Enhancement of Environmentally Friendly Products

Since its establishment in 1918, CITIZEN has continued to create and nurture watches with the wish that they will be loved by citizens for many years to come. As a manufacturer capable of designing, assembling, and adjusting its own parts, The CITIZEN, which is equipped with a specially designed movement that is the culmination of the company's own technology, requires outstanding assembly skills. From the movement to the finished product, the watch is assembled by highly skilled watch assemblers. In August 2021, CITIZEN launched its first mechanical watch from The CITIZEN in about 10 years. Mechanical watches are another sustainable product along with CITIZEN's core technology "Eco-Drive" in that, with regular maintenance, they can be used for a long time and passed on to the next generation. To assist with the maintenance, we offer the CITIZEN Owner's Club, which provides detailed services. By having customers register with the CITIZEN Owner's Club, we are able to provide prompt and high-quality service in response to inquiries and requests.

All of our watches are designed to be close to the person who wears them. As proof of this, the CITIZEN “eagle mark” symbol is placed on the dial. The eagle mark represents the two intentions of “The CITIZEN,” namely to always look ahead and pursue ideals, and to be close to the person who will be wearing the watch for many years to come.

• “CITIZEN Owner's Club", providing attentive service.

CITIZEN L, with designs inspired by the beauty of nature, has positioned sustainability at the core of its brand since 2016, offering "sustainable watches as beautiful as the Earth" with a commitment to the global environment and people. All watches are equipped with the photovoltaic Eco-Drive, which does not require regular battery replacements, and some watches are made of materials selected based on the criteria of "not sacrificing anyone" and "sustainability.”In this manner, we are committed to making the future of the earth more sustainable. In April 2023, we launched a model based on the theme of a lily of the valley, a flower that blesses the arrival of spring and has been loved by people as a symbol of happiness. The dial of the model, made of white pearl oyster shell, is decorated with a pattern representing a lily of the valley, and some of its base parts are made of recycled materials, in consideration of the global environment. In addition, for the models sold in some regions, we use the apple leather made from the peels and residues discarded during the apple processing process, and ECOPET®, a recycled material made from collected plastic bottles. By using these upcycled materials, we promote the sustainable use of resources and contribute to the development of a circular economy and the realization of a recycling-oriented society.

As an LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) initiative, CITIZEN L converts GHG emissions over the lifetime of the watch, from material procurement to production, disposal, and recycling, into CO₂, and has acquired CFP program certification from the Sustainable Management Promotion Organization.

CITIZEN WATCH is promoting the use of FSC®*-certified paper for boxes and attachments for watches, pamphlets, and other promotional materials to avoid involvement in illegal logging of forests and environmental destruction.

FSC® certification is a mechanism that visibly delivers to consumers products made from lumber harvested from properly managed forests, recycled resources, and other properly managed raw materials, thereby enabling consumers to support responsible forest management. Unfortunately, some of lumber available on the market includes illegally harvested lumber and over-cut lumber from poorly managed plantation forests. By choosing certified products, we support foresters and communities that manage their forests properly, leading to the conservation of forests throughout the world.

We will face daily our responsibility to use precious forest resources in order to pass on the richness of forests to the next generation.

• * FSC®：Forest Stewardship Council®, FSC®N002484

• Reference page

CITIZEN WATCH has adopted 100% recycled polycarbonate for the dials of its new 2023 models of UNITE with BLUE, a brand which is inspired by the beautiful ocean that connects the world, and CITIZEN L, a sustainable watch brand that takes the global environment and people into consideration.

Our objective is to contribute to the reduction of waste and environmental impact by utilizing limited resources. We will continue to adopt environmentally friendly materials, including recycled materials, to make earth-friendly watches.

• UNITE with BLUE - CITIZEN
• UNITE with ROUND COLLECTION | CITIZEN L brand site

As of April 1, 2023, we became the first Japanese watch manufacturer to become a member of the Leather Working Group (hereinafter LWG), an international non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the global environment and providing consumers with safe and reliable leather.

The LWG is a global environmental protection organization composed of leather manufacturers, traders, suppliers, and technical experts, as well as brands and retailers.

Currently, 60% of the leather used in CITIZEN brand watches is sourced from LWG-certified leather tanneries, and we are aiming to increase this ratio to more than 90% in the future. By joining the LWG, we will also contribute to the promotion of sustainability in the leather industry as a whole.

Reference page

• Japanese
• English

CITIZEN WATCH Manufacturing PDC Environmental Management Department manages, audits, and supports the improvement of compliance by exterior parts suppliers in South China, in line with the CITIZEN Green Procurement Standards.

We sign a Declaration of Conformity to the latest version of the Green Procurement Standards with our suppliers. In addition, we conduct audits and evaluations of documents, actual products, and on-site operations for key suppliers. We certify suppliers with excellent evaluation results as CITIZEN's Green Partners and issue certificates. Thirty-seven companies were certified in 2022.

In addition, each fiscal year, we collect data from our suppliers, including a list of materials that make up parts and MSDS/inspection results for each material, to confirm compliance with the latest global regulations (RoHS, nickel, conflict minerals, etc.) and to provide guidance for improvement.

