Brother Group's Environmental Policy
The Brother Group helps society achieve sustainable development by positively and continuously considering the environmental impact in all aspects of our business operations.
The Brother Group's mission is to place our customers first everywhere, every time, and provide them with superior value, by quickly creating and delivering high-quality products and services. To fulfill the mission, it is essential to help society achieve sustainable development, by positively and continuously considering the environmental impact in all aspects of our business operations. This is the basic philosophy of the Brother Group Environmental Policy, and is set out in the Brother Group Global Charter, originally established in 1999, that provides the foundation for all Brother Group activities in the global marketplace. The charter has been translated into 28 languages and been shared with all our employees in order to create a system that is appropriate for a global company transcending differences in culture and customs.
Guidelines and Development of environmental activities
Concern for the environment shall be the cornerstone of all operations. Safety and environmental impact shall be prime considerations at all stages of the product lifecycle to build a society capable of sustainable development.
With this as the cornerstone, we seek to deploy environmental activities in accordance with the action guidelines given below.
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Guidelines |
Development of environmental activities |
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1. We will set environmental targets in all areas (manufacturing, production, and service) and continuously improve their environmental aspects. |
Both manufacturing and sales facilities work to acquire ISO 14001 certification, and strive to reduce environmental impact, such as reducing CO2 emissions. |
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2.We will recognize the importance of reducing energy consumption in all areas (manufacturing, production, and service) and strive to make energy consumption efficient and reduced in the entire Value Chain. |
Improve energy-saving performance in products, energy saving at business sites, promote energy consumption reduction and efficiency, including more efficient distribution. |
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3.We will not limit our activities to the observation of laws and regulations in all countries where we conduct business, but will also act with a strong moral responsibility to prevent pollution and reduce environmental impact. |
A rigorous management framework ensures compliance with environmental laws and regulations in respective countries, prevents oversight and omissions, and enables a quick response. |
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4. We will always consider waste reduction by more efficient use of resources and recycling of products, and will also avoid creating contamination by hazardous substances when designing and developing both technologies and products. |
In developing products, eco-consciousness is considered in various aspects (e.g. resource conservation, use of hazardous chemical substances, and ease of recycling). |
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5.While respecting voluntary activities by each company of the Brother Group, we will also exercise our environmental duties as a united group. |
Activities are promoted based on the Brother Group Medium-term Environmental Action Plan, which is the plan for the entire group. |
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6.We will enhance the environmental understanding and awareness of all employees through activities such as environmental education and PR. |
Various educational opportunities are offered to enhance eco-consciousness (including training programs for new employees, technical training programs for engineers, and e-learning programs for all employees). |
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7. We will actively disclose our environmental efforts to our customers, local communities, and other interested parties to further foster understanding. |
Proactive efforts are made to publicize Brother's activities, such as touring facilities with environmental features, participating in exhibitions, offering lessons at elementary schools and other educational institutions, and planting seedlings. |
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8.We will endeavor to reduce our impact on the ecosystem and to conserve biodiversity in all our operations. |
Biodiversity conservation activities include the procurement of biodiversity-conscious raw materials and the use of forest certified paper, etc. Projects for the restoration/conservation of forests or other natural habitats are promoted. |
Brother Group Environmental Vision 2050
Formulated on March 19, 2018
Revised on July 26, 2021
Revised on January 24, 2022
Revised on March 3, 2025
"The Brother Group Environmental Vision 2050" recognizes the key social issues of climate change, resource depletion, environmental pollution, and destruction of the ecosystem as business risks for the Brother Group and clearly states the group's continuous commitment toward solving these issues over the long term as a company that uses energy and resources to provide products using bio-based items such as paper, thread and cloth.
Three key issues undertaken by the Brother Group
Reduction of CO2 emissions
The vision aims to support the Paris Agreement and contribute toward creating a carbon-free society with zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Medium-term target for FY2030
- [Scopes 1 and 2] Achieve 65% reduction from the FY2015 level
- [Scope 3 (Categories 1, 11, and 12)] Achieve 28.5% reduction from the FY2022 level
- The medium-term target for FY2030 has been recognized as of May 12th 2025, as a target based on scientific evidence (1.5°C target) by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), an international initiative established to help achieve greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
2050 Vision: Contribution for decarbonized society
The Brother Group will aim to achieve carbon neutrality* in all business operations and minimize CO2 emissions from the entire value chain by 2050 so as to contribute toward creating a carbon-free society.
