Sustainable Resource Use

• Resource Conservation and Waste Reduction
• Preservation of Water Resources

Resource Conservation and Waste Reduction

The world is pressed with the urgent task of moving toward more sustainable production and consumption to escape from the cycle of massive production and waste that is destroying our environment and depleting our resources. In response to this expectation, the Yamaha Group strives to use less resources in its products from a variety of standpoints, such as lowering product size and weight, integrating several products into one, and reducing the amount of and, when possible, completely eliminating, product packaging and cushioning. Moreover, we are working to reduce resource use by extending product lifespans, developing instrument maintenance and repair service systems, and collecting and reusing products through services such as those offered in our piano renewal business. Other measures for making the best use of finite resources include reassessing our use of plastic, which contributes to global warming and pollution; switching to paper and other renewable materials; and lowering waste emissions and recycling in manufacturing processes.

Unit Approach for Conserving Resources and Extending Product Lifespans

Based on the desire for our customers to be able to continue using their beloved instrument for a long time, Yamaha has adopted an approach of using replaceable units to conserve resources while extending product lifespans. For ElectoneTM units, for example, we offer services to upgrade products to a higher grade or newer model purely through unit exchanges. These services include the installation of grade-up units that can transform ElectoneTM units into higher grades as required based on the skill of the user and their intended application as well as vitalize units for raising the performance of older ElectoneTM models to the level of the latest models. We thereby help customers to continue using their beloved ElectoneTM even longer. The Group is also selling add-on units so that customers can enjoy their pianos for a longer time in a range of situations. Such units include the Piano Silent Unit, which adds a silent function, and the Disklavier Control Unit, which adds a wealth of content and colorful functions to pianos incorporating an automatic performance function.

Instrument Maintenance and Repair Service Systems

It is possible to use high-quality instruments for many years with proper maintenance and repairs and replacements of parts. Accordingly, the Yamaha Group is developing maintenance and repair service systems for acoustic instruments such as pianos and wind instruments.

Repair Technician Training

The Piano Technical Academy for training piano tuners and the Wind Instrument Technical Academy for fostering technicians specializing in wind instruments have been set up at factories producing the respective instruments. At these facilities, Yamaha Group instructors with exceptional insight pertaining to instruments support those aspiring to become specialist technicians with finely tuned curricula grounded in their expertise. After completing these programs, the newly trained repair technicians provide after-sales services at Yamaha Group sales agents across Japan.

Maintenance Support for Musical Instrument Users

We are providing knowledge and skills regarding musical instruments by offering maintenance guidebooks and holding maintenance workshops to ensure that musical instruments are consistently maintained in the best condition.

Effective Resource Use through Product Collection and Restoration

Yamaha collects and restores instruments that are no longer played at homes or other locations to make effective use of these secondhand products. For example, Yamaha Piano Service Co., Ltd., repairs, repaints, tunes, and adds additional muffling materials before returning instruments to market as refurbished pianos. Meanwhile, Yamaha Music Japan Co., Ltd., is conducting the Future for Instruments Project in which it offers appraisal and buyback services for instruments that are no longer used to encourage users to return their instruments to Yamaha. The purchased instruments are restored for reuse through maintenance by Yamaha technicians to promote the effective use of finite resources.

Utilization of Sustainable and Recyclable Materials

The Yamaha Group is developing alternative materials that can be substituted for scarce timber and adopting sustainable materials, such as biomass-derived resins, for use in its products. In addition, we use recycled polystyrene in portions of speaker boxes while incorporating recycled plastics into other products.

Reduction of Plastic Packaging Use

Yamaha is endeavoring to reduce its usage of plastic packaging as society reassesses the use of disposable plastic items from the perspective of preventing global warming and pollution. As part of these efforts, we plan to stop using plastic packaging for newly launching small products in fiscal 2025.

Effective Use of Timber Resources

The Yamaha Group is working to reduce losses by improving the yield ratio in timber processing while also reusing and recycling wood chips from production processes. The Company is using offcuts in other components and either using, selling, or disposing such offcuts as raw materials, fertilizer, or fuel. In recent years, the Company has also been conducting unique initiatives, such as using sawdust produced in the wood manufacturing process at Japanese factories that manufacture pianos as bedding for cows.

Waste Reduction and Resource Recycling

The Yamaha Group has established systems for recovering and separating waste in order to reduce waste produced at factories and offices and promote recycling. Targets have been established with this regard as part of the Group’s environmental management system.

In Japan, the Yamaha Group had a recycling rate of approximately 99% as of March 31, 2023.

Furthermore, regular on-site inspections of waste processing subcontractors are carried out to verify that waste is being processed appropriately as part of our efforts to fulfill our waste processing responsibilities.

For details regarding waste, please refer to the ESG Data page.

Product and Packaging Recycling

The Yamaha Group complies with laws and ordinances related to recycling products and packaging in relevant countries and regions, including the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive of the European Union. In addition, we are promoting efficient use of resources in Japan by establishing locations for collecting used ElectoneTM products across the country to recover and recycle.