Environmentally Friendly Products
Contributing to Building a Recycling-Oriented Society with "Eco Shoes" and "Akebono Eco Pads"
Recycled Products
Akebono has been reusing products before the concept of recycling entered general awareness. We aim to contribute to building a recycling-oriented society through our recycled products, such as "Eco Shoes" made using recycled drum brake shoes and "Akebono Eco Pads" made using recycled disc bake pads.
Eco Shoe
In 1965, Akebono established a system in all our offices in Japan to sell drum brake shoes as well as collect used ones, with rebuilt drum brake shoes becoming our main aftermarket product. The rebuilt parts are currently sold in Japan under the name "Eco Shoe".
Akebono Eco Pad
We launched the sales of "Akebono Eco Pad" made from recycled disc brake pads in 2005, the year Automobile Recycling Law covering pollution and recycling, was put into force. Akebono Eco Pads, being both cost-competitive and environmentally friendly, quickly gained market share. We will continue our efforts towards building a recycling-oriented society by introducing more products that can be recycled minimizing carbon emissions.
Collection of Used Drum Brake Shoes and Disc Brake Pads
We collect used drum brakes shoe and disc brake pads in cooperation with dealerships, part trading companies, agencies and part shops nationwide. Approximately 600,000 used drum brake shoes and 900,000 disc brake pads are collected annually.
Recycled Products LCA*1
We quantified CO2 emission volumes for new and recycled products using LCI*2 analysis and compared the numbers for a single part. The comparison shows very large emission reductions: 50% in case of light vehicle disc brake pads, 87.5% for taxi cab drum brake shoes and as much as 97% reduction for 2 ton truck drum brake shoes.
- *1 LCA (Life Cycle Assessment):
An method to quantitatively assess the degree of environmental impact and the level of resources and energy used throughout the life of the product, from the time it is manufactured, until it is disposed of. - *2 LCI (Life Cycle Inventory):
A quantitative analysis of LCA input (consumption amount) and output (emission amount).