- Achieve overall zero CO2 emissions from the Brother Group
Main efforts: Introduction of solar power generation, renewal of air conditioning facilities, renewal and adoption of energy-saving for production facilities, etc.
Resource Circulation
The vision aims to ensure sustainable use of resources in business operations and minimize the environmental impact due to wastes.
Medium-term target for FY2030: Reduction in use of virgin materials
- Reduce the amount of virgin materials used in products*1 by 25%*2 by FY2030 compared to the FY2022 level through the expansion of circular-economy-based businesses and materials recycling.
- The group's manufacturing facilities continuously endeavor to ensure efficient use of water resources and proper treatment of wastewater.
- 1: Including packaging materials
- 2: Applies to the Printing and Solutions Business
2050 Vision: Maximize resource circulation
Toward 2050, the Brother Group will maximize resource circulation to ensure the sustainable use of resources and to minimize the environmental impact due to wastes.
Main efforts: Expansion of circular-economy-based businesses, reuse of products and parts, use of recycled materials, etc.
Biodiversity conservation
The vision aims to minimize the environmental impact of business operations and promote activities to restore and conserve the ecosystem beyond the impact.
Medium-term target for FY2030: Reduction of environmental impact on the ecosystem
- The Brother Group assesses the environmental impact of its business operations on the ecosystem and the effectiveness of restoration and conservation activities, and works to avoid and reduce the environmental impact on the ecosystem.
- The manufacturing and sales facilities of the entire group work on ecosystem restoration and conservation activities on a voluntary basis depending on the situation in each region.
2050 Vision: Positive net gain for biodiversity
By 2050, the Brother Group will minimize the environmental impact of business operations on the ecosystem and promote activities to restore and conserve the ecosystem beyond the impact.
Main efforts: Biodiversity conservation activities, partnerships with external organizations engaged in nature conservation activities, reduction of CO2 emissions, and promotion of resource circulation
Brother Group's Biodiversity Conservation Policy
Basic Policy
To help build a sustainable society, the Brother Group will endeavor to reduce the impact of its operations on biodiversity and ensure biodiversity conservation through environmental and social contribution activities.
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Challenges in management
- The Brother Group recognizes biodiversity conservation as an important challenge for corporate survival, and works on environmental management.
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Business operations
- The Brother Group identifies the impact of all its operations (including procurement of raw materials) on biodiversity, and constantly endeavors to reduce the impact.
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R&D activities
- The Brother Group gathers information and acquires technologies regarding conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and promotes technological development.
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Social contribution activities
- The Brother Group works on biodiversity conservation activities in collaboration with stakeholders including government organizations, local residents, and NGOs.
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Activities involving all employees
- Actions are led by top management, and measures are taken throughout the company to help all employees increase their knowledge about biodiversity and encourage them to work voluntarily on conservation activities.
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Communication
- Details of activities are actively disclosed in and outside the company to raise awareness of biodiversity conservation activities.
Brother Group's Paper Product Procurement Policy
Basic Policy
As a company that uses forest resources, the Brother Group considers it important to avoid any negative impact on the natural environment and local communities through its business activities. Accordingly, it sets forth a paper product procurement policy as follows in June 2024.
- Conventions, international laws and regulations, social norms, and the laws and regulations at the place of production of forest resources is observed.
- The human rights of local residents and indigenous population at the place of production of forest resources is respected. Human rights as defined by international norms is respected, occupational health and safety are maintained, and the human rights of workers are protected.
- Appropriate land use and forest management toward "zero deforestation" is conducted.
- Due diligence is performed at each company to clarify the absence of any serious destruction of the natural environment and human rights infringement.
- Relevant information regarding the activities and management from manufacturing to use of paper products is disclosed, so that the traceability can be verified.
Brother Group Environmental Action Plan 2027
Brother Group Environmental Action Plan 2027 (2025-2027)
Basic policy
To realize the Brother Group Environmental Vision 2050, the following initiatives will be actively promoted together with stakeholders.
