Reducing Energy Use and CO2 Emissions
Energy consumption at domestic business sites decreased in line with production volume, but the effects of switching purchased electricity to electricity derived from renewable energy sources at all major business sites had an effect throughout the year. Coupled with an increase in installation of solar power generation, CO2 emissions per production amount value decreased significantly.
Similarly, energy consumption also decreased at overseas business sites, but the switch to electricity derived from renewable energy sources at the three European companies as well as some sites in North America and China, coupled with aggressive installation of solar power generation, resulted in CO2 emissions per production amount value decreasing more than energy consumption per unit of production.
More improvement is expected in the future by promoting the switch to electricity derived from renewable energy sources and the introduction of solar power generation scheduled for fiscal 2023 and beyond.
- *1: Energy usage per production amount value is determined using the following equation: Energy usage per production amount value = energy usage/(production amount x unit price). Energy consumption is calculated as a crude oil equivalent.
- *2: CO2 emissions per production amount value are determined using the following equation: CO2 emissions per production amount value = CO2 emissions/(production amount x unit price). Also, CO2 emissions are the sum of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.
- * See the organizations listed on "Editorial Policy" regarding those included in the data.
Scope 3 Data Disclosure
In 2015, our Group began calculating and disclosing Scope 3 emissions in the supply chain of business sites belonging to Group companies in Japan because of the growing importance of understanding CO2 emissions covering the entire supply chain. In fiscal 2018, we enlarged the scope to cover overseas business sites.
The scope of said disclosures covers a total of eight categories including Category 1 “Purchased goods and services.” In addition, we confirmed that three categories including Category 8 “Upstream leased assets” were not applicable.
Both in Japan and overseas, Category 1 “Purchased goods and services” accounted for a large portion of CO2 emissions. In fiscal 2022, Category 1 emissions decreased from the previous year due to the decreased raw material input as well as production volume, both in Japan and overseas.
Moving forward, we will continue to calculate and disclose data on other categories and work to increase the accuracy of the data for each category, while also promoting ongoing efforts to reduce emissions across the entire supply chain.
CO2 Emissions in Certain Categories of Scope 3
and Other Scopes
(At Sites in Japan and Overseas)
| No | Category | Emissions (thousand t-CO2/year) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purchased goods and services | 842 |
| 2 | Capital goods | 50 |
| 3 | Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 & 2 | 40 |
| 4 | Upstream transportation and distribution | 71 |
| 5 | Waste generated in operations | 10 |
| 6 | Business travel | 2 |
| 7 | Employee commuting | 5 |
| 8 | Upstream leased assets | Not applicable |
| 13 | Downstream leased assets | Not applicable |
| 14 | Franchises | Not applicable |
| 15 | Investments | 10 |
| Scope 3 Total | 1,029 | |
| Scope 1 (All direct emissions) | 84 | |
| Scope 2 (Indirect emissions associated with purchased power and steam) | 95 |
- Calculation method:
We calculated the amount of emissions based on the Emissions Intensity Database for Calculating Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Organizations through the Supply Chain Ver. 3.3 issued by the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, using the emission coefficients stated in this database, and in the IDEA Ver. 2.3 Carbon Footprint Communication Program Basic Database developed jointly by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and the Japan Environmental Management Association for Industry.
Chemical Substance Management throughout Product Life Cycles
The targets for 2020 agreed on at the WSSD call for the worldwide and comprehensive management of chemical substances throughout the product life cycle, from development to manufacturing, use, and disposal in order to minimize the significant adverse effects on human health and the environment caused by the manufacture and use of chemical substances. Since then, the laws and regulations in each country have become stricter, and our Group is taking action to comply with laws and regulations.
Aiming to achieve the SDGs in 2030, the government of each country is taking action proactively. The Group (each of our plants and research institutes worldwide) is working on the SDGs through the management of chemicals carried out as part of our Responsible Care activities.
In terms of its management of chemical substances, the Group has a system in place for studying and reviewing chemical substance-related laws and regulations in Japan and throughout the world from the product development phase onward. We manage the chemical substances contained in products in order to comply with the laws of the countries where we operate and to minimize environmental impacts throughout product life cycles.
