshiba Group Environmental Audit System auditors from audits conducted at sites of the Semiconductor & Storage Products Company Group in the previous fiscal year. In addition to detailed checks on the audit items at applicable facilities, all sites adopted systematic measures in response to the findings and recommendations within 6 months of the audits. Positive findings are shared horizontally throughout the entire organization using the environmental management information system.
- Example of recommendation
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No indication display of the direction of exhaust emission in the exhaust duct of the scrubber (the display is placed now)
(comment by an auditor) -
A crack on the floor of the oil reservoir tank
(repaired with chemical resistant paint)
(comment by an auditor) - Positive findings
-
Falling prevention and other safety measures are in place at waste storage in the worksite.
(comment by an auditor)