As a major manufacturer operating at the global level, a main focus of Mitsubishi Electric is the introduction of technologies and products that contribute to protecting the natural environment. Being a world leader in the field of air-conditioning systems, we have introduced avant-garde technologies that, for example, greatly reduce the amount of energy required for system operation and enable the replacement of refrigerant gases that are harmful to the ozone layer.
Mitsubishi Electric established the Environmental Protection Department in 1991, and has since developed an environmental management systems program that is now applied throughout the entire Mitsubishi Electric Group. All of the company's domestic manufacturing facilities and 12 of its overseas manufacturing affiliates are ISO14001 certified.
Since establishing the Committee for the Reduction of Ozone-Depleting Substances in the 1980s, Mitsubishi Electric has placed a focus on reducing the use of chemical substances that pose a high environmental risk in both manufacturing processes and products. The use of CFCs was phased out entirely by 1995. Today, we are proceeding steadily with the transition to R407C and R410A, HFC refrigerant products with ozone depletion potentials of zero. Plans are to completely phase out use of HCFCs as refrigerants in air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment by the year 2010.
The incorporation of a heat-transfer circuit into the CITY MULTI R407C series of multi-split air-conditioning systems for commercial buildings has enabled us to reduce refrigerant volume yet maintain high system efficiency and stability. We have also reduced CO2 emissions, improved COP and increased the heat recovery rate, thereby realizing high performance in terms of Total Environmental Warming Impact.
Mitsubishi Electric room air conditioners are designed to be environmentally friendly throughout their entire life cycle, from the procurement of raw materials through manufacture, use and disposal. We are promoting recycling by eliminating components that contain harmful substances, reducing the number of parts, designing products for ease of disassembly, and labeling plastic components' constituent materials.
