Approach to Green Procurement
Approach to Green Procurement
Today, environmental laws and regulations have become increasingly stringent, not only in Japan, but worldwide. Increasingly, customers throughout the world are inquiring about DISCO's ISO 14001 certification and requesting information on the percentages of hazardous chemicals in our products. To address these demands, DISCO offers products that are not only high-quality and low-cost with prompt delivery, but also environmentally friendly.
Outline of Green Procurement at DISCO Corporation
The Green Product Guidelines, formulated in March 2004, include items related to the consideration of
environmental preservation at the time of design and development. These are intended to prevent the use of
hazardous chemicals in end-of-life products that will adversely affect the global environment and human
health. This concept goes along with that of the WEEE Directive*1 and the RoHS
Directive*2 enforced in the EU.
Although DISCO products do not fall under the scope of these directives, we adhere to these concepts and
promote green procurement in order to fulfil our corporate social responsibility. To be more precise, based
on the List of DISCO Controlled Substances, we conducted tests for the presence of hazardous chemicals
contained in our raw materials, parts, and equipment and are promoting restrictions on the use of such
chemicals. The list covers nine Prohibited Substances such as asbestos, which use is internationally
prohibited (control level A), and 10 Restricted Substances specified by RoHS Directive (control level B).
In addition, SVHC (substances of very high concern) in the REACH regulation specifies substances to be
reported (control level C) and substances of concern that are expected to be regulated in the future as
substances to be monitored (level D). All of these substances must be reported if included in raw materials,
parts, or equipment.
1 : WEEE Directive: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste
electrical and electronic equipment. The purpose of the directive is, as a first priority, the prevention of
waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), and in addition, the reuse, recycling, and other forms of
recovery of such wastes so as to reduce the disposal of waste. The Directive entered into force on 13 August
2005, whereby each producer is responsible for financing operations related to the waste from their own
products.
2 : RoHS Directive: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the restriction of the use of
certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. 10 substances are covered by this
directive: (1) Lead, (2) Mercury, (3) Cadmium, (4) Chromium VI, (5) Polybrominated biphenyls, (6)
Polybrominated diphenylethers, (7) Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, (8) Benzyl butyl phthalate, (9) Dibutyl
phthalate, and (10) Diisobutyl phthalate (PBDE).
DISCO Controlled Substances
Control level A (Prohibited substances): 9 substance groups
| No. | Substance group | Threshold value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tri-substituted organostannic compounds | Prohibited |
| 2 | Polychlorinated biphenyls | |
| 3 | Polychlorinated naphthalenes | |
| 4 | Shortchain chlorinated paraffins | |
| 5 | Asbestos | |
| 6 | Azocolourants and azodyes | |
| 7 | Radioactive substances | |
| 8 | Ozone depleting substances | |
| 9 | Refractory ceramic fiber |
Control level B (Restricted substances) RoHS directive substances （2011/65/EU）
| No. | Substance group | Threshold value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cadmium / Cadmium compounds | ≤100 ppm |
| 2 | Chromium VI compounds | ≤1,000 ppm |
| 3 | Lead / Lead compounds | |
| 4 | Mercury / Mercury compounds | |
| 5 | Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) | |
| 6 | Polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) | |
| 7 | Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate（DEHP) | |
| 8 | Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) | |
| 9 | Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) | |
| 10 | Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) |
*The total amount of cadmium, mercury, chromium VI, and lead for packing materials for DISCO products should be under 100 ppm per package, which is the standard for EU packaging and packaging waste.
Control level C (Substances to be reported)
| Substance group |
|---|
| REACH/SVHC *Details are shown in Table 3. Substances in control level C are in the list of DISCO controlled substances. |
Control Level D (Substances to be monitored)
The effects of substances in control level D on health and the environment have not yet been fully confirmed. However, DISCO originally specified substances which may have had potential effects through long-time exposure.
| Substance group |
|---|
| Nanomaterial Nanomaterial is a solid material manufactured using elements as raw materials, materials for which a single unit is between 1 to 100 nm, and nanostructures (including aggregated nanomaterial objects) composed of nanomaterials. |
Note: The threshold value is subjected to change.
List of DISCO Controlled Substances (Substance Group)
Precision Processing Tools and Functional Consumables Compliant with Green Procurement
Although DISCO precision processing tools (blades, grinding wheels, etc.) and functional consumables (chemical products such as StayClean) are outside the scope of the RoHS Directives of the EU, which apply to electrical and electronic equipment, we are promoting green procurement of materials used in precision processing tools and functional consumables because those products have direct contact with customer's workpieces, i.e,. wafers in processing.
