Resource Saving

The Shin-Etsu Group recognizes that the efficient use of limited resources and a circular economy^* are key issues that companies should address. By making effective use of resources, we aim not only to contribute to the global environment, but also to increase our competitiveness and ensure sustainable development.

In terms of resource circulation, 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.

In addition, we are promoting waste reduction initiatives at each location with a target of zero waste emissions (landfill waste of 1% or less of the final amount of all waste generated) at our consolidated companies in Japan.

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.

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.

Shin-Etsu Chemical has started recycling product shipping cartons for heat-dissipating silicone grease.

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. Such customer engagement also contributes to the reduction of CO₂ emissions in the supply chain.

As part of our efforts to conserve resources, the Shin-Etsu Group is promoting waste reduction initiatives at each location with a target of zero waste emissions (landfill waste of 1% or less of the final amount of all waste generated) at our consolidated companies in Japan.

Shin-Etsu Chemical's Naoetsu Plant is promoting waste reduction through the recycling of waste and reducing the weight of the waste generated in its manufacturing processes as outlined below.

The Naoetsu Plant promotes activities to reduce waste materials generated in manufacturing and processing. For example, we take the paper materials that would otherwise be discarded in the manufacturing process, and we effectively utilize them by making recycled paper. We are also proactively considering ways to recycle the solvents from chemical reaction processes or create formulations that allow them to be reused.

The plant’s wastewater treatment facilities separate and dehydrate the inorganic solids contained in the wastewater to make a solid sludge. This sludge is treated as industrial waste by an external contractor and is put to effective use as roadbed material and the like.

At the Naoetsu Plant, we replaced the dehydrator in the wastewater treatment facility with a new model with superior dehydration performance, which reduced the amount of water in the waste sludge, thereby reducing the weight of waste for disposal.

This has also reduced the energy required to transport the waste to our external contractor. We are promoting activities that can contribute to reducing environmental impact by considering all processes up to the final treatment process.

Organic solvents used in chemical reaction processes are usually incinerated as industrial waste, but the Naoetsu Plant is working to reduce the amount of waste solvent that becomes industrial waste by refining and recycling solvents that have already been used. In FY2023, the plant achieved a reduction of 24 tons of waste solvents, thereby helping to conserve resources and reduce environmental impact.