- Reduce CO2 emissions in the whole value chain
- Expand sustainable business by promoting resource circulation
- Reduce the business impact on the ecosystem and increase biodiversity conservation
- Create eco conscious products
- Comply with environmental laws and regulations
Environmental Targets
1. Reduction of CO2 Emissions
- Reduction of CO2 Emissions (Scope 1,2)
- Reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 56% (from those of FY2015).
- Reduction of CO2 Emissions (Scope 3)
- Reduce Scope 3 (Categories 1,11 and 12) emissions based on sales*1 by 25.2% (from those of FY2022).
- Effectively expand and promote CO2 reduction activities by suppliers.
*1: Based on sales: Scope 3 emissions/Group consolidated sales. Group consolidated sales are calculated using a fixed exchange rate.
| Environmental targets* | Achievements in FY2025 | Self-evaluation |
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| 1-1 | The Brother Group is promoting group-wide energy conservation initiatives and the transition to renewable energy. In FY2025, Brother Industries (Philippines), Inc. switched to electricity derived from renewable energy sources. As a result, the Brother Group achieved a 56.0% reduction in CO2 emissions (on an absolute basis) compared with FY2015. | Significantly achieved |
| 1-2 | (1) The Brother Group introduced new printer products with enhanced environmental performance through downsizing and weight reduction. In its machine tools business, the Group also improved energy efficiency and enhanced product value by incorporating multiple functions into its products. As a result, Scope 3 emissions based on sales were reduced by 29.9% compared with FY2022. (2) The Brother Group worked with 13 key business partners on CO2 emissions reduction activities, achieving a reduction of approximately 27,000 tons of CO2 emissions. In addition, to further expand these efforts, the Group reached agreements with 14 additional business partners to carry out future emissions reduction activities and completed preparations to launch these initiatives in the next fiscal year and beyond. |
Significantly achieved |
- The numbers in the chart correspond to the targets numbers above.
2. Resource Circulation
- Responding to Circular Economy
- Reduce the amount of virgin materials used in products based on sales*2 by 16.9% (from that of FY2022) (Printing & Solutions Business)
- Expand circular economy businesses
*2: Based on sales: Volume of virgin materials used in products/Group consolidated sales. Group consolidated sales are calculated using a fixed exchange rate.
- Reduce Water Usage
- Reduce quantity of water intake more than previous year at manufacturing sites (based on sales)*3
*3: Based on sales: Quantity of water intake/Group consolidated sales. Group consolidated sales are calculated using a fixed exchange rate.
- Reduce Waste
- Reduce waste volume more than previous year at manufacturing sites (based on sales)*4
*4: Based on sales: Waste volume/Group consolidated sales. Group consolidated sales are calculated using a fixed exchange rate.
| Environmental targets | Achievements in FY2025 | Self-evaluation |
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| 2-1 | (1) The Brother Group focused its efforts on new products by reducing product size and weight, increasing the use of recycled materials, and switching to recyclable cushioning materials. As a result, the amount of virgin materials used in products based on sales was reduced by 23.9% compared with FY2022. (2) To help realize a circular economy, the Brother Group is enhancing its repair, maintenance, and other service offerings while promoting initiatives such as subscription-based services and the collection and remanufacturing of used cartridges. |
Achieved |
| 2-2 | The Brother Group is continuously implementing water conservation measures and expanding the use of rainwater, primarily at its manufacturing sites. In FY2025, the quantity of water intake based on sales was reduced by 10.9% compared with the previous fiscal year, partly reflecting the inclusion of the Domino Group in the reporting scope. | Significantly achieved |
| 2-3 | The Brother Group continued its waste reduction activities. In FY2025, however, waste volume based on sales increased by 14.6% compared with the previous fiscal year, partly reflecting the impact of the inclusion of the Domino Group in the reporting scope. | Not achieved |
3. Biodiversity Conservation
- Biodiversity Conservation
- In order to contribute to become Nature Positive*5, we will expand biodiversity conservation activities across the entire Group based on the international guidelines for biodiversity.
*5: Nature Positive: To stop the loss of biodiversity, reverse it, and put it on a path to recovery
| Environmental targets | Achievements in FY2025 | Self-evaluation |
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| 3-1 | A partnership was formed with the World Wide Fund for Nature Japan ("WWF Japan"), and contributions were made to biodiversity conservation through donations to WWF Japan's forest conservation activities. About 20,000 participants took part in the "zero ocean waste activities*6" targeting all Brother Group locations in Japan and overseas. |
Achieved |
*6: To further promote the Brother Group's activities, the Group has been supporting World Oceans Day since FY2021.
