Many of Sony's electronics products contain between a few hundred and a few thousand parts that are made of a variety of chemical substances, some of which may be classified as hazardous and may harm the environment if they are not properly controlled prior to product disposal.
To prevent such environmental harm, some countries and regions have introduced laws and directives--such as the European Union's Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) Directive*1--restricting certain chemical substances in products. In Japan, products containing certain chemical substances are required to carry the J-Moss mark*2.
In light of the global nature of its markets and supply chains, Sony observes certain standards, such as the RoHS Directive and the Management Methods on the Pollution Control of Electronic Information Products*3 in China on a worldwide basis. Sony has also established its own global standards for management of chemical substances, titled "Management Regulations for Environment-related Substances to be Controlled which are included in Parts and Materials" (SS-00259).*4 These standards take into account applicable local and regional laws and regulations and the opinions of various stakeholders. In line with these standards, Sony ensures globally consistent management of chemical substances in parts and materials.
As a consequence, all materials procured by Sony for use in its electronics products are environmentally-conscious. Sony also collects comprehensive data on certain chemical substances in parts and materials purchased from suppliers and has set up necessary procedures to comply with the EU's Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation*5 requirements.
| *1 | Directive limiting the use of certain chemical substances in electric and electronic products |
| *2 | Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) for marking the presence of certain chemical substances in electrical and electronic equipment |
| *3 | "Management Methods on the Pollution Control of Electronic Information Products" A regulation passed on March 1, 2007, in China, to regulate the use of six substances, including lead and mercury, in electronic products and components sold in the Chinese market. Currently, all electronics and information devices sold in China must bear the "Environmental pollution control mark," "Information on chemical substances content," and "packaging materials recycling mark." |
| *4 | Standards for suppliers managing chemical substances for items procured by Sony (eighth edition published in March 2009). These standards classify chemical substances as those that must be banned immediately, those for which a period for phase-out is individually set and those for which no deadline is set for ban of use but phasing out is planned. (In detail:Management Regulations for the Environment-related Substances to be Controlled which are included in Parts and Materials (SS-00259)) |
| *5 | REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) regulation |
| *6 | Companies that manufacture OEM (original equipment manufactuer) products on behalf of Sony |
| *7 | Suppliers and OEM suppliers that had completed audits as of March 31,2009 |
| *8 | For direct suppliers, the Green Book was made available via its electric procurement system in autumn 2003. |
To guide its efforts to manage chemical substances in products in compliance with SS-00259 standards, Sony has established three core principles:
1. Upstream management:
In 2002, Sony established the Green Partner Environmental Quality Approval Program, which outlines Sony's Green Partner Standards for chemical substance management. Sony audits suppliers based on these standards. Sony purchases electronic parts only from suppliers who have passed this audit and have been certified as Green Partners. Sony has also implemented thorough management of OEM suppliers, who make products for Sony specifications, by requesting them to introduce an identical system.
In fiscal year 2008, approximately 3,700 suppliers and OEM suppliers were certified as Green Partners.
To further enhance the efficiency of the system to manage chemical substances, in autumn 2003 Sony introduced the Green Book, a raw materials database, which was made available to Sony's direct suppliers via its electronic procurement system.
In the Green Book, Sony has registered only those materials that have been confirmed to comply with the SS-00259 standards for resins, inks, electric wires, printed wiring boards and other basic materials that are commonly used by multiple primary suppliers. Primary suppliers are not required to submit measurement data when they use materials registered in the Green Book. As of April 2009, the Green Book contained approximately 19,000 materials.
2. Management in Quality Control/Quality Assurance processes:
New materials and parts are tested to ensure conformity with ordinary quality control standards, as well as with SS-00259 standards. At the mass production stage, products are sampled and inspected regularly, and in Europe, inspections are conducted in warehouses prior to shipment. By implementing these strict management procedures worldwide, any inappropriate products are prevented from entering the market.
3. Application of measurement rules:
To prevent prohibited substances from accidentally entering products, suppliers are required to submit certificates of nonuse-attesting that the parts and materials they supply do not contain prohibited chemical substances-as well as measurement data for certain high-risk substances contained in products. For these substances Sony has also implemented internal control systems that involve using measurement devices equipped to Sony sites worldwide, to help confirm that prohibited substances are kept out of products.
Leveraging its proprietary technologies, Sony has succeeded in developing a mercury-free alkaline button battery. Sony's combined annual sales of alkaline and silver oxide button batteries currently total approximately 300 million units. Sony's new mercury-free alkaline button battery and previously developed mercury-free silver oxide button battery are expected to result in a reduction in mercury used by Sony of approximately 470kg per year.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) may pose a risk to the environment if disposed of improperly. Another concern is that PVC might contain various other chemical substances, including plasticizers and stabilizers, which could pose risks to the environment and human health.While PVC currently is not regulated by any laws that apply to chemical substances used in electronics products, Sony is working to eliminate PVC wherever a viable alternative is available. For example, Sony has succeeded in eliminating PVC from the casing and packaging materials used for its products. In addition, Sony has switched to Polyolefin materials for cords used in certain products.
Sony plans to substitute PVC in all new models of mobile products (excluding accessories) by the end of fiscal year 2010, provided that the substitute meets all product quality and technical requirements.
Sony is also working to eliminate specific phthalates which are used as plasticizers in PVCs, among others. For example, Sony does not use phthalates in the bodies of PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) units, or in the AC adaptors packaged with PSP® units shipped to Europe.
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Sony is promoting the use of alternatives to brominated flame retardants (BFRs), which can generate harmful substances if treated improperly after disposal. For example, the main printed wiring boards (PWBs) of all B5-sized models and 93% of new A4-sized models of the VAIO PC released in fiscal year 2007 contained no BFRs. Moreover, BFRs were not used in the casing and main PWBs of all VAIO notebook and all-in-one models released in fiscal year 2008. Sony plans to substitute BFRs in the casing and main PWBs of all new models of mobile products by the end of fiscal year 2010, provided that the substitute meets all product quality and technical requirements.
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Sony also takes precautions to increase the safety of its packaging materials and ensure that hazardous substances, including heavy metals, are not mixed into packaging materials by managing materials in line with its proprietary "Management Regulations for Environment-related Substances to be Controlled which are included in Parts and Materials" (SS-00259). The packaging section of SS-00259 is based on, among others, EU directives on packaging and packaging waste. Sony is also actively making use of inks that comply with "Voluntary Regulation Concerning Printing Inks (Negative List Regulations)" put forward by the Japan Printing Ink Makers Association, as well as inks that do not contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (less than 1% use of VOCs).