Chemical Substance Management System
We are focusing on promoting the use of SDSs* across the Group not only for disclosing information related to chemical substances under regulatory control in Japan and overseas, but also for disclosing relevant information voluntarily so as to improve the quality of the Group's information disclosure practices. Particularly for the GHS* system, we have introduced ExESS* and offer SDS and labels that are compliant with the laws and regulations of 46 countries and territories, including Japan, in the official languages of each country. We are revising our SDSs to comply with the addition of substances subject to the Industrial Safety and Health Act from April 2023.
- SDS: Acronym for Safety Data Sheet. This sheet contains the safety information regarding chemical substances, and is attached with products on their delivery to other businesses.
- GHS: Acronym for the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals.
- ExESS: A system for producing and issuing SDS multilingually. Introduced in 2020.
- Countries and territories for which we provide SDSs
- Items marked with “-” are those for which SDSs were provided in accordance with the local laws and in the local language, but are no longer available due to discontinuation or other reasons.
Waste Management
Our Group conducts business activities in compliance with environmental laws and regulations while minimizing our impact on the global environment. For waste, we have established rules for on-site verification of waste disposal contractors in accordance with the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act, and we continue to manage and quantify the amount of waste generated based on the issuance of manifests. Based on the above, we promote minimization of material loss and effective utilization (reuse/recycling), and promote activities to reduce material loss, including of valuable materials.
We also consider it important to work to reduce the environmental impact of society through our products and services as stated in our Environmental Vision for 2050 (Net Zero) “02. Contribute to reducing CO2, including along supply chains”: “Develop products that factor in reducing CO2 throughout their life cycle.” In this context, weight (volume) reduction, longer service life, recycling, and mono-material design are also initiatives by which we reduce waste in the supply chain as well as CO2 emissions.
Meanwhile, we have been systematically disposing of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) waste in accordance with the Act on Special Measures concerning Promotion of Proper Treatment of PCB Wastes. Disposal of high-concentration PCBs has been carried out systematically in accordance with the capabilities of the Japan Environmental Safety Corporation (JESCO) in each region, and as of the end of fiscal 2022, approximately 89% of the PCBs had been disposed of. Planned disposal of low-concentration PCBs has also been under way since fiscal 2017, and we are moving forward to complete disposal by the legally mandated deadline.
Reducing Material Loss
Our Group is working to increase the efficiency of resource utilization because it regards the reduction of environmental impacts as an opportunity to improve profitability. The increase in material loss, including both waste and valuable materials, leads to an increase in resource losses and in the loads involved in processing. Through MFCA initiatives, the Group is promoting load reduction through the reduction of material loss and the improvement of effective use of raw materials.
Changes in the type of treatment for waste material at domestic business sites are shown in the graph on the right. The amount of waste treated using a combination of landfills and simple incinerators did drop to 18 tons in fiscal 2013 through reduction measures conducted at each site, but subsequent restrictions to exports of waste plastics overseas and the lack of capacity at recyclers in Japan has led to a gradual increase.
We will continue to move forward with loss analysis using MFCA as we aim for still greater reductions.
- * Figures include the total of landfill waste, internally incinerated waste, and externally incinerated waste. No waste was internally incinerated at business sites in Japan from fiscal 2012 onward.
Emissions into the Atmosphere
The Group's business sites in Japan have been promoting a shift of boiler fuel from heavy oil to city gas since fiscal 2004. With the completion of the fuel conversion from heavy oil at the Shizuoka Plant in mid-2019, SOx emissions for the Group as a whole have been further reduced. We were able to greatly decrease emissions of NOx due to a decrease in the nitrogen content of city gas and stabilization of combustion conditions.
Heavy oil is still in use at some business sites in regions where city gas supplies are unavailable, and we are working to optimize the combustion conditions and keep both emissions of SOx and soot and dust down at low levels.
The switch to city gas is also currently being considered to stem the use of heavy oil.
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- * NOx, SOx, and suit and dust emissions data covers all the business sites in Japan listed on "Editorial Policy".
