Environmental Action Plan Environmental Action Plan

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Environmental Action Plan

The Advantest Group is clarifying the important challenges that it should tackle with environmental activities and has formulated an "Environmental Action Plan" as a medium-term plan. This plan focuses on three key areas: promotion of environmental management, provision of green products, and reform of business processes. We will always encourage responsible efforts in environmental management to implement climate policy measures and create a decarbonized society.

Overview of the Eighth Advantest Environmental Action Plan and Activity Results for Fiscal 2019

The Eighth Advantest Environmental Action Plan (2018–2020) continues the three key areas and has set environmental targets to support the implementation of climate policy measures and creation of a decarbonized society.

Key Issues:

  1. Promotion of environmental management: Promote responsible efforts in environmental management and contribute to the sustainable growth of society.
  2. Provision of green products: In both our core business and our tester peripherals business, Advantest is contributing, through the company's products, towards reducing customers' environmental burden.
  3. Reform of business processes: Promote business efficiency improvements and efficiency in energy usage.

Boundary (as of March 31, 2020)

  1. Measures applicable to: All companies within the Advantest Group
    Six business bases within Japan (including affiliates)
    Seven overseas business bases (AAI, AEG, ASP, ATK, ATC, ATI and AMY)
  2. Period covered: Fiscal 2018-2020 (three years)

Main Activity Results

The progress of the activities for fiscal 2019 are as follows.

With regard to the environmental management items, we have established and released long-term goals for reducing CO2, which is a climate policy measure.
Furthermore, renewable energy has been introduced, and LED office lighting has been fully incorporated at three of our German offices (Munich, Amerang and Boblingen).
By introducing renewable energy in the U.S. and Germany, the ratio of renewable energy to total purchased power has reached 28%.
With regard to the provision of green products, the power consumptions for SoC Test System V93000 and Python have decreased by 15%. Additionally, the amount of refrigerant consumption of Memory Burn-in Tester B6700D has reduced by 83.2%.

With regard to the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions, we have identified and calculated indirect greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 3) within the supply chain, in both the upstream and the downstream portions. Scope 3: As for CO2 emissions, "Category 1: Purchased products/services" and "Category 11: Use of sold products" made up more than 95% of the overall ratio. Goals for these two categories have been set as important items in Scope 3, and we will continue to pursue the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Important challenges

Relationship with environmental policy

Action items

Action items (details of targets for fiscal 2020)

Results achieved in fiscal 2019
Promotion of environmental management
  Promotion of environmental management 1) Adaption to climate change Grasp management risks brought on by climate change and put together measures to adopt by the end of fiscal 2020. Declared support of TCFD
Established and released long-term goals for GHG reduction
2) Promotion of global environmental education Carry out e-learning once a year.

Environmental education implemented both in Japan and overseas using e-learning.
Attendance rate: 98.5%
3) Promotion of environmental contribution activities and educational contribution activities Promote environmental and social contribution activities and education support activities.

<Within Japan> Eight projects implemented (the main activities are listed below)

  • Conducted special science classes at neighborhood elementary schools with 105 elementary school students participating
  • Conducted a nature observation event with 41 local elementary school students participating
  • Periodically conducted cleaning activities around our business locations

<Overseas> 15 projects implemented (the main activities are listed below)

  • Implemented food drive activities (in Singapore)
  • Conducted a home repair volunteer project (in the U.S.)
  • Donated gift certificates to children's hospitals (in Germany)
  • Conducted coastal cleanup (in the U.S.)
  Environmental conservation and sustainable use of resources Conservation of biodiversity
1) Promotion of forest conservation activities At each site, carry out forest conservation activities. 28 Advantest employees volunteered to carry out thinning-out work at national forests in Mt. Akagi in Japan.
2) Biotope development and utilization Foster and utilize biotope.
(Nature observation events targeting neighborhood elementary schools and protection of endangered plants)

Held two biotope events at the Gunma R&D Center in Japan.
Promotion of climate policy measures
1) CO2 emission reduction

30% reduction (on fiscal 2018) of global CO2 emissions (Scope 1 + 2) by the end of 2030

CO2 emissions for fiscal 2019: 33,385t-CO2 (10.7% reduction compared to fiscal 2018)
2) Use of renewable energy Promote the purchase of green power and introduction of solar power.

