Management of Chemical Substances

6 CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION

Since 1994, we have maintained a "Pre-approval System for New Chemical Substances" to restrict the use of hazardous chemicals. Under this system, products not approved by the company's Environmental Management Subcommittee cannot be purchased, which effectively curbs the use of hazardous substances. Additionally, this system allows us to maintain a database of chemical substances, enabling us to track their quantities and types.

Management of Chemical Substances Subject to the PRTR Law (Domestic)

  • Our Group is working to manage and reduce chemical substances subject to the PRTR Act (Act on the Promotion of the Improvement of the Management of the Release of Specified Chemical Substances into the Environment) that are released into the environment. As part of our management of substances subject to the PRTR Act, we utilize a chemical substance management system to track purchase and shipment volumes based on Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for purchased items, while simultaneously reducing emissions through green procurement and switching to alternative materials. We appropriately manage, track, and report both emission and transfer volumes. Our Group uses 12 groups of substances out of the 515 designated substances (substances handled in quantities of 10 kg or more per year as of the end of March 2024).

    • Amount Handled
    • Released/Transferred Amount

Volumes of PRTR-regulated chemicals handled and emitted or transferred
(volumes of 10 kg or more): (FY 2024 results)

Unit: kg/year

PRTR Substance No. Designated Chemical Substance Name Amount Handled Release Amount Transfer Amount Total Release and Transfer Amount Attached to Products Other
Air Water Release Amount: Soil On-site Landfill Waste Sewerage
53 Ethylbenzene 1,035 614 0 0 0 160 0 774 100 0
57 Ethylene glycol monoethyl ether 99 0 0 0 0 99 0 99 0 0
80 Xylene 1,742 1,075 0 0 0 0 0 1,075 667 0
132 Cobalt and its compounds 1,386 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,386 0
186 Dichloromethane 306 122 0 0 0 92 0 214 92 0
297 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene 55 44 0 0 0 0 0 44 11 0
300 Toluene 1,178 819 0 0 0 0 0 819 360 0
302 Naphthalene 63 0 0 0 0 63 0 63 0 0
308 Nickel 3,650 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3,650 0
411 Formaldehyde 17 7 0 0 0 5 0 7 5 0
438 Methylnaphthalene 1,201 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 1,195
472 Methyl Isobutyl Ketone 94 75 0 0 0 0 0 75 19 0
Total 10,826 2,762 0 0 0 419 0 3,176 6,289 1,195

Reducing VOC Emissions

Our Group is committed to preserving the global environment through a system of pre-screening for new chemical substances and the management of chemical substances, exhaust gases, and wastewater.
The majority of our emissions consist of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contained in paints and solvents. To curb VOC emissions, we have reduced emissions to 75% of the volume handled by promoting the shift to electrostatic painting and low-VOC paints, as well as improving painting efficiency.
We will continue to reduce the proportion of atmospheric emissions while also working to reduce the total volume.

VOC Handling Volume and Emissions: (FY2024 Results)

Unit: kg/year

Substance Name Amount Handled Release Amount Release Ratio (%), Release / Amount Handled
Domestic Overseas Total Domestic Overseas Total
Isopropyl alcohol 148 150 298 59 150 209 70
Toluene 1,183 1,720 2,903 996 1,720 2,716 94
Butyl acetate 1,114 7,459 8,573 1,114 6,378 7,492 87
Methanol 9,860 7,994 17,854 0 7,994 7,994 45
Xylene 1,497 12,132 13,629 1,019 10,901 11,920 87
Methyl ethyl ketone 329 0 329 329 0 329 100
Styrene 11 3,440 3,451 11 3,440 3,451 100
Ethanol 12 1,849 1,861 12 1,671 1,683 90
n-Butanol 742 3,730 4,472 742 3,189 3,931 88
Methyl isobutyl ketone 357 0 357 357 0 357 100
Other 1,603 2,595 4,198 1,178 2,218 3,396 81
Total 16,856 41,069 57,925 5,817 37,661 43,478 75