Energy-saving, resource-saving, and reduction of environmental impacts
Policy
The Group will further promote energy conservation and the effective use of resources, and work to resolve a variety of environmental issues for the future of the Earth.
Awareness of Issues
We recognize that specific measures to combat climate change, the efficient use of limited resources, and a circular economy1 are key issues that companies face. The Group is committed not only to contributing to the global environment, but also to enhancing our competitiveness and achieving sustainable development through efforts to conserve energy, effectively use resources, and reduce the environmental impact of our manufacturing processes.
- 1Circular economy
Economic activities to recycle and circulate existing resources, such as converting waste after use into resources for another business
- Environment Management
- Response to Climate Change
- Resource Saving
- Biodiversity and Pollutant Countermeasures
- Water Resource Conservation, Water Pollutant Elimination
- Waste reduction
- Resource recycling
- Employee Initiatives
Water Resource Conservation and Water Pollutant Elimination
FY2022
Target：
Reduce water withdrawal in terms of production intensity at an average annual rate of 1%.
Reduce water pollutant discharge in terms of production intensity at an average annual rate of 1%.
Results：
The average annual rate from FY2019 to FY2022 was decreased by 16.8% in terms of water withdrawal and 4.9% in terms of BOD emission.
Evaluation：
Achieved the targets
FY2023
Target：
Reduce water withdrawal in terms of production intensity at an average annual rate of 1%.
Reduce water pollutant discharge in terms of production intensity at an average annual rate of 1%.
Results
There are water scarcity areas in the world, and the United Nations Environment Program
(UNEP) has predicted that the issue of water scarcity in some regions will become serious by
the year 2025.
The Shin-Etsu Group's major manufacturing plants are located where clean water is abundant.
However, we recognize that tackling water shortages around the world is an important issue
for us to work on.The Group carries out water risk assessments and works proactively study
for the technology for the conservation of water resources by reducing water withdrawal,
ensuring that water is recycled, and implementing thorough wastewater purification and water
quality management. In FY2022, the amount of COD emissions was significantly reduced as a result of conducting secondary treatment of wastewater from overseas plants that emit a large amount of COD at our group companies.
In addition, we are working to recycle water to the utmost limit, and we also properly treat the water that is finally discharged, comply with regulations concerning water contaminants when discarding water, and check the water quality ourselves for verification.
Trend of Amount of Water Withdrawn
Trend of Amount of Recycled Water
Trend of BOD Emission Volume
Trend of COD Emission Volume
Related Information
Working with suppliers to create a sustainable society
The Shin-Etsu Chemical Gunma Complex manufactures highly functional materials such as silicones. Located inland in the southwest region of Gunma Prefecture, the complex draws almost all of the water required for manufacturing from nearby rivers and purifies the wastewater from the complex before discharging it.
The Gunma complex is situated in a rich natural environment. The Tokyo metropolitan area is downstream from the nearby rivers, which sustain the daily lives of Tokyo residents as well as its industry and agriculture. Although the manufacturing of chemical products requires large quantities of water, the complex strives to conserve valuable water resources by keeping its water intake from these rivers to a minimum. For this reason, the complex reuses as much water as possible in its manufacturing and water cooling processes by recycling and circulating inside the Complex.
Besides purifying the water before returning it to the rivers, rigorous water quality management is also applied. The Complex strives to maintain optimum conditions by continually monitoring the operating status of water treatment facilities and conducts regular water quality analysis of discharged water to verify that it is in strict compliance with high water standards. Furthermore, it separate rainwater to prevent the inflow of rainwater during heavy downpours as a measure to protect their treatment facilities from being damaged by natural disasters. In addition, it have been carrying out seismic strengthening works since 2014 in preparation of large-scale earthquakes.
By effectively utilizing limited water resources, the Gunma complex will continue to fulfill its responsibility as a production base that is located upstream.
Water Flow at the Shin-Etsu Chemical Gunma Complex (FY2022)
Rainwater Utilization at Overseas Group Company
Calls are increasing for the protection of the world's water resources, and since its foundation, Asia Silicones Monomer Limited has been making effective use of the abundant rainfall it enjoys in its location in Thailand.
It stores rainwater in storage tanks on-site, using it for industrial water and as coolant for waste gas incinerator. It always maintains a reserve of rainwater for use in firefighting in the event of an emergency. It also supplies Group company Shin-Etsu Silicones (Thailand) and its nearby partners with industrial water using rainwater.
Waste Reduction
FY2022
Target：
Achieve zero waste emissions (landfill waste of 1% or less of the final amount of all waste generated)
Promote the reduction of waste generation in terms of production intensity
Results：
The final waste landfill disposal rate was 1.05% in Japan
Evaluation：
The target was acheived in Japan
FY2023
Target：
Achieve zero waste emissions.
Promote the reduction of waste generation in terms of production intensity.
- *The sope of target for the waste reduction is Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. and consolidated in Japan.
Result
In FY2022, compared to FY2021, the amount of domestic waste generated decreased slightly, while the amount of waste recycling ratio increased. In FY2022, we worked to reduce the amount of waste generated by improving the manufacturing process and material recycling.
We hire external contractors to handle our disposals. We check to confirm that they handle disposals properly by regularly inspecting their operations.
Trend of Amount of Waste Recycled
Japan
Overseas
Trend of Amount of Waste Sent to Landfills
Japan
Overseas
Flow of Waste Disposal(Japan)
- * Since the standarsds of waste differs between Japan and other countries, the graphs are shown separately.
- * The figures of "Flow of waste disposal" is total of Shin-Etsu Chemical and domestic consolidated companies.
Related Information
Resource Recycling
The Group collaborates with customers and related industry groups, using cutting-edge technologies to recover used products, extract resources, and reuse them in the Group's products. Through these initiatives, it is possible to reduce the waste output of our customers and the Group itself. We are also contributing to environmental conservation by reusing resources.
Rare Earth Magnet Resource Recycling
The Group manufactures rare earth magnets with our integrated production process using separation and refinement techniques to extract rare earth magnets from rare earth raw materials.
Since 2007, the Group has been recycling the magnet powder generated by our manufacturing processes for rare earth magnets as one of our measures for the stable procurement of raw materials. Furthermore, since March 2013, we have also been developing techniques to recycle the rare earth magnets used in recovered power-saving air conditioners and hybrid cars in order to reuse resources.
These initiatives have made it possible to reduce the environmental impact that comes along with resource development and to safely and securely protect the valuable resource of rare earth. The Group's rare earth magnets create significant economic and social value as recycled products and also contribute significantly to energy conservation.
Rare Earth Magnet Resource Recycling Process
Recycling of PVC Products
Initiatives to recycle products containing PVC are making progress. There are various methods for recycling PVC, the most common of which is material recycling.
Material recycling uses used PVC products as raw materials to create new PVC products. PVC pipes, flooring materials, and other PVC products are not greatly influenced by foreign substance contamination, so various kinds of recycling are conducted for those products. In particular, 60% of used PVC pipes and joints are recycled for reuse in new PVC pipes and joints, and 70% of agricultural film is recycled for use in flooring material.
Examples of Recycling PVC Products
Related Information
Shintech, Inc. achieved the Vantage Vinyl certification of the
Vinyl Sustainability Council (VSC)
The Vinyl Sustainability Council (VSC) was formed in 2016 to further advance the efforts of the vinyl industry as it addresses sustainability and related issues in North America. Shintech, Inc. joined VSC in 2016 and working together to develop and implement advanced practices and innovation leading to a path of continuous improvement throughout the industry. To these efforts, the group also achieved the Vantage Vinyl certification the first year the certification program was begun in 2019 and every year since. In VSC, there are many committees, and many people are participating in the programs to further advance the Vinyl Sustainability Programs. There are three main categories that each member company must participate in, Recycling, HSE (Health, Safety, Environment) and Emissions related to land, air and water. There can be sub committees under each category. PVC is one of the sustainable polymers and is easily recycled. We will keep working together with VSC to make the world understand about sustainability of PVC and what we are trying to do.
Related Information
Recycling the Use of Product Shipping Cartons
Shin-Etsu Chemical started recycling product shipping cartons for heat-dissipating silicone grease from FY2018. Heat-dissipating silicone grease must be transported while frozen to stabilize its product quality. Therefore, we used dry ice to cool products in disposable boxes in transit in the past. As a result of extensive research conducted collaboratively with customers, the company has successfully developed the new packaging that can be recycled multiple times while maintaining optimal temperatures. In addition, this new packaging eliminates the need for dry ice, resulting in a reduction of 28.2 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Employee Initiatives
Ms. LF,
Environmental department,
Shintech Louisiana plant (USA)
1. Please tell us about your current responsibilities.
I joined the company as an environmental consulting engineer, and currently serve as the Environmental Superintendent of our plant. Specifically, management of our growing team of environmental professionals, coordination and review of all environmental reporting, supporting the facility units with any environmental concerns and conducts environmental education. I also support comply with regulations related to air, water, or waste permitting requirements.
2. How does the plant manage its environmental impact?
At Shintech, we believe that environmental protection is everyone’s responsibility and that efforts to reduce environmental impact are an important measure of employee performance. At our manufacturing unit, we conduct weekly environmental inspections at each unit to confirm compliance with internal and external environmental requirements. The environmental department confirms the inspection results of each unit every month and holds quarterly meetings with each unit to discuss future initiatives. Shintech Louisiana also has internal auditors who focus on various aspects of the company's environmental response and report directly to environmental department and management on proposed changes and best practices. We also support inspections by local regulatory agencies to comply with air, water and waste requirements. Potential environmental risks discovered through these inspections are communicated to manufacturing sites. Additionally, during construction, the company took steps to minimize impacts on surrounding wetlands and woodlands, minimizing impact on Louisiana's rich natural resources.
3. Please tell us about Shintech's resource-saving initiatives.
Reducing or eliminating the generation of waste has been and continues to be a prime consideration in research, process design, and operations. It is viewed by management with equal importance as safety, yield, and loss prevention. And also, Shintech as a PVC manufacturer is sensitive to the usage of plastics. We are currently working on the recycling of plastics used in our facility and recently approved a project that will result in the recycling of plastic totes and catalyst jugs that contained chemicals used in our process. In addition, in order to reduce water usage, we have installed a closed-cycle recirculating system for their cooling towers to reuse water. Some of our plants recycle some of the treated wastewater back into the manufacturing process, as well as make effective use of rainwater.
We also use waste heat boilers and exploring other heat capture avenues to reduce chemical emissions into the atmosphere and use of fossil fuels. Further more, we have begun on retrofitting the facility to use hydrogen instead of natural gas. Hydrogen is produced in the process of electrolyzing salt water to obtain chlorine. Until now, we have used natural gas in our factory boilers or released it into the atmosphere. We are working to expand the use of natural gas as a substitute or complement for combustion in other processes, and at the same time we are considering partnerships with other companies regarding usage methods.
4. Does Shintech educate employees about measures for reduction of environment impacts?
Shintech conducts annual training for all employees. And also, we meet with the units on resource conservation efforts in which we share our best practices and ideas for reducing environmental impacts and improving how our facility operates. We are all responsible for being good environmental stewards both for the people who work at the facility but also for the surrounding communities.
5. What do you intend to focus on in the future with regard to resource saving?
My current focus at Shintech are three points, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutant emissions by utilizing hydrogen, improve facility operations to minimize the use of fossil fuels, and improve waste disposal by improving the efficiency of raw material use.
And also, I would like to engage in activities to raise awareness of environmental issues and improve our facility and the community in which we work. I will continue to improve our training programs to educate our employees and stakeholders.