Approach and policy toward water resource conservation

In recent years, many people have become aware of the importance of water resources and the need for conservation. Since our Group’s products require the use of water in the manufacturing process in order to achieve their unique soft texture and supple feel, we will promote the efficient use of water, including its reuse, and will thoroughly manage wastewater from our plants to ensure that it is not discharged inappropriately.

Initiatives for Water Resource Conservation

Most of the water our Group uses in our manufacturing process is well water, and water supply is also used when necessary. Excessive use of well water can cause land subsidence and other adverse effects in the surrounding areas, so we closely control the amount of water withdrawal to comply with water restrictions in the areas where our plants are located. Therefore, at this point, we consider the risk of drought and its impact on water resources in the surrounding areas to be low.

In addition to continuing to promote efficient use of water at existing plants, we are also considering the introduction of wastewater treatment facilities at our Chiyoda Plant, which is scheduled to start operation in 2025, to recycle some of the wastewater from manufacturing processes that has been difficult to recycle in the past. Therefore, we have set a mid-term target of reducing water consumption per unit requirement by 20% by 2025 compared to 2020 levels. Although we have already achieved a 20% reduction in 2022 compared to 2020 levels, we will continue our efforts to reduce water consumption, as it is greatly affected by the type of products we produce.

Initiatives for Wastewater

Wastewater containing organic solvents discharged from the manufacturing process is sampled regularly after the organic solvents are removed and collected, and is inspected by an external agency to confirm that items such as COD (chemical oxygen demand), pH, and SS (suspended solids) meet the standard values for the area in which the plant is located.
 At the Chiyoda Plant, which is scheduled to start operation in 2025, the introduction of wastewater treatment facilities is expected to further reduce the amount of wastewater and the environmental impact of wastewater.