Through the following links, you can move to the menu or to the main text in this page.

Environmental Management

The Kubota Group has systematically established its environmental management systems in order to facilitate business operation throughout the entire value chain including business sites and operational divisions based on the Kubota Global Identity and the Environmental Charter. The Group also promotes environmental management that is appropriate for the type of business activities of the site/operational division. Production sites, in particular, are associated with large environmental loads related to energy and waste, as well as the risks of air pollution and water contamination. In order to properly address such risks, the Group has established environmental management systems based on ISO 14001 and EMAS, and is endeavoring to promote business management in accordance with the required rules and the continuous improvement of environmental conservation activities.

Compliance with Environmental Laws and Regulations

To ensure compliance with environmental laws and regulations and prevent environmental accidents, the Kubota Group conducts its business in accordance with the rules and regulations it has formulated in relation to environmental conservation.
For exhaust gas, wastewater, noise, vibration and other variables, the Group has set and thoroughly manages its own control values at each production site, which are stricter than the corresponding laws and regulations, and has also established a system to promptly report any instances of non-compliance or complaints relating to environmental laws and regulations to relevant government bodies and the head office.
Each year, the Kubota Group also conducts environmental audits to confirm that the environmental conservation systems and activities are properly implemented at each site, as well as environmental risk assessments to clarify the status of environmental risks and establish improvements, with the aim of preventing the violation of environmental laws/regulations and environmental accidents.
Despite these efforts, however, in FY2023 we had two cases of inappropriate disposal of waste and two cases of wastewater exceeding regulation levels in Japan. We investigated any impacts on the surrounding environment and are working to prevent a recurrence. We were not subject to any fines or punishments.

The Kubota Group's Environmental Management System

The diagram below shows the structure of the environmental management system of the Kubota Group.

1. Environment-related Rules and Regulations

The Kubota Group has formulated environment-related rules and regulations based on its internal control system, targeting Kubota Corporation, all of its consolidated subsidiaries and a part of its affiliated companies accounted for under the equity method that are highly significant in its environmental management.
The rules and regulations are classified as follows:

These rules and regulations are reviewed every year, according to the business environment and revisions of laws and regulations. The latest version of these rules and regulations are available on the Group portal site, allowing employees around the world to refer to them.

2. Investigation and Management of Environmental Data for Understanding by the Kubota Group

In order to practice environmental conservation activities on a global scale, the Kubota Group utilizes the “KUBOTA Ecology Data E-System” (KEDES) to collect environmental data, which includes information from our business sites on their energy usage, amounts of generated and discharged waste, water usage, and VOC emissions, etc.
“KEDES” is a system that collectively manages environmental data at global business sites. Staffs at each business site register monthly environmental data, which is used for target management of their own site. The Environmental Protection Department aggregates and analyzes the data, and uses it for reporting inside and outside the group. The boundary of the environmental data aggregation covers Kubota Corporation and all (100%) of its consolidated subsidiaries.

3. Environmental Auditing

Each year, the Environmental Protection Department conducts an environmental audit that incorporates a document audit targeting all production sites, service sites, offices, and construction and maintenance management departments in Japan, as well as overseas group production sites.
Moreover, in addition to the environmental audit by the Environmental Protection Department, annual internal environmental audits are conducted at production sites. Through these means, and by taking the initiative to self-check the status of environmental management, every effort is being made to further improve management levels.
All of the audit results are reported to the President and management at the Company-wide Risk Management Committee in accordance with the company-wide internal control system.

FY2023 Environmental Audit Implementation Status
Number of sites 287 (274 sites and 13 agricultural machinery sales companies)
Number of audit items 29 (for production sites) up to 54 (for service sites)
  • Details are as shown in the table below.
Audit details Water and air quality management, noise and vibration management, waste discharge and chemical substance management, climate change prevention, response to abnormalities and emergencies, and environmental management system
  • Kubota Itami Office (Japan)
    *The environmental audit involves both on-site and remote audits.

Environmental Audit Implementation Status
Production
sites
Offices Service sites Construction
departments
Maintenance
management
departments*2
Total number
of sites
audited
Agricultural
machinery
distributors
Other
Group
companies
in Japan
Number of
sites audited
25 80 13 companies*1 85 44 8 255
Number of
audit items
45 42 54 54 39 31  
Overseas
group
companies
Number of
sites audited
32 32
Number of
audit items
29  
  1. *1.For agricultural machinery distributors, the audit was conducted on a company basis instead of on a site basis.
  2. *2.Departments engaged in the business of operation or maintenance of environmental plants

4. Environmental Risk Assessment

Environmental risks for facilities are evaluated from the function and management methods, etc., of environment-related equipment, and for facilities that are deemed to require countermeasures, risk reduction activities are promoted to strengthen equipment and management countermeasures until environmental risks are at an acceptable level.
The Kubota Group is proactively working to further reduce environmental risks by conducting environmental audits and environmental risk assessments - two activities with differing perspectives in parallel.

  • Environmental risk assessment
    Kubota Tsukuba Plant

5. Environmental Patrols

At each site, environmental patrols are carried out to meticulously assess the entire site and confirm the absence or presence of conditions that may lead to environmental accidents or violations of environmental laws and regulations. The Kubota Group aims to reduce environmental risks by conducting environmental patrols and finding situations that may cause any abnormalities at an early stage.

  • Environmental patrol Kubota Agricultural Machinery (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (China)

6. Drills for Responding to Abnormal and Emergency Situations

The Kubota Group is working to identify and minimize environmental risks associated with its business activities through risk-specific response procedures.
We are also conducting drills each year based on response procedures that assume the outbreak of environmental accidents or situations that could arise in environmental accidents, in order to mitigate the impact on the ambient environment.

  • Training based on an oil leak scenario Nagasaki Office, KUBOTA Construction Machinery Japan Corporation.

7. On-site Investigations of Waste Treatment Contractors and Purchasers of Valuable Resources

In order to promote the proper treatment of waste and other materials including valuable resources at its operating sites in Japan, the Kubota Group is increasingly employing the services of top-rated certified operators.
At the same time, the Group has stipulated internal rules for conducting on-site investigations of industrial and other recyclable waste treatment contractors, as well as purchasers of valuable resources. With the use of a system for sharing investigation reports, we are taking steps to spread the load of handling investigation tasks and to make them more efficient.
In FY2023, on-site investigations were conducted only at sites where on-site checking was required due to local government ordinances and so forth. At other sites, we conducted investigations based on published information of treatment contractors and so forth. Looking ahead, we will continue to conduct investigations that increase validity to promote appropriate treatment.

Supplier Management

The Kubota Group promotes measures to protect the environment, working closely with suppliers who support our environmental management.
As a specific example of activities, Kubota Agricultural Machinery (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (China) conducts “environmental patrols” of existing suppliers to verify compliance with environmental laws and requests suppliers to take recommended steps for addressing any points for improvement found with the goal of minimizing the risk of supply stoppages for procured components. For new suppliers, patrols are carried out prior to their approval, with only those verified as legally compliant selected as new suppliers.

Environmental Education and Enlightenment

1. Results of Environmental Education in 2023

We conduct environmental education and awareness raising for Kubota Group employees through rank-based training, professional training by subject, and e-learning.

Classification Course title Frequency No. of participants Course description
Education by employee-level ESG Forum for executive management 1 470 Lecture titled “Climate Change, Water, Resources, and Biodiversity: Environmental Issues Surrounding Kubota’s Business and Their Countermeasures” by Professor Taikan Oki (PhD), Special Advisor to the President, and Professor at Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
Training for new employees in staff positions 1 329 Global and local environmental issues and the Kubota Group’s environmental conservation activities
Training for newly appointed foremen 1 6 The Kubota Group’s environmental management and efforts as foremen
Training for newly appointed supervisors 2 52 The Kubota Group’s environmental management and efforts as supervisors
Professional education by subject Basics of environmental management 1 18 Basic knowledge of environmental legal systems, environmental risk, and environmental conservation
Waste management (Basic) 2 58 Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law and waste management
Waste management (Advanced) 1 11 Waste management and resource recycling-related laws and waste management and reduction
Environment-related facility management 1 9 Pollution prevention-related laws and pollution prevention technologies
ISO 14001 introductory course 1 17 Overview of ISO 14001
Education to train ISO 14001 environmental auditors 2 53 The ISO 14001 standard, environment-related laws, audit techniques
e-learning Environmental management of overseas production sites 1 1,016 Key points of the Kubota Group’s environmental management rules for overseas production sites
Total 14 2,039  

2. Environmental Achievement Awards

The Kubota Group presents the Environmental Achievement Awards to commend individuals and groups that have made notable contributions to environmental conservation, as well as to boost the Group's employees' environmental conservation awareness and activate their environmental activities.
In FY2021, environmental conservation activities were evaluated targeting five categories: production, non-production, product, education and awareness raising, and social contribution. Twenty activities were awarded for their achievements in energy saving, waste reduction, VOC reduction, environmental risk reduction, development of environment-friendly products, social contribution activities and so on. Five of these were awarded as the Excellent Prize.
We will continue to award excellent initiatives that contribute to regional or global environmental conservation, and encourage sharing of the details of such initiatives within the Group, with the aim of further activating environmental conservation activities.

  • Environmental Achievement Award Excellent Prize in 2023

Category Company, department Theme
Production Siam Kubota Corporation Co., Ltd. (Thailand) Working towards Net Zero-emission
Non-production Kubota Global Institute of Technology (KGIT) (Japan) Project aimed at realizing “environmentally friendly facilities that make contributions to society” in KGIT construction


  • Environmental Achievement Awards in 2023 by categories

  • Category Classification, No. of winners
    Production Excellent Prize: 1,
    Encouragement Award: 12
    Non-production Excellent Prize: 1,
    Encouragement Award: 4
    Product Encouragement Award: 5,
    Special Award: 1
  • Category Classification, No. of winners
    Education and awareness-raising Education and Awareness-Raising Award: 2
    Social contributions Social Contributions Award: 1

Status of Environmental Management System Certification Acquisition

The Kubota Group requires all of its production sites to acquire ISO 14001 certification or other equivalent environmental certification (EMAS, etc.).
As of the end of December 2023,48 sites worldwide (coverage rate of 89.6%) have acquired environmental management system certification.
In Japan, all of its 24 production sites (coverage rate* of 100%) have acquired ISO 14001 certification. Of its overseas production sites, 24 sites (acquisition rate* of 76.9%) have acquired ISO 14001 certification or other certification for environmental management systems. The Kubota Group will make continuous efforts to raise the coverage rate of the certification.

  • Coverage rate is calculated on a production money amount basis.

1. ISO 14001 Certification

The list includes non-production sites.

Kubota Corporation in Japan
No Name Other Organizations and Subsidiaries Included

Main Business

Inspecting/Certifying Organization Date of
Certification
1 Tsukuba Plant Eastern Main Parts Center
Tsukuba Training Center
Kanto Kubota Precision Machinery Co., Ltd.
Engines, agricultural machinery LRQA November
28, 1997
2 Keiyo Plant Distribution Center Ductile iron pipe, fittings spiral welded steel pipe LRQA July 16,
1998
3 Ichikawa Plant   Spiral welded steel pipe LRQA July 16,
1998
4 Hanshin Plant Marushima Factory Ductile iron pipes, fittings, rolling-mill rolls, TXAX LRQA March 5,
1999
5 Kyuhoji Business Center KUBOTA Environmental Engineering Corporation
KUBOTA Membrane Corp.
KUBOTA Keiso Corp.
Measuring instruments, measuring systems, rice-milling products, waste shredder systems, submerged membranes, and mold temperature controllers, commercial air purifier DNV March 19,
1999
6 Hirakata Plant Valves, cast steel, and construction machinery LRQA September
17, 1999
7 Okajima Business Center Industrial cast iron products JICQA December
22, 1999
8 Sakai Plant, Sakai Rinkai Plant Agricultural machinery, construction machinery, engines and related equipment LRQA March 10,
2000
9 Shiga Plant FRP products JUSE May 18,
2000
10 Water Circulation Business Unit Shin-Yodogawa Plant Sewage and sludge treatment, water purification, wastewater treatment facilities, submerged membrane ICJ July 14,
2000
11 Environmental Solutions Division Environmental Machinery Dept.   Sewage and water purification plants, pumps and pump stations ICJ July 14,
2000
12 Utsunomiya Plant Utsunomiya Training Center Rice transplanters and combine harvesters LRQA December
8, 2000
13 Kubota Global Institute of Technology   Agricultural machinery, construction machinery and related equipment LRQA September
1, 2023
Kubota Group: Companies in Japan
No Name Other Organizations and Subsidiaries Included

Main Business

Inspecting/Certifying Organization Date of
Certification
1 Nippon Plastic Industry Co., Ltd. Head office and plant, Mino Plant Plastic pipes, plastic sheets JSA October 27, 2000
2 Kubota Construction Co., Ltd. Design and construction of civil engineering structures and buildings JQA December 22, 2000
3 KUBOTA Environmental Engineering Corporation
【formerly Kubota Environmental Service Co., Ltd.】
Installation, maintenance and management of environmental systems for service water, sewage, landfill disposal, raw waste and waste plants. MSA November 20, 2002
4 Kubota ChemiX Co., Ltd. Tochigi Plant Plastic pipes and couplings JUSE March 27, 2003
(integrated authentication in 2011)
Sakai Plant
Odawara Plant
Hanshin Plant
Kyushu KUBOTA Chemical Co., Ltd.
Okinawa Kubota Kasei Co., Ltd.
5 KUBOTA Air Conditioner Co., Ltd. Tochigi Plant Central air conditioning systems JQA August 27, 2004
6 Kansouken Inc. Package software supporting water business JCQA April 14, 2014
Kubota Group: Overseas companies
No Name

Main Business, Service, etc

Inspecting/Certifying Organization Date of Certification
1 SIAM KUBOTA Corporation Co.,Ltd.[Headquarters](Thailand) Small diesel engines and agricultural machinery BSI February 28, 2003
2 P.T. Kubota Indonesia (Indonesia) Diesel engines and agricultural machinery LRQA February 10, 2006
3 Kubota Materials Canada Corporation (Canada) Cast steel products, TXAX SGS (U.S.) June 15, 2006
4 KUBOTA Precision Machinery (Thailand) Co.,Ltd. (Thailand) Equipment for tractors LRQA August 5, 2015
5 Kubota Manufacturing of America Corporation (U.S.) Small-sized tractors, mowers, utility vehicles and tractor accessories SGS September 20, 2012
6 SIAM KUBOTA Corporation Co., Ltd.[Amata Nakorn](Thailand) Tractors and combine harvesters LRQA September 27, 2012
7 KUBOTA SANLIAN PUMP (ANHUI) Co., Ltd. (China) Pumps CCSC May 29, 2013
8 Kubota Agricultural Machinery (SUZHOU) Co., Ltd. (China) Combine harvesters, rice transplanters and tractors SGS November 13, 2013
9 Kubota Construction Machinery (WUXI) Co., Ltd. Construction machinery SGS December 11, 2014
10 SIAM KUBOTA Metal Technology Co., Ltd. (Thailand) Cast iron products for engines and tractors MASCI December 19, 2014
11 Kubota Engine (WUXI) Co ., Ltd. (China) Diesel engines SGS March 22, 2015
12 Escorts Kubota Limited (India) Farmtrac Series Tractors, Tractor Transmission, Components and Tractors Spare Parts, Earth Moving and Construction Equipment, Railway Equipment TÜV
EGAC
May 25, 2015
13 KUBOTA Engine(Thailand) Co., Ltd. (Thailand) Diesel engines LRQA July 3, 2015
14 Kubota Farm Machinery Europe S.A.S (France) Tractors BV (France) February 20, 2017
15 KUBOTA KASUI VIETNAM CO., LTD. [Binh Duong] (Vietnam) Chemical agents for water treatment Inspect May 22, 2018
16 Kverneland Group Manufacturing Lipetsk (Russia) Tractor accessories Russian Register June 6, 2018
17 Kubota (U.K.) Ltd. (U.K.) Sales of Tractor, Construction machinery, Diesel engines CQS July 23, 2021

LRQA: LRQA Limited(U.K.)
DNV: DNV Certification B.V.(Netherlands)
JUSE: Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers ISO Center
ICJ: Intertek Certification Japan Limited
JICQA: JIC Quality Assurance Ltd. (Japan)
JSA: Japanese Standards Association
JQA: Japan Quality Assurance Organization
MSA: Management System Assessment Center (Japan)
JCQA: Japan Chemical Quality Assurance Ltd
MASCI: Management System Certification Institute (Thailand)(Thailand)
SGS(U.S.): Systems & Services Certification,a Division of SGS North America Inc.(U.S.)
BSI: BSI Assurance UK Limited(U.K.)
SGS: SGS United Kingdom Limited(U.K.)
BV: Bureau Veritas Certification Holding SAS - UK Branch(U.K.)
Ínspect: Ínspect Uluslarasi Beglgelendirme ve Gözetim Hiz. Tic. Ltd. Şti.
CCSC: China Classification Society Certification Co.,Ltd(China)
TÜV: TÜV SÜD South Asia Private Limmited,Mumbai(India)
EGAC: Egyptian Accreditation Council(India)
BV(France): Bureau Veritas Certification France(France)
CQS: Certified Quality Systems Limited(U.K.)

2. EMAS certification

Kubota Group: Overseas companies
No Name

Main Business

Inspecting/Certifying Organization Date of
Certification
1 Kubota Baumaschinen GmbH(Germany) Construction machinery IHK January 3,
2013

IHK: Industrie- und Handelskammer fur die Pfalz(Germany)