As a chemical company, the Sanyo Chemical Group handles a large number of chemical substances in its business activities. Chemical manufacturers are obligated to strive to minimize the negative impact of chemical substances by taking care of the environment, safety, and health throughout a product's entire life cycle. That includes the development, manufacture, and distribution of products, as well as the use and disposal of sold products.
Policy
Our chemical substance management regulations stipulate that we will “properly manage chemical substances handled in our business activities in consideration of their impact on the global environment, ecosystems, and human health, as well as trends in domestic and international society, and in compliance with related laws and regulations in Japan and other countries."
This refers to all chemical substances contained in products manufactured at our business sites, the raw materials to produce them, intermediates, recovered materials, and wastes, as well as chemical structