Sharp has been working to bring down its total amount of waste discharged and to recycle as much of its waste as possible.
Sharp plants in Japan^*1 have achieved zero discharge to landfill^*2 for 10 consecutive years, and overseas production facilities have reduced the level of waste, etc.
discharged per production unit. Sharp will continue to advance these efforts in the future.

*1

The 10 plants of Sharp Corporation excluding the solar cell plant at GREEN FRONT SAKAI, plus subsidiaries and affiliates in Japan, excluding Sharp Display Products Corporation (see page 75).

*2

Sharp defines “zero discharge to landfill” as a final landfill disposal rate of less than 0.5%. Final landfill disposal rate (%) = Amount of landfill disposal / amount of waste, etc. discharged (amount of waste discharged + amount of valuable resources) x 100.
In fiscal 2005, to make the definition of zero discharge to landfill more rigorous, Sharp replaced the value for the denominator of “total amount of waste generated” with “amount of waste, etc., discharged (amount of waste discharged + amount of valuable resources)”, a smaller value. Figures from fiscal 2004 include subsidiaries and affiliates.

In fiscal 2010, waste, etc. (waste and valuable resources recovered from waste) discharged by the Sharp Group increased by 19%, exceeding levels of the previous fiscal year both in Japan and overseas (). This increase reflected expanded production volume resulting from the LCD panel plant (Sharp Display Products Corporation) at GREEN FRONT SAKAI (Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture) entering full-scale operation, and the start of operations at the solar cell plant at the same location.

The 10 Sharp Corporation plants^*4 achieved dramatic reductions in waste discharges of 14.7% compared to the previous fiscal year and 52.4% compared to fiscal 2007, and the percentage of valuable resources recovered rose by 3.9 points compared to the previous fiscal year (). In addition, waste discharges were reduced by 12.0% compared to baseline levels (BAU emissions) (). This is the result of reinforcing efforts in this area by setting a goal of reducing discharges by 6% of baseline (BAU emissions), based on a program to curb waste, taking fiscal 2007 as the peak year for such discharges. In particular, the Kameyama Plant (Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture) and the Mie Plant (Taki Town, Mie Prefecture) made significant contributions to this effort through measures to reduce discharges of liquid waste, and the Katsuragi Plant (Katsuragi City, Nara Prefecture) through measures to reduce the amount of waste glass. In addition, in fiscal 2010, at some Sharp Corporation plants, the amount of waste discharge subject to administrative reporting requirements was affected by excluding waste discharged by on-site subcontractors.

Fiscal 2010 was the 10th consecutive year for Sharp production plants in Japan^*1 to achieve zero discharge to landfill ().

At overseas plants, total waste, etc. discharged increased by 21% compared to the previous fiscal year. However, waste discharged per production unit declined by 7.5% compared to the previous fiscal year (). This can be attributed to making full use of the Eco Best Practice Forums to deploy effective waste reduction measures on a global basis.

Sharp will continue to work proactively to recycle waste and curb emissions.

*3

Amount of waste discharged = Industrial waste discharged + general waste from business activities

*4

The 10 plants of Sharp Corporation, excluding the solar cell plant at GREEN FRONT SAKAI (Refer to the Calculation Standards for Environmental Performance Indices).

*5

Business As Usual: Amount of waste estimated to be discharged, relative to discharge levels in the preceding fiscal year, assuming no measures to reduce waste are implemented.

*6

Amount of waste, etc. discharged = Waste discharged + valuable resources

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Waste discharge in fiscal 2010 is the sum total of discharges subject to administrative reporting requirements excluding the amount discharged by subcontractors on the premises of the Kameyama Plant and Mie Plant (11,000 tons).

Sharp complies to the fullest extent with laws and regulations covering PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls) wastes, their proper storage, and reporting requirements to the government. In addition, Sharp has achieved its target of completing registration with the Japan Environment Safety Corporation (JESCO) for treatment of its PCB wastes prior to the 2016 deadline set by law, and is treating PCB wastes according to schedules set by JESCO. Sharp also does not use PCBs, with the exception of a certain amount present in high-voltage transformers.

Case study: Reducing waste