Environmental Compliance of Products

In recent years, various environmental laws and regulations have been introduced at both the national and regional levels, with the aim of not only reducing power consumption of products and preventing leakage of harmful substances to the environment, but also purposes such as encouraging repair, reuse, and recycling toward the building of a circular economy and product information disclosure to encourage consumers to choose products with low environmental impact. These regulations have been growing tighter and tighter.

As a global company with operations in more than 40 countries and regions, the Brother Group believes that compliance with environmental laws and regulations is the foundation of business operation. The Brother Group has developed activities in line with the Brother Group Environmental Action Plan 2021 (2019-2021), in order to ensure compliance with environmental laws and regulations in all the countries and regions in which we operate, build a circular economy, and reduce environmental impact with high ethical standards. Furthermore, the Brother Group is continuously strengthening our framework for quickly responding to the trends in the regulations on chemical substances and energy-saving regulations on products in countries and regions around the world, and is also striving to actively offer eco-conscious products before new regulations come into force. These steps enable the entire group to comply with environmental laws and regulations accurately and quickly, leading to enhanced sales and service activities. We are also taking steps to respond to societal demands related to the environment, in addition to environmental laws and regulations.

The RoHS Directive is an EU law (effective from July 2006), banning the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. The Brother Group took the enforcement of the EU RoHS Directive as an opportunity to work with suppliers to build Brother's unique environmental information system, which is used to investigate, avoid, and manage chemical substances contained in products.

In addition, regulations on chemical substances contained in products, such as the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the EU REACH Regulation which is the top priorities of European chemical substances regulations, and the Stockholm Convention, are being strengthened, and this trend is expected to continue.

To properly ensure compliance with these laws and regulations in various countries and regions, the Brother Group has established "the Brother Group Green Procurement Standards" for the procurement of parts and materials. Suppliers are asked to deliver parts and materials in accordance with these standards. Also, the Brother Group conducts audits to check suppliers' management systems and operations related to environmental laws and regulations, reguests corrective actions as necessary, and asks suppliers to guarantee that the goods they deliver comply with these procurement standards.