Purchased 9,650 MWh per year of green power at AAI
Purchased 13,422 MWh per year of green power at AEG
Ratio of renewable energy to electricity globally: 28%
3) Conservation of water resources Maintain fiscal 2016 levels. (288,000 m3 per year or less)

Fiscal 2019: 260,838 m3 per year (Japan + overseas)
  Compliance with environmental laws and regulations, and prevention of pollution Promoting resource recycling Improve waste recycling rate.  
1) Maintain and manage the recycling rate at Japanese bases Maintain a recycling rate of 90% or more at Japanese bases. Recycling rate for facilities in Japan: 87%
（Calculation methods have been revised from fiscal 2019）
2) Improve the recycling rate at overseas bases Aim for a recycling rate of 65% or more at overseas bases.
(Measures: reconfirmation of recycling criteria, and review of treatment methods)		 Recycling rate for overseas facilities: 68%
Providing green products
 

Reduce customers' environmental burden

 1) Improvement of the energy efficiency of new products Reduce power consumption for new products per unit performance by at least 20%.
  • Reduction of power consumption for the mass-produced module for in-vehicle MCU measurement: 20%
  • Reduction of power consumption for the SoC Test System V93000 Python: 15%
  • Reduction of power consumption for Mask MVM-SEM E3650 per 100 measurement points: 50%
  • Reduction of power consumption for Test Handler M4872 per unit performance: 66%
  • Reduction of power consumption for the digital module for Memory Test System T5503HS2: 51%
2) Resource conservation, size reduction, and reduction of components and materials Achieve resource conservation in products, size reduction, and reduction in components and materials.
  • Reduction of refrigerant consumption of Memory Burn-in Tester B6700D: 83.2%
  • Reduction of PCB installation areas of SoC Test System V93000 Python: 30%
  • Reduction of the power consumption for E-Beam Lithography F7000S: 80%
3) Alternative to Fluorinert and reduction of the usage Establish an alternative cooling technology to Fluorinert and put it into practical use. Ongoing in systems planned for shipment in fiscal 2020.
4) Calculation and disclosure of CO2 reductions of green products Calculate CO2 reductions through green products and disclose the level of social contributions. Calculated the CO2 emission when using products sold in Category 11 of GHG Scope 3
Fiscal 2019: 809.7 thousand tons CO2
5) Increase sales of new products Promote the replacement of old products with new products to contribute to power saving for customers. Sales promotion of Display Driver Test System T6391_RND440
Power consumption reduction in customers' production lines: Approximately 6 GWh per year
Reform of business processes
  Reform of business processes Promote business efficiency improvements and energy-saving Promote business efficiency improvements and efficiency in energy usage.  
1) Efficiency improvements in production Aim to produce new products and new OEM products within one month. Ongoing implementation of Memory Test System T5503HS2 for fiscal 2020.
Reduce the probe card production period by 10% compared to fiscal 2017. Reduction rate in fiscal 2018: 11%
Reduce the amount of labor in new probe production products by at least 18% per wafer unit. 29% improvement with NAND PC Probe
2) Energy-saving in building facilities and efficiency improvement Renew old equipment to improve efficiency and equalize electricity usage. Reduction of crude oil equivalent value through planned facility renewals: 195 kl
Reduce power consumption by 40% through the adoption of LED office lighting. (Advantest Europe GmbH (AEG)) Adoption of LED office lighting completed in fiscal 2018
Annual power consumption reduction: Approximately 790 MWh
Reduce power consumption for office air conditioning and fuel consumption for office heating. (Advantest Europe GmbH (AEG)) New air conditioning systems have been installed.
3) Improvement of the operational efficiency of product development and production Build a system for Global PLM that can be expected to improve efficiency globally for a variety of product development and production businesses. Completed (Operations started in fiscal 2019)
Reduce design labor through a more efficient operation of custom PB design. Reduction of average design labor for custom PB: 40% or more
Reduce design transfer labor of DI mechatronic products. Reduction of design transfer labor for HF mechanical design: 40%
4) Reduction of the environmental burden in the supply chain Examine the CO2 emissions of production contractors. Calculated the CO2 emission when using products sold in Category 1 of GHG Scope 3
Fiscal 2019: 400.5 thousand tons CO2
Reduce CO2 emissions in purchasing logistics for SoC Test System V93000 by 36%. Reduction rate in fiscal 2019: 27%
Reduce the amount of packaging material disposed of for SoC Test System V93000 by 6%. Reduction rate in fiscal 2019: 2.5%