Environment-Related External Rating and Awards (2017)

Kubota was selected as an A List company in CDP Water, a survey on water resource management by CDP^*, a UK-based non-profit organization, by winning the A (Leadership) rank, the highest rating in the survey. For the CDP Water A List this year, 73 companies, including 12 Japanese companies, were selected globally from among 2,025 companies that had responded to the survey questionnaire. The Kubota Group’s contribution to the development of water infrastructures around the world as a comprehensive manufacturer of water-related products, from the intake of water to its discharge, as well as its efforts to reduce water consumption in its business activities, were highly evaluated.
In the CDP survey on climate change, Kubota won “A- (Leadership),” the second highest of eight ranks.
We will further contribute to society through its global business activities, seeing the response to climate change and conservation of water resources as one of its material issues.

• A project run in collaboration with institutional investors to encourage companies to disclose their strategies and data related to climate change, water, and forests

In December 2018, the 55th Environmental Engineering Forum sponsored by the Environmental Engineering Committee, Japan Society of Civil Engineering was held. General Manager Nakagawa, Mr. Shinya Nagae and Ms. Yuko Tsuzuki from Kubota’s Environmental Engineering Department received the Environmental Technology and Project Award for their presentation on the practical application of an energy-efficient aeration control method for use with membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology. The award recognizes the best environmental technology from the Environmental Engineering Forum project sessions. Kubota has now received this award two years in a row.
The issue with aeration in the MBR process is the large amount of electricity required. Using MBR process data and expertise acquired over many years, Kubota has developed improved aeration feedback control technology and tested it in a commercial treatment setting. The tests showed an electricity saving of roughly 20% using the aeration control technology. The award encourages efforts by Kubota to expand the MBR business through further development of the technology.

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  55th Environmental Engineering Forum award ceremony

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  Environmental Technology and Project Award certificate

The Kubota Sakai Plant received an Excellence Award at the 6th CASBEE Sakai Environmental Building Awards held in February 2018 by the city of Sakai in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.
The CASBEE Sakai^* Environmental Building Awards are aimed at promoting environmentally friendly buildings and raising awareness to help make Sakai a low-carbon city as part of the “Cool City Sakai” concept. The awards recognize the efforts of eco-friendly building owners.
The Sakai Plant received the Excellence Award for two buildings housing research and welfare facilities. The research building features heat-reflective outer cladding; a comfortable internal environment that is bathed in natural light; and greenery plus solar panels installed on the rooftop. The welfare building features insulating panels and low-E multilayer glass on the outside to reduce heat stress, along with solar panels, while internally the building is fitted with an energy management system that can display energy consumption via the intranet. The award recognizes the broad range of eco-friendly technologies used in these buildings.
Kubota aims to gain the trust of local communities for its factories through such eco-friendly development initiatives.

• Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency program applied to buildings in Sakai City

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  Excellence Award certificate

P.T. Kubota Indonesia received the BLUE PROPER award for the eighth time from the environment minister of the Indonesian government for its corporate activities over a year from 2017 to 2018. PROPER (the Environmental Performance Rating Program) is a rating program of the Indonesian ministry of the environment, which assesses the companies’ status of compliance with the environmental regulations and the status of implementation of environmental measures, and discloses them to the public. The aim of this program is to raise companies’ awareness of environmental management, and encourage the implementation of activities for energy saving, conservation of biodiversity, and community development.
The BLUE PROPER award is given to companies that comply with 100% of the environmental regulations and properly operate the environmental management system. P.T. Kubota Indonesia will make continuous efforts to enhance environmental management.

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  Certificate of Commendation for the BLUE PROPER Award

Kubota Environmental Engineering (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (KEES) (China) is helping to improve water environments in Chinese farming villages through the sale of septic tanks. KEES also markets submerged membranes for wastewater treatment plants.
At the 11th Chinese Environmental Industry Conference held in Beijing in April 2018, KEES received the Green Award for the third time in recognition of its achievements as a model manufacturer of membranes for use in wastewater treatment. KEES has previously been recognized as a leading firm in China in the wastewater treatment facility sector, as well as a model company for water treatment facilities and comprehensive services. Aiming to honor corporate innovation and excellence in the environment field, the award is judged by an evaluation committee composed of academic organizations, researchers, and specialized media.
KEES will help improve the water environment in China through business operations.

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  Green Award plaque

KBS Kubota Co., Ltd. was presented with the Environmental Contribution Award at the 2018 Logistics Awards that were held in October 2018 and sponsored by the Japan Institute of Logistics Systems.
Aimed at highlighting the social importance of logistics and boosting the motivation of people working in the sector, the Logistics Awards recognize corporate excellence in advanced logistics and related initiatives.
The award recognizes the work done by KBS Kubota in reducing the environmental loads of container logistics by developing ways to reliably reduce the CO2 emissions associated with ICD^*1-linked Container Round Use and the related transport of containers by shuttle. Rather than transporting empty shipping containers by truck on the outbound or return trips, the Round Use^*2 concept promotes use of containers by firms operating in different sectors, with shuttles transporting containers between cargo owners, ICDs and seaports. The approach reduces total trucking distances and helps to ease congestion at ports. Using this approach, KBS Kubota demonstrated a reduction of about 1,500 t-CO2 in 2017. Encouraged by this award, KBS Kubota plans to continue developing more efficient logistics.

• An Inland Container Depot (ICD) is a facility for handling and temporary storage of shipping containers
• ‘Round Use’ involves re-using shipping containers used for imports for export cargos without returning them to a shipping firm’s container yard

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  2018 Logistics Awards ceremony

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  Environmental Contribution Award certificate

In January 2018, at the 17th Chiba Prefecture Industrial Waste Proper Disposal Promotion Conference sponsored by Chiba Prefecture, Mr. Toshifumi Machi and Mr. Masaaki Nakatani of the Kubota Keiyo Plant (Pipe Systems Division) received the certificate of gratitude as a person of merit in the industrial waste-related business (waste generating business category) from the Governor of Chiba Prefecture, and the same certificate of gratitude from the Environment and Life General Manager, respectively.
These certificates of gratitude are awarded to persons who have been engaged in the operations of a technology manager defined in Article 21 of the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act and are recognized as having made great contributions to the proper disposal of industrial waste.
Mr. Machi and Mr. Nakatani have promoted recycling and the separate management of industrial waste while working to build systems for the proper disposal of industrial waste. These efforts were highly appreciated, resulting in their receipt of the awards.
We will continue to work on reducing environmental loads through its efforts to ensure the proper disposal of industrial waste generated in plants and the 3R activities.

• An Inland Container Depot (ICD) is a facility for handling and temporary storage of shipping containers
• ‘Round Use’ involves re-using shipping containers used for imports for export cargos without returning them to a shipping firm’s container yard

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  Mr. Toshifumi Machi and Mr. Masaaki Nakatani with their certificates of gratitude