Green procurement

AGC Electronics Company manages the procurement of materials for display parts in accordance with AGC Group's Integrated Green Procurement Guideline. As for the materials for electronics parts which amount to more than 1,000 types, we have independently set the Green Procurement Guidelines and implement green procurement measures for each of our product groups.

• The Integrated Green Procurement Guideline(Corporate Information)

Reducing Energy Consumption in the Manufacturing and Transportation Processes

All-electric melting

In the all-electric melting process, electric current is directly applied to glass materials to melt them. This process is suitable for relatively small furnaces. Materials are heated directly instead of indirectly by the heat radiated from the combustion flame, and this improves energy efficiency. At present, we are operating allelectric furnaces in some of our bases.

Reducing energy consumption in manufacturing equipment

From February to April 2009, AGC Electronics Company inspected the manufacturing equipment in our domestic plants to check their energy efficiency and then implement energy-saving activities. Based on the inspection results, we made necessary improvements to the equipment, such as resetting the pressure levels of compressors to the optimal levels, thereby reduced CO₂ emissions by a total of about 4,000 tons per year at the six major domestic plants. We will implement the same measures also at our overseas manufacturing bases, such as in Taiwan, South Korea and Thailand.

Improving transportation efficiency

AGC Electronics Company has long been making efforts to reduce its CO₂ emissions in transportation. For example, as early as in fiscal 2005, AGC Display Glass Yonezawa, one of AGC Group companies, participated in a demonstration experiment conducted by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for the purpose of building transportation systems with a lower environmental impact. The measures that have been implemented by AGC Electronics Company include a modal shift in long-distance transportation, improvement of the load efficiency of trucks, and the use of multiple unique packaging methods in consideration of the shapes of products. By further fostering these measures, we will contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions in the transportation aspect of Asahi Glass.

Other Environmentally Friendly Products

Lead-free micro glass

• Arsenic- and antimony-free glass for hard disks

AGC Electronics Company has been providing a wide range of environmentally friendly products to meet the needs of customers and society, including arsenic-free LCD glass substrates. In the future, we will develop and supply further materials and parts used in for example, photovoltaic devices and LEDs, which contribute to solving the climate change problem.

Arsenic- and antimony-free glass for displays

Lead-free glass powders

Arsenic- and antimony-free backlight tubes

Recycling boric acid

AGC Electronics Company uses boric acid to produce borosilicate glass. We are now developing a technology to effectively recycle boric acid that volatilizes from glass furnaces as materials for glass.