Initiatives that contribute to addressing social issues
Living Environment & Digital Media Equipment Group
Message from the Group President
Providing Products that are Helpful for Society and the Environment in Wide Areas through Creating Comfortable Living Spaces and Reducing Environmental Impact during Production
Tadashi Matsumoto
Senior Vice President, Group President,
Living Environment & Digital Media Equipment
The Living Environment & Digital Media Equipment Group focuses on the air-conditioning and refrigeration systems business, one of the growth-driving sectors at Mitsubishi Electric. In addition to expanding operations, we are pressing forward with proposals of total solutions using IoT and AI technologies as well as products within and outside the Mitsubishi Electric Group and striving for growth by taking advantage of a wide range of synergies in technologies and business operations as a general electric-appliance manufacturer.
As we expand business, we believe it is important to provide products and services that contribute simultaneously to achieving sustainability, safety, security, and comfort as well as to resolving social issues. Part of this includes supplying a broad range of environment-friendly systems and services for the home, office, and industry. These include air conditioners that produce less CO2 during use and our energy-saving EcoCute product lineup. Additionally, Mitsubishi Electric proposes solutions that aim to achieve energy savings by building systems as a whole in support of programs such as ZEH and ZEB, promoted by the Japanese government.
Meanwhile, as activities to reduce CO2 from production, the Living Environment & Digital Media Equipment Group is proactively introducing energy-saving products at production sites; namely, high-efficiency air-conditioners, heat-pump hot-water supply systems and LED lighting. We are also promoting energy-saving activities by improving productivity linked to just-in-time improvement activities based on e-F@ctory concepts.
| Major social issues for which risks and opportunities have been recognized and evaluated | Focusing on the SDGs |
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Initiatives that Contribute to Addressing Social Issues
The Energy Conservation Center, Japan Chairman's Fiscal 2020 Energy Conservation Grand Prize Presented for Room Air Conditioners and High-Ceiling Lighting Equipment at the Same Time
Room air conditioners, LED lighting and other products sold by Mitsubishi Electric incorporate various devices in order to simultaneously achieve improved energy-efficiency performance and maximum comfort. Such efforts were recognized by the Energy Conservation Center, Japan (ECCJ), and two Mitsubishi Electric products received honors in the Products and Business Models Category of the Fiscal 2020 Energy Conservation Grand Prize presented by the organization.
Awards Outline
<Products and Business Models Category>
ECCJ Chairman‘s Award
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FY2021 Kirgamine FZ Series room air conditioner
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"Kirigamine REMOTE" (display example) smartphone app that allows users to check the temperature distribution in a room with a thermal image
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"GT Series" high-ceiling LED base lights <For general use>
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"GT Series" high-ceiling LED base lights <For use in special environments>
MILIE LED Lighting – Realizing Reduced Power Consumption and Comfort
The MILIE LED lighting brand name was coined from the words "Mitsubishi", "lighting", and "ecology". It expresses our desire to make positive contributions to Earth and society through LED lighting. The lineup has been expanded to include products for a wide variety of applications according to purposes and facilities. These include My Series LED base lights mainly for offices, GT Series high-ceiling LED base lights for factories, warehouses, and gymnasiums, AK Series LED spotlights for retail stores, the MILCO.NET and MILCO.S lighting control systems, which simultaneously achieve improved comfort and reduced power consumption, and misola* new lighting equipment that expresses blue sky with sufficient depth feeling and natural light, and more.
- * Scheduled to be released in October 2020
MILIE LED lighting
EcoCute that Can Be Used in Conjunction with Photovoltaic Systems*1*3
EcoCute
The EcoCute heat-pump hot-water supply system has a Weather Link AI function*2 that can be linked to a photovoltaic power generation system*3. Based on the weather forecast and previous solar power generation records, artificial intelligence (AI) automatically determines whether or not to use solar power-generated electricity to supply hot water on the next day. By optimizing the timing of night-time water heating, energy efficiency is boosted.
- *1 Excludes Compact EcoCute and EcoCute Lite
- *2 In order to take advantage of the Weather Link AI, GT-HEM3, a component sold separately, a smartphone or tablet, and a dedicated app are required. The Weather Link AI is compatible with FY2019 Mitsubishi Electric EcoCute models or later. For use of Mitsubishi HEMS with EcoCute, a separate component, a smartphone or tablet, a dedicated software application, and installation are required. Details including system requirements for tablets and smartphones can be confirmed on Mitsubishi Electric’s HEMS product website.
- *3 Sales of our photovoltaic systems under our brand have ended as of March 31, 2020.
Recycling of Home Electrical Appliances
We have developed technologies to automaically separate three types of plastics (i.e., PP, PS and ABS) used in home electrical products from a mixture of different materials originating from home appliances. We have also improved the identification of physical properties when separating materials, and are pressing forward with an original recycling system in which plastics recovered from home electrical appliances are recycled and used to manufacture our home electrical products.
