Establishing Guidelines for Green Procurement
In May 2005, Mazda established Green Procurement Guidelines as part of its efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its supply chain.
These guidelines stipulate that we will preferentially purchase from suppliers that properly create and operate environmental management systems, observe legal statutes and control environmental substances of concern.
In its purchasing activities, Mazda emphasizes compliance in addition to environmental aspects. In FY2006, we supported five affiliated companies under the authority of the Purchasing Division and 63 members of local cooperative associations in both environmental preservation efforts and compliance enhancement.
Helping Suppliers to Create Environmental Management Systems
Mazda has been requiring suppliers of parts, materials and industrial equipment and tools to obtain ISO 14001 certification, and has supported their certification by providing information and other assistance. Consequently, as of March 31, 2007 all major suppliers Mazda does business with on a continuing basis have been ISO 14001 certified.
In FY2006, we requested small suppliers belonging to local cooperative associations to set up environmental management systems (ISO 14001 or EcoAction 21*), and we held explanatory meetings to provide suppliers with useful certification information. We remain committed to helping small suppliers build environmental management systems.
* Certification and registration system based on the EcoAction 21 guidelines formulated by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, designed to enable small and medium-sized businesses to more easily construct environmental management systems.
- Supplier Accreditation of ISO 14001
Mazda holds explanatory meetings for suppliers twice a year to provide information on and to raise awareness of environmental protection issues.
Around 400 suppliers took part in FY2006, wherein we presented Mazda's environmental conservation activities, raised understanding of the Green Procurement Guidelines and encouraged input into the International Material Data System (IMDS: a standardized international database system for collecting and managing information on materials for automotive parts).
Personal Message
I consider the explanatory meetings a venue for expressing Mazda's commitment to environmental preservation, conveying our expectations to suppliers and sharing our ideals for the future of automotive society.
Automobiles are products with heavy environmental impact. We are in a position to improve this situation, and we would like to do this through partnerships with our suppliers.
Masatomo Watanabe
Electrical Parts Group Manager, Parts Purchasing Department No.1, Purchasing Division
Investigating Environmental Substances Using IMDS, a Standardized International System for Collecting and Managing Information on Materials for Automotive Parts
The European Union ELV Directive, which prohibits in principle the inclusion of lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium in automotive parts, went into effect in July 2003. Prior to this, Mazda began collecting data from its suppliers to ascertain the content of regulated substances in procured materials and parts and take appropriate measures.
At that time, we strove to meet the voluntary standards set by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) rather than the regulations of the ELV Directive, and to properly manage classes of environmental substances of concern in accordance with the International Global Automotive Declarable Substance List (GADSL). As of June 30, 2007, there are 94 classes of such substances.
Starting in November 2002, we have published guidelines annually to prompt suppliers to properly enter data into the IMDS and keep them informed on regulatory trends and items requiring updated data entry.
To control and reduce environmental substances of concern, Mazda intends to continue promoting noxious substance management using the IMDS.
- Assessing Substances' Environmental Impact
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