In the stage of development/4M Change*, we are in charge of the environmental evaluation of new materials and new suppliers, and in the mass production stage, we conduct sampling inspections of incoming parts for restricted substances involving phthalic acid.

Our suppliers’ understanding and cooperation are essential to our environmental response, and we will continue to promote manufacturing based on The CITIZEN Group Environmental Policy while engaging in ongoing dialogue with our suppliers.

1. * 4M Change: A method that clearly identifies changes related to manufacturing in the four elements of Man, Machine, Material, and Method to help identify, solve, and improve problems.

Low-frequency vibration (LFV) technology is a method of cutting by using CITIZEN 's proprietary control technology to vibrate the X and Z servo axes* in the cutting direction and synchronize the vibration with the spindle rotation. In this method, chips are broken up into small pieces while processing by setting up a "non-cutting time" during which the blade does not strike the workpiece.

In conventional parts processing, there is a risk of long chips being generated and becoming entangled in processed parts and blades, and many problems have been reported, such as the generation of defective products and damage to cutting tools. Machine tools equipped with LFV technology can reduce the occurrence of the above problems caused by chip entanglement and are expected to contribute to improvement in production efficiency and reduce the power required to cut each part.

By breaking up the chips, we were able to lower the frequency of chip collection from the machine, lessen the workload, and furthermore, reduce the volume of its waste. This also contributes to the SDGs in our customers' manufacturing processes, such as reducing the environmental impact of transportation sites.

Following domestic shipments of CNC automated lathes equipped with LFV technology, CITIZEN MACHINERY has begun global shipments, with cumulative shipments surpassing 4,000 units.

• * Servo axle: Feed mechanism section consisting of motor, guide, etc.

The Friction Joining Technology newly developed by CITIZEN MACHINERY substantially reduces cutoffs after processing. This technology is expected to enable effective use of limited resources and reduce material costs through cutoff waste reduction and the more efficient processing of materials. A problem with a sliding headstock-type automatic lathe, one of CITIZEN MACHINERY’s mainstay products, is that some of the material held between the main spindle chuck (capturing a workpiece) and the guide bush (holding a cutting point) is left as cutoffs that cannot be machined. With the Friction Joining Technology, a cutoff is chucked with the back spindle without ejecting it from the machine and joined to the tip of the next material to be fed in. This has reduced cutoffs to about one-quarter of the original amount (see photo) and enabled the effective use of materials to the maximum extent.

LEDs are rapidly spreading as an environmentally friendly light source and are used in many applications and places in our daily lives. LEDs consume only one-tenth of the power of incandescent bulbs and do not use mercury or any of the other harmful substances found in fluorescent bulbs. The long life of this light source also contributes to the reduction of waste due to replacement, and its excellent environmental performance makes it an "ideal light source."

CITIZEN Electronics started developing LEDs for lighting in 2003 and has led the industry with the world's highest luminous efficacy and luminous flux. The luminous efficacy of the new COB Series Version 9 is approximately twice that of the COB Series Version 1 of 10 years ago. In addition, the long-term reliability and gas resistance characteristics required of LEDs for lighting have been improved to maintain brightness over long periods of use, contributing not only to energy savings (reduction of CO₂ emissions) through improved luminous efficacy, but also to a reduction in the environmental impact by allowing longer intervals between the replacement or repair of LED light sources and lighting fixtures.

CITIZEN Electronics, which handles environmentally friendly LED products, will develop and produce products that contribute to reducing the environmental impact by using its advanced packaging technology and the high-quality, highly reliable technology that it has accumulated over many years.

CITIZEN Systems' healthcare division has gradually switched the packaging of thermometers for the domestic market from conventional plastic and cardboard packages to "bagasse paper" packages made from sugarcane, starting from products produced in December 2022 (with some exceptions). This can reduce the amount of plastic used by approximately 14 tons per year*¹.

Furthermore, vegetable oil ink, which emits almost no gaseous organic compounds in the atmosphere, is used as the ink for packaging and instruction manuals, and varnish, which is classified as a non-inhibitor in the recycling process, is used for the surface finish of packaging. Recycled paper*³ is used for the instruction manual, which also contributes to waste reduction.

We aim to realize a sustainable, recycling-oriented society by contributing to the reduction of plastic waste and CO₂ emissions through optimized package design and the use of environmentally friendly resources.

1. Calculated based on the company’s FY2021 domestic shipments.
2. The mark is granted for the use of paper blended with bagasse pulp made by Gojo Paper MFG. Co., Ltd.
3. Based on the standard of “Used Paper Recycling Appropriate Rank List" for printed materials which was established by the Japan Federation of Printing Industries

CITIZEN T.I.C. offers eco-friendly and solar-powered outdoor clocks that use an electric double-layer capacitor. The energy-saving circuit design efficiently ensures the necessary electric power even on rainy or cloudy days. Since there is little deterioration due to charging and discharging, the electric double-layer capacitor lasts approximately three times* longer than conventional nickel-cadmium batteries. Maintenance is not needed for long periods, and the accurate time continues to be displayed. Moreover, this product can reduce the cost of periodical battery replacement and the energy used during the manufacture and transport of replacement batteries and has less environmental impact at the time of disposal. Since its launch in 2007, the product has been adopted in schools, parks, and other public places throughout Japan.

1. * Battery life differs depending on the environment in which it is installed.