HOME > Sustainability > Environtment > Sustainable Products and Services > Sustainable Products > eco-friendly Products

eco-friendly Products

Creation and provision of sustainable products

Through the creation and provision of sustainable products aimed at solving problems in three environmental priority areas— decarbonization, resource recycling, and biodiversity conservation—we are contributing to solving society’s environmental problems by integrating environmental issues into our business activities through integrated environmental corporate management.

Three environmental issues, the value that sustainable products provide, and our aims

Please note that while the definition of “product” in standards such as JIS Q 14040 includes “services,” the azbil Group distinguishes between “products” and “services” and refers to both collectively as “products and services.”

eco-friendly products

“eco-friendly products” are products developed based on “eco-friendly design” as defined in JIS Q 62430. The azbil Group refers to products that meet this criteria as “sustainable products,” and promotes the development of products that are kind to our planet.

eco-friendly design

Overview and Purpose

In 1997, we established and began to operate systems for the design and evaluation of eco-friendly products. In FY2023, we completely revamped these evaluation systems, and with the concept of “sustainable design” aimed at creating and providing products that contribute to decarbonization, resource circulation, and biodiversity conservation, we have been strengthening our promotion system. We design our products based on the following 7 criteria.
These are indicators for the “calculation of product life cycle CO2,” “resource consumption reduction,” and "resource circulation,” as well as evaluation items for “decarbonization,” “resource efficient use,” “environmental pollution prevention,” and “information disclosure.”

Recycling Initiatives

The azbil Group directs its efforts to product design that considers resource recycling, which is an element of eco-friendly design.
Refer to “Recycling Initiatives” below.

Recycling Initiatives

Product Environmental Assessment

We call what is referred to as “product assessment” in guidelines released from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and industry groups “product environmental assessment,” clarifying that it is an evaluation of eco-friendliness. To promote the creation and provision of products that are kind to our planet, we conduct product environmental assessments of our new products. Under this framework, we conduct evaluations based on unique assessment items and calculate product life cycle CO2. This allows us to evaluate the impact on the global environment throughout the entire life-cycle of each product, from the early stages of development, planning, and design to procurement, manufacturing, transportation, use, and disposal.

Assessment Items

We conduct evaluations based on the following 8 criteria.

• Reuse/recycle: Selection of parts and materials that can be reused and recycled, structural design for easy dismantling and separation, and ease of sorting
• Ease of disposal: Ease of product recovery and transport, ease of breaking and crushing, and safety at the time of disposal
• Environmental friendliness: Abolition of the use of specified hazardous substances, separability of parts containing environmental pollutants, avoidance of the use of hazardous substances in the manufacturing process, and use of materials with less environmental impact
• Resource conservation: Compact and lightweight design of products, use of recycled materials, reduced consumption of consumables, reduction of waste generated in production process, and wire saving
• Energy conservation: Energy-efficient design, and energy saving in production process and engineering
• Extended service life: Upgradability, ease of repair and maintenance, and durability
• Packaging materials: - Reduction of packaging materials, reuse/recycle, and abolition of the use of specified hazardous substances
• Provision of information: Provision of appropriate information to people handling products

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Initiatives

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is implemented with reference to ISO 14040 (JIS Q 14001) and ISO 14044 (JIS Q 14040).
The trends of our products are described below. CO2 emission levels tend to be high during the procurement and usage stages.

Flow of Product Development

Before the detailed design stage, we conduct a preliminary evaluation using some of the product environmental assessment forms to clearly identify the issues that need to be overcome in terms of eco-friendliness, and set environmental targets (development targets) accordingly. This is expected to lead to improvement of the eco-friendliness of the products that are actually developed.

Environment Labels and Awards System

Product examples

Products that have been designed with eco-friendliness and meet the standards of our product environmental assessments are called “sustainable products.” The following are some examples. We also publish the Technical Journals, a collection of papers on technological developments by the Azbil Group, once a year, so please refer to this as well.

LCA Helped Reduce Power Consumption of General-Purpose Photoelectric Sensor HP7 Series

A photoelectric sensor detects the absence or presence of objects, using light as a medium, and emits an electrical on/off signal. The sensor consists of a light transmitter and a light receiver. The receiver detects whether the light emitted from the transmitter is being blocked or reflected by an object. It processes the light signal, and generates an output.
During the course of new product development, we conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) of our existing photoelectric sensor and found that it consumed a significant amount of power during its service life.^*1 We therefore identified the factors responsible for consuming a large amount of current and took four countermeasures: 1) reducing the photoelectric current, 2) reducing power consumption by using voltage to drive certain components of the sensor, 3) reducing the current consumption of the integrated circuit (IC), and 4) adopting a new adaptable design. As a result, we were able to cut the product’s power consumption by about one-half compared with our previous photoelectric sensor.

*1 It can be used 24 hours a day and has a service life of ten years.

For details on energy-saving features, other environment-related features contributing to business solutions, and product features other than environmental benefits, please see the April 2013 edition of the azbil Technical Review (in Japanese with English abstracts).

A Photoelectric Sensor with Automatic Sensitivity Adjustment (in Japanese only) (2,702KB)

For product specifications, please see the Products and Services for Factories and Plants section of Azbil Corporation’s website.

TX Dual Valve Drastically Reduces Consumption with a Specially Designed Solenoid

Azbil TA Co., Ltd. has drastically evolved its dual valves. The company’s new TX dual valve (Model TX-A) was developed with the aim of achieving world-class performance and environmentally friendly manufacturing. A newly designed pilot valve shortens response time, and an unprecedented flow path design achieves high-speed exhaust and low residual pressure during failures. The performance of the TX dual valve, which is higher than that of previous models, ensures reliable stops that are required for safe press machines.
With regard to its eco-friendly design, in addition to achieving a 22% weight reduction by actively adopting plastic molded parts and aluminum die-cast parts, we have succeeded in reducing power consumption by 50% with a specially designed solenoid.
Since their release in 1979, the company’s dual valves have been exported worldwide through Asian press machine manufacturers. The new TX dual valve will contribute to customer safety and global environmental conservation with its world-leading quality.