Emissions into the Hydrosphere
Effluent discharged from plants includes pollutants, which are categorized into industrial and household sewage. Treatment facilities, such as high-concentration phenol recovery equipment and activated sludge treatment equipment, and surveillance systems for constant monitoring are in place to ensure compliance with environmental standards and laws and regulations at the national and local government levels. Additionally, risk assessments are conducted on leakages into rainwater that also includes cooling water to prevent sudden and unexpected increases in environmental impacts. COD load, a typical indicator of water quality, increased only slightly from the previous year in fiscal 2022, and emissions for the whole Company in Japan remain at low levels from a long-term perspective.
- * Data covers all the business sites in Japan listed on "Editorial Policy".
Conservation of Water Resources
When it comes to the water used at our Group's locations, in Japan a large share of the water used comes from groundwater, while overseas a large share of this comes from waterworks. The water used in our plants in Japan accounts for 78% of the water used by the entire Group.
The Group has always worked continuously to reduce the amount of water it uses. Having begun to provide responses to the CDP water program, we have now established a medium- to long-term target for water use reduction from fiscal 2020 onward, calling for a 25% reduction from the fiscal 2017 level by fiscal 2030. The impact of the participation of SB Kawasumi Group was retroactively included in fiscal 2013.
We are engaging in activities to achieve targets at all business sites. In particular, we are eagerly promoting reductions of water usage at our Shizuoka Plant, which accounts for a large percentage of the Group's water usage in Japan, and have achieved consistent decreases in water usage. The impact of production increases led to a major increase in water consumption at overseas business sites and thus a slight increase in company-wide water consumption in fiscal 2021, but the decrease in production volume and reduction measures at each site allowed for a return to a reduction in fiscal 2022.
The current overall domestic and international reduction rate for five years from fiscal 2017 is 24%, well above the planned rate. We will continue to implement steady reductions to achieve our goals.
- * See the organizations listed on "Editorial Policy" regarding those included in the data.
Assessment of Water-Related Risk in Fiscal 2022
2Since fiscal 2015, we have been continuously surveying the regional watershed risk of all sites in the Group. From fiscal 2021, we began disclosing data for R&D and logistics sites, included the newly added Group member SB Kawasumi Group, with 17 domestic locations and 27 overseas locations subject to information disclosure.
Regarding the identification of water risk, in fiscal 2022, our Group revised risk levels based on the results of a study using the WRI Aqueduct tool* in addition to independent studies performed on each business site. We compiled the results into a table that contains the risks facing each of the regions in which the Group operates.
There are no major differences in the evaluation trends this year, but the results from Southeast Asia and China indicate relatively high risk. In light of these results, we will undertake more highly effective water resource conservation moving forward.
- * A tool providing information on water risks developed and published by the World Resources Institute (WRI).
Assessment of Water-Related Risk in Fiscal 2022
| Region | Risk level | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extremely high | High | Medium to High | Low to Medium | Low | |||
| Japan | Number of bases | 8 | 9 | 17 | |||
| Water consumption (thousand m3) | 3,295 | 928 | 4,223 | ||||
| China (and Taiwan) |
Number of bases | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | ||
| Water consumption (thousand m3) | 7103 | 90 | 96 | 290 | |||
| Southeast Asia | Number of bases | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | |
| Water consumption (thousand m3) | 53 | 249 | 117 | 22 | 444 | ||
| North America | Number of bases | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | ||
| Water consumption (thousand m3) | 119 | 20 | 235 | 375 | |||
| Europe | Number of bases | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||
| Water consumption (thousand m3) | 3 | 102 | 104 | ||||
Soil/Underground Water Pollution Countermeasures
Response to Soil/Underground Water Pollution
Our Group carries out risk assessments relating to leakage of chemical substances at all of our business sites, and we promote both the development and implementation of preventive frameworks. At the same time, when contamination caused by past leakage accidents is confirmed, we actively undertake voluntary surveys and institute countermeasures in order to prevent the environmental impact and health damage from spreading.
In February 2022, approximately 9 t of industrial ethanol raw material leaked from a storage tank at the Niagara Falls Plant, resulting in a leakage accident where the ethanol was discharged into the sewage plant of the industrial park.
