Reading Time: 2 minutesSometimes it seems like the green movement fades in and out of focus for many organizations. But at FUJIFILM Recording Media U.S.A, Inc. (FRMU) one of our primary goals is to enhance the quality of our environment and the community in which we work and live. Our sustainability initiatives play an important role in that effort through our reduction in Co2 emissions and in our efforts to use recycled and environmentally friendly materials in our own production and requiring the same of our suppliers.
The solar panel installation project at our Bedford, Massachusetts manufacturing facility began in response to a FUJIFILM corporate mission of energy conservation and Greenhouse gas reduction to address issues of climate change. With 1,870 solar modules, our solar installation has produced 2,977,000 kwh since its inception in November of 2013. That is the equivalent amount of energy used by 4,666 homes during an entire month. It is also the equivalent to a reduction of 1,787 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Over 20 years, this would equal the carbon sequestered by 7,280 acres of U.S. forest in one year.
In addition to our solar panels, we have just recently converted to LED lighting in our manufacturing facility. By converting to LED bulbs we will reduce our carbon footprint by approximately one third, minimize daily maintenance work, decrease our UV emissions to zero and overall be more energy efficient. With over 3,000 bulbs replaced, we estimate a savings of 400,000 kwh this year!
Our Supply Chain Department has also aligned FRMU with many suppliers that complement our commitment to sustainability. Our pallet supplier is accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC® C112029). They responsibly manage their material sources while limiting clear cutting, preventing the loss of forest cover and protecting fragile forest ecologies. Our printing supplier uses Soy ink, a renewable resource, on all of our printed packaging insert cards. Soy ink is biodegradable and requires less ink for the same amount of printing. We have also reduced the size and weight of our packaging insert cards which reduces our paper consumption and waste to landfill.
We have recently sourced a more sustainable plastic for our multi-cartridge Library Packs. The plastic is called DPET and has the lowest carbon footprint in the market. The facility we source it from promotes the efficient use of water by using 100% recycled waste water. DPET requires 65% less energy to produce than conventional plastics thereby reducing Co2 emissions.
Finally, we continue to develop products and services that leverage modern data tape technology, the greenest form of data storage available consuming 70 times less energy than equivalent amounts of hard disk drive technology.
With the installation of solar panels and LED lights at our manufacturing facility, environmentally minded improvements in our packaging, FRMU remains focused on becoming more sustainable. This initiative supports our mission to enable organizations to effectively manage the world’s exponential data growth with innovative products and solutions, recognizing the social responsibility to preserve digital content for future generations.
Last year was full of key milestones for the tape storage industry. The cost per terabyte and total cost of ownership (TCO) improved for tape-based storage and archive; tape became firmly entrenched in all of the major U.S. hyperscale data centers; and the tape “air gap” continued to be a compelling tool in combating cybercrime.