For product specifications, please see the Product Information section of Azbil TA Co., Ltd.’s website.

Open PLC Linker DOPL II S Reduces Environmental Impact Throughout the Life Cycle

DOPL II S (Model HD-PLBS4) is a controller that integrates programmable logic controller (PLC) subsystems for the Harmonas-DEO system and the Advanced-PS system.
It consumes 37.5% less power than previous products, thanks to parts with lower power consumption, power-optimizing design, and other efficiency improvements. It is also smaller in size and is 41.2% lighter due to a more than 20% reduction in the number of parts used, elimination of internal wires, and the extension of the CPU board and the incorporation of other functions into the board, and other enhancements. We also eliminated limited-life parts to achieve a longer service and improved extensibility by modularizing internal components. As a result, the product improved by 39.6% overall in its environmental design assessment, with a significant reduction in life-cycle carbon dioxide (LC-CO2) emissions, meeting the certification criteria for the azbil Environmental Label.

For product specifications, please see the Products and Services for Factories and Plants section of Azbil Corporation’s website.

Compact Digital Mass Flow Controller, 50% Smaller Than the Conventional Model

We streamlined the functions of the compact digital mass flow controller (Model F4H), focusing on those required for equipment to manufacture electrical and electronic components, various analytical and cultivation equipment in the field of physical and chemical science, and other applications. As a result, the new model, while retaining the responsiveness and controllability, has achieved a reduction in volume of 50% compared with our previous models, thus conserving resources. This supports the miniaturization of the equipment in which the digital mass flow controller is installed. It also contributes to reducing the environmental impact of our customers.

For product specifications, please see the Products and Services for Factories and Plants section of Azbil Corporation’s website.

Sapphire Capacitance Diaphragm Gauge Achieves over 50% Miniaturization and Reduced Power Consumption Compared to the Previous Model

The sapphire capacitance diaphragm gauge (Model SPG) employs a sapphire sensor that was miniaturized through azbil’s proprietary micro-machining technology, achieving miniaturization and saving weight, as well as making a 57.1% improvement in resource conservation. Furthermore, the sensor’s miniaturization led to the reduction of power consumption, improving energy efficiency by 53.3%. As a result of these efforts, we have been able to greatly reduce the product’s life cycle carbon dioxide (LC-CO2) emissions.

For product specifications, please see the Products and Services for Factories and Plants section of Azbil Corporation’s website.

Energy-saving Performance of ACTIVAL™ with Flow Measurement and Control Function Recognized by Third Parties

Thanks to its excellent energy-saving performance, ACTIVAL™ with flow measurement and control function (Model FVY51) is recognized by the Japan Valve Manufacturers’ Association and the Japanese Business Alliance for Smart Energy Worldwide (JASE-W).
It is characterized by an air conditioning control valve that is integrated with functions for measuring temperature, pressure, flow rate, and heat quantity. It improves the quality of energy management by visualizing the energy usage of individual air conditioning units. Moreover, it achieves energy savings by controlling the flow rate to prevent oversupply.
Previously, it was necessary to separately install a pressure gauge, flow meter, etc. in addition to the valve, but by integrating these functions into this product, it is no longer necessary to purchase separate instruments, and this greatly contributes to resource conservation. Furthermore, because there is only one product that needs to be installed and adjusted, the amount of work required by on-site workers is reduced, contributing to the reduction of implementation costs borne by customers.

This product also contributes to suppressing running costs borne by customers. The results of calculations based on data from actual installations confirmed that electricity consumption can be reduced by approximately 227,000 kWh per year. Please see this page for more information.

For product specifications, please see the Valves (Motorized Valves) and Actuators for Buildings section of Azbil Corporation’s website.

Registered eco-friendly Valve Products

In addition to product evaluations based on our own standards, we would like to introduce products that have also been registered under the eco-friendly Valve Registration System sponsored by the Japan Valve Manufacturers’ Association.

This system was launched in November 2016 with the aim of both internally and externally promoting products created with an eco-friendly design in mind, stimulating demand for products with low environmental impact, and promoting their supply.
Products registered under this system have undergone self-assessment of their environmental aspects based on the Valve Product Assessment Guidelines established by the Japan Valve Manufacturers’ Association, in relative terms with the company’s conventional products (or new design target values if there are no conventional products).
For details on the system, please see the website of the Japan Valve Manufacturers’ Association (in Japanese only).

You can check the overview by clicking on each product listed in the “Product Name” column of the table.
Likewise, you can check evaluation items in which improvements have been made by clicking on the item in the “Registration Information” column.

Products Featured in the Japanese Smart Energy Products & Technologies

We would like to introduce our products featured in Japanese Smart Energy Products & Technologies published by the Japan Business Alliance for Smart Energy Worldwide (commonly called JASE-W).

This Alliance works together with public and private sectors to globally spread excellent technologies and products possessed by Japanese companies for energy saving, new energies, and decarbonization. The outstanding eco-friendliness of our company’s technologies and products has been highly evaluated by third parties.

The features, principles, and energy-saving effects of the following products are featured in Japanese Smart Energy Products & Technologies.

Product 1　Technical Collection File No. E-55
Heat Source Equipment/Power Plant Utility Optimization System U-OPT™

Product 2　Technical Collection File No. F-88
ACTIVAL™ Motorized Control Valve with Flow Measurement and Control Functions