Staff noticed that the level in the storage tank had dropped and immediately reported this to administration and the sewage plant, and shut off the source of the leakage. No abnormal water quality readings were detected at the sewage plant, and it was revealed that no water quality problems had occurred, so a survey and corrective action report was submitted to close off the incident.
Results of Soil and Groundwater Studies, Related Actions, and Monitoring Results
| Site | Results of investigation | Countermeasures and monitoring results |
|---|---|---|
| Amagasaki Plant | 2Lead was detected by soil content sampling in 2009 and 2010 (max. 500 mg/kg, whereas the standard is 150 mg/kg). No groundwater contamination was detected. | Heavy metals exceeding the standard values of the Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act were detected at the business sites on the left. Monitoring of the groundwater is conducted at these sites every year and their contamination levels have been confirmed to be below standard values. |
| Akita Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd. | Lead was detected by soil elution sampling in 2005 (max. 0.032mg/L, whereas the standard is 0.01 mg/L). No groundwater contamination was detected. | |
| Yamaroku Kasei Industry Co., Ltd. | In January 2016, 1,4-Dioxane in excess of the standard concentrations was detected in the company's cooling water effluent, with concentrations of a similar amount confirmed in well water drawn from on the premises that had been used. In consultation with the government, the plant stopped drawing water and switched to a closed water cooling system. The company has no history of using the substance in question. | The company cooperates with an ongoing monitoring survey of the groundwater quality that is regularly conducted by Osaka Prefecture, and also continues to perform independent examinations as well. The latest measurement results were 1.4mg/L (standard value of 0.05mg/L). |
Initiatives for resource recycling
Marine plastics
When it comes to the problem of marine plastics, we are moving ahead with activities to contribute to reducing plastic marine waste via a number of initiatives based on the Japanese government's Plastic Resource Recycling Strategy.These initiatives include managing the raw materials used and the plastic products we manufacture, promoting the recycling of said products, and developing new products.
We are currently taking part in the Clean Ocean Material Alliance (CLOMA), which was established by a broad range of business operators related to supply chains for plastic products, including those in the chemical industry and distribution/retail industries, with the goal of forming cross-industry partnerships. Through this, we are working to address a variety of challenges by aiming to curb plastic waste across our supply chain as a whole and promoting recycling via 3R activities for plastic products.
Recycling
Our Group promotes recycling as a means to make effective use of resources. This recycling includes the recovery and recycling of phenol from waste liquid produced by phenolic resin reactions during the product production process, fine grinding of offcuts from phenolic laminated sheets and decorative melamine resin laminate for use as a filler in phenolic resin molding compounds' reuse of molded article by-products (sprues and runners) as raw material for molding materials, as well as reuse of excess sludge from activated sludge effluent treatment equipment as compost (organic fertilizer).
Renewable raw materials
Our Group has been using inedible plant-derived raw materials as renewable raw materials, primarily of phenolic resins (cashew nut shell oil, rosin (pine resin), wood flour, etc.) and molding compounds. They account for about 3.1% of all raw materials used.
In fiscal 2022, we added to our lineup of packaging films for food and pharmaceutical products made from renewable biomass materials, and in April 2023 we added eco-friendly phenolic resin molding material using plant-derived lignin. We will be undertaking initiatives in order to further increase the rate at which we use renewable raw materials in the future.
Response to the Fluorocarbon Emissions Control Act
Details of the “Fluorocarbon Emissions Control Act” that was enacted on April 2015 and further enhanced in April 2020 have been provided to each business site to ensure that they conduct regular quick inspections of the commercial air conditioners and freezer systems under their possession (or management), and regular inspections as required by law for equipment with a rated output of 7.5 kW or higher.
We are also promoting the switch to refrigerants with zero ozone depletion potential and low global warming potential, with a view to preventing depletion of the ozone layer and curbing global warming.
Existing facilities are regularly inspected annually for the amount of leakage in accordance with the “Fluorocarbon Emissions Control Act,” to check that there are no leaks in amounts that need to be reported.
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