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Olympus America Inc. and Olympus Imaging America Inc. recently relocated to Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. In designing its new headquarters, Olympus turned to the U.S. Green Building Council – a coalition for environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to work. A number of the Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) features were incorporated into the project:
The National Service Center (NSC) in San Jose is involved in the servicing of our endoscopes as well as the distribution of our medical products. An ISO 14001-certified facility, the NSC has recently been focusing efforts on its significant environmental aspects including electronic waste (E-waste) and employee-induced vehicle air emissions.
Since 1998, the NSC has had a very active E-waste recycling program for end-of-life medical equipment (endoscopes) and their associated monitors, computers, light sources, cables, circuit boards, printers, and other ancillary devices. This E-waste is collected at various locations throughout the NSC, prior to shipping to a contracted processing facility where it is appropriately segregated, shredded and recovered for recycling by metal smelting and plastic reprocessing.
Beginning in 2005, an Olympus-sponsored car pool program was initiated to reduce commuter vehicle air emissions in the Bay Area. Employees participated in a zip code matching system which connected interested car pool candidates. Periodic gift certificate lottery drawings and reserved car pool parking slots further enhanced the program – making it so successful that the initial target of a 50 vehicle-day reduction was exceeded with more than 350 vehicle-days reduced. As part of a World Environment Day celebration in June 2006, the NSC expanded the program by facilitating mass transit programs and adding more reserved car pool parking slots.
- energy-efficient mechanical, electrical and lighting systems, including an underfloor air distribution system for more effective ventilation rates and thermal control
- indigenous plant species landscaping and hands-free faucets and toilet flush valves to reduce water consumption
- ozone-friendly chemicals in all HVAC and fire suppression systems
- exterior lighting fixtures that limit night sky pollution
- bicycle storage lockers to encourage alternate transportation to the site
- local material and supplier use to limit associated transportation impacts
The National Service Center (NSC) in San Jose is involved in the servicing of our endoscopes as well as the distribution of our medical products. An ISO 14001-certified facility, the NSC has recently been focusing efforts on its significant environmental aspects including electronic waste (E-waste) and employee-induced vehicle air emissions.
Since 1998, the NSC has had a very active E-waste recycling program for end-of-life medical equipment (endoscopes) and their associated monitors, computers, light sources, cables, circuit boards, printers, and other ancillary devices. This E-waste is collected at various locations throughout the NSC, prior to shipping to a contracted processing facility where it is appropriately segregated, shredded and recovered for recycling by metal smelting and plastic reprocessing.
Beginning in 2005, an Olympus-sponsored car pool program was initiated to reduce commuter vehicle air emissions in the Bay Area. Employees participated in a zip code matching system which connected interested car pool candidates. Periodic gift certificate lottery drawings and reserved car pool parking slots further enhanced the program – making it so successful that the initial target of a 50 vehicle-day reduction was exceeded with more than 350 vehicle-days reduced. As part of a World Environment Day celebration in June 2006, the NSC expanded the program by facilitating mass transit programs and adding more reserved car pool parking slots.
The Olympus America Diagnostic Systems Group repair, distribution and customer service and training center in Irving, Texas expanded its environmental reporting and recycling initiatives in 2005 – laying the foundation for the establishment of additional waste reduction goals related to the amount of expired, off-specification and damaged product. By improving forecasting accuracy and increasing surveillance of suppliers through audits/inspections and internal quality evaluations, the goal of the established five-year plan is to reduce the amount of associated reagent waste disposed by at least 20%. Reductions in natural resource usage are also planned for the future, in conjunction with the establishment of the facility’s environmental management system, which is expected to undergo certification in 2007. Implementation of a formalized health and safety management system is also underway at the site. Recognizing its role as an integral member of society, the facility also gives back to its community and the environment through contributions to the city of Irving's parks and recreation centers.
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