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Bandai's Plastic Model Factory Installs Solar Panels, Reduces Annual CO2 Emissions by 130 Tons
posted on by Kim Morrissy
Bandai Hobby Center purchased the solar panels from the renewable energy source provider MaF last July. The solar panels cover around 1,202 square meters, and each panel has an output capacity of around 220 kilowatts.
Bandai Namco Group aims to attain a 35% reduction of carbon emissions by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. It aims to implement new energy-saving and sustainable technologies across all of its amusement facilities, factories, office spaces, and other areas of operation.
The group announced its "Gundam Universal Century Development Action" sustainability project in June 2021, which aims to address problems related to human population and the earth's environment by platforming new ideas and technology.
The Gundam Factory Yokohama, the facility which houses a life-size RX-78-2 Gundam statue, has been powered by Yokohama City's Hama Wing wind power plant since May 2021. The facility currently generates zero carbon emissions from electricity.
Bandai Spirits began production in its Bandai Hobby Center Shinkan factory in 2020. The company established that new factory to meet rising demand in Gunpla models inside and outside Japan due to various collaborations marking the franchise's 40th anniversary, new anime, and the planned Hollywood live-action Gundam film.
Bandai Spirits plans to build a new Bandai Hobby Center factory, with a planned production launch in 2024. The company is planning to prioritize workplace safety in the new factory.
When Gunpla first launched in 1980, over a million units shipped within half a year. The original Bandai Hobby Center factory was completed in 2006, and it produced and shipped 6.6 million units in its first year. Gradually demand increased, and the factory's machinery expanded. In 2018, the same factory produced 15.73 million kits. By 2019, total shipments had exceeded 500 million.
Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan-Web
Disclosure: Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc. (Sunrise) is a non-controlling, minority shareholder in Anime News Network Inc.
