14 December, 2006

Omron Exhibits Its Strengths at Eco-Products 2006




Omron took part in Eco-Products 2006, Japan’s largest exhibition of environment-friendly products and services ranging from consumer goods to industrial materials. Currently in its eighth year, Eco-Products is organized by the Japan Environmental Management Association for Industry (JEMAI) and Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc. (Nikkei). The exhibition, held at Tokyo Big Site from December 14-16, 2006, featured 550 companies and organizations including numerous electronics and automobile manufacturers, and drew more than 150,000 visitors over three days. Both the number of exhibitors and the number of visitors were the largest in the exhibit’s history.

Recently, as corporate social responsibility (CSR) increases in importance, companies have been faced with the challenge of addressing global warming and other environmental issues. Omron has been a regular exhibitor at Eco-Products since 2000, introducing products and technologies that reduce environmental impact and various environmental conservation activities and promoting communication with stakeholders in order to improve its brand image as an environmentally conscious company.

Under the banner of ‘re-energy’1, the themes of Omron’s booth were: ‘save energy’, ‘convert energy’, ‘store energy’, ‘visualize the waste of energy’ and ‘measure energy’. Omron’s exhibits centered on eco-friendly products that ordinary consumers use in everyday life, both at home and in society. These included ‘eco-label’ certified products such as healthcare equipment, LCD backlight units and power conditioners, as well as a power demand remote-monitoring system capable of contributing to energy conservation on factory floors. People in every walk of life, from elementary and junior high school students to corporate executives, visited the Omron booth, which received many inquiries and sales leads. An electric double-layer capacitor system called ‘ECaSS,’ which is drawing high expectations as a next-generation power source, was extremely well received, reflecting growing public interest in new types of energy.




As the commitment period for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (2008-2012) agreed on as part of the Kyoto Protocol approaches, government, industry and private households are expected to do their part to reduce emissions. Manufacturers will be required to minimize the environmental impact of their business activities, such as CO2 emissions, while at the same time creating eco-friendly products that feature reduced environmental impact. At Eco-Products 2006, many manufacturers displayed skeleton models that show the internal structure of their products, as well as lifecycle assessment (LCA) data2 in order to reveal the effectiveness of their energy-saving efforts to reduce CO2 emissions and the need for parts. Resource conservation activities such as the use of recycled materials were also introduced. As part of our drive to fulfill Omron’s CSR, we are also determined to integrate Group-wide efforts in order to continue promoting the creation of environmentally sound products and better communication with our stakeholders through participation in eco-related events and other media.

*1 ‘Re-energy’ relates Omron’s message and intention to increase the deployment of eco-friendly clean energy sources such as solar power and wind energy in the industrial community, society and everyday life, and to fulfill our responsibility to encourage the sustainable development of society through conservation, storage, regeneration and more efficient use of energy.

*2 LCA (Lifecycle Assessment) is a method of quantitatively assessing the environmental impact of a given product or service throughout its lifespan. Specifically, LCA is used to measure and evaluate CO2 and other factors that impact the environment in each stage of a product’s life, from the acquisition of raw materials to disposal.



By Satoshi Horigome, Quality and Environment Dept., Corporate General Affairs HQ