Environmental Management

Recognizing environmental issues as important management issues, the Yamaha Group is earnest in its efforts to make ongoing contributions to the realization of a better global environment based on the Yamaha Group Environmental Policy.

The Yamaha Group is engaged in initiatives through its business activities, products, and services to respond to shared global issues pertaining to matters such as climate change, biodiversity, and the promotion of recycling. At the same time, the Group is engaged in environmental preservation activities including the reduction of emissions of chemical substances, the prevention of leaks of hazardous substances (to address water-related risks to prevent contamination of surface water, underground water, and soil), the appropriate use of timber, forest preservation for the purpose of protecting biodiversity, and other activities that contribute to preserving the environment.

Furthermore, such environmental issues are being addressed through their incorporation in the medium-term management plan and the action plan of relevant business divisions. The Yamaha Group Environmental Policy is approved by the managing executive officer responsible for environmental issues of Yamaha Corporation.

The Yamaha Group has created a system for promoting global environmental preservation activities that is overseen by the managing executive officer responsible for environmental issues of Yamaha Corporation. In 2021, the Working Group for Climate Change, the Working Group for Resource Circulation, and the Working Group for Procurement were established under the Sustainability Committee, which is chaired by the president. These working groups engage in discussions regarding important sustainability issues, such as climate change response and timber procurement, and report on these matters to the Board of Directors. Based on the Group Environmental Management Policies & Rules, we have established an integrated environmental management system for all domestic business sites while overseas sites develop their own environmental management systems. These systems entail the formulation of business site-specific environmental goals along with priority measures and action plans for accomplishing these goals, which shape actual initiatives. The status of these initiatives and the issues faced are confirmed through internal environmental audits to drive a process of ongoing improvement and enhancement of these initiatives. The Environmental Division of Yamaha Corporation is responsible for supporting and leading Groupwide environmental activities. To this end, the division gathers information on regulatory and social trends related to the environment, enacts Groupwide policies and rules, monitors and audits activities, and provides technical support for introducing environmental facilities and performs environmental measurements.

The Yamaha Group introduced an internal carbon pricing system in April 2022. This system entails converting CO₂ emissions volumes into monetary amounts based on virtual prices and using these amounts when making investment decisions. This approach motivates the Company to invest in facilities with higher levels of energy efficiency and is expected to drive investment in solar power and other renewable energy generation equipment. For the foreseeable future, the Group will use an internal carbon price of ¥14,000 per every ton of CO₂.

Yamaha Corporation began conducting environmental accounting in fiscal 2000 as a means of quantitatively evaluating the effectiveness of its environmental initiatives. These environmental accounting practices are also currently being used at the Yamaha Group headquarters, domestic production bases, resort facilities, and production bases in Indonesia, China, and Malaysia.

The Yamaha Group offers a variety of training and education opportunities to employees in an effort to raise their knowledge and skills with respect to the environment. Such opportunities include the general education provided to all employees, specialty education for instructor candidates at production sites, and environmental facilities education and training for individuals in charge of environmental facilities.^*2 Training is performed throughout the year as needed for specific business sites or processes.

• *2 Environmental facilities are sites with the potential of polluting the environment should an accident occur. Lists of environmental facilities are compiled at each business site, and facilities are managed accordingly.

The Yamaha Group has established specialized training curricula for employees engaged in areas that require specialized knowledge, including personnel involved in waste management, wastewater treatment facility operation and management, and chemical substance handling. Specialized training sessions are conducted after defining and compiling lists of the skills required for processes that have a particularly large impact on the environment and examining the related educational needs. Furthermore, staff of the Environmental Division of Yamaha Corporation perform follow-up monitoring regarding the education of employees responsible for the aforementioned tasks at overseas factories. For example, wastewater managers at Xiaoshan Yamaha Musical Instruments Co., Ltd., in China have received such specialized training in Japan.

In addition, we conduct education related to chemical substance management and the prevention of accidents such as leaks of environmental pollutants based on the Yamaha Group Chemical Substances Usage Standard and the Yamaha Group Environmental Equipment Standards. Emergency response drills are also performed.

Furthermore, Yamaha’s technical academy program includes the Eco-design Course for product planners, developers, and designers through which education on eco-friendliness in products is provided.

Training for the personnel that carry out activities for self-regulating environmental preservation measures is imperative to improving the operation of our environmental management system. The Yamaha Group invites lecturers from external organizations and holds annual seminars to train internal environmental auditors as an initiative to enhance our environmental preservation activities.

At business sites in Japan, an aggregate total of 1,199 participants have obtained internal environmental auditor qualification, and of these, 318 employees are still currently employed by the Group, which represents approximately 6% of employees at relevant business sites (as of March 31, 2022).

We also hold an Internal Environmental Auditor Brush-Up Seminar to improve the skills of staff members responsible for internal audits in the given fiscal year.

The Yamaha Group provides support and training to improve the environmental awareness of all employees and to promote eco-conscious activities by employees in their daily lives. Environment Month and Environment Day campaigns are held every year in June, and these campaigns are used as opportunities for advancing environmental preservation and education activities through joint labor–management efforts.

To foster environmental awareness among employees, the Yamaha Group implements “Cool Biz” and “Warm Biz” programs aimed at cutting back on unnecessary air-conditioning use by encouraging employees to wear cooler attire in the summer and dress warmer in the winter. In addition, environmental education posters are displayed. The Group also endorses the FUJINOKUNI COOL Challenge, a citizen-driven global warming prevention campaign implemented in Shizuoka Prefecture, and encourages employees to prevent food loss by eating their entire meal at employee cafeterias and to participate in environmental events.

The Yamaha Group works with the Yamaha labor union to promote eco-conscious activities in daily life through projects and tools such as the tracking of eco-conscious household activities, “Smart Life in My Home Commitments” conducted by employees based on themes matched to their homes, the “My Eco Commitment Coloring Page” for families with children, and the promotion of Green Eco Curtains at homes.

In fiscal 2022, an aggregate total of 481 employees declared “Smart Life in My Home Commitments,” and reports were made on superior energy conservation and other activities performed in the home. Awards were presented to eight particularly exemplary activities.