4. Environmental Management
- Provision of Eco-Conscious Products
- Provide products that meet higher environmental standards in each market region.
- Compliance with Laws and Regulations and Response to Social Demands
- Effectively and efficiently manage chemical substances in products and respond promptly to laws and regulations.
- Promotion of Environmental Contributions to the Entire Society
- Create eco-conscious products and services, and work with customers to reduce environmental impacts on the entire society.
- Information Release Based on SDGs Viewpoint
- Release sustainability information, including environmental information, to strengthen engagement with stakeholders.
- Internal Environmental Education
- Maintain/promote employee's environmental understanding by enhancing environmental education for all employees to promote environmental activities as the entire Group.
| Environmental targets | Achievements in FY2025 | Self-evaluation |
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| 4-1 | The Brother Group promoted environmentally conscious product design from the early stages of product planning and development for new product lines in the communications and printing equipment segment. Through proactive management aimed at meeting environmental label standards—such as Germany's Blue Angel, Japan's Eco Mark, and the U.S. EPEAT—the Group successfully obtained the respective certifications as scheduled. To continuously meet the societal requirements of the Blue Angel certification, the Brother Group maintains RBA certification at three overseas sites producing the applicable products. For new products, the Brother Group also systematically addressed the quantitative environmental information disclosure standards for carbon footprints introduced under Japan's Green Purchasing Law and Eco Mark system and obtained certification. In addition, both laser and inkjet products achieved the highest EPEAT rating, Gold. Furthermore, in preparation for the new EPEAT 2.0 standard, the Group has been systematically advancing initiatives related to responsible procurement, including supply chain risk assessments. |
Achieved |
| 4-2 | To improve the efficiency of collecting and managing information on chemical substances contained in products throughout the supply chain, the Brother Group is implementing a three-year plan for the transition from an in-house product chemical substance information collection tool to an industry-standard tool. In FY2025, the first year of the initiative, the Group completed the transition for approximately 25% of the targeted business partners. | Achieved |
| 4-3 | As a result of promoting the development of eco-conscious products, the Brother Group's SPEEDIO machine tools received the Minister of the Environment's Climate Change Action Award and the EcoPro Award in FY2025 in recognition of their high productivity and energy-saving performance. The Group also continued to calculate and disclose its CO2 emissions reduction contribution, which indicates its contribution to reducing environmental impacts across society. For the PureDrive-FL forklift-mounted spot cooler, the Group evaluated the optimal air-conditioning layout based on the intended operating environment of users and quantified its significant contribution to reducing GHG emissions. The results were disclosed in LCA Japan Forum Newsletter No. 89. |
Achieved |
| 4-4 | On the SDGs special website "Brother SDGs STORY," we introduced biodiversity conservation activities at our manufacturing facility established in the Philippines*1 and efforts such as eliminating EPS (expanded polystyrene)*2 as a sustainability initiative in our business operations. The Brother Group also made partial disclosures in line with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) recommendations and will continue to enhance the completeness of its disclosures. |
Achieved |
| 4-5 | The Brother Eco Point Program continued to be carried out within the Brother Group. Measures to raise environmental awareness among employees were continued through the use of an internal commendation system, information dissemination via the intranet and newsletters, e-learning programs, internal seminars, and workshops. |
Achieved |
"5R" Concept - the Key to Reducing Environmental Impact
From 1999, the Brother Group has been conducting environmental activities based on the "5Rs," which adds "Refuse" and "Reform" to the 3Rs of "Reduce," "Reuse" and "Recycle" as the basis for establishing a sound material-cycle society. "Reform" in particular is an original idea from the Brother Group for creating value by introducing novel approaches and ideas for changing the state of a waste material.
"5R" concept
- Refuse: Avoid purchase of environmentally burdensome materials whenever possible
- Reduce: Reduce waste material
- Reuse: Reuse waste material without processing
- Reform: Reuse materials in a different form
- Recycle: Reuse materials as resources
This is a special website which introduces Brother's SDGs activities.
Brother SDGs STORY "Click for the Earth" is an environmental conservation activity that Brother conducts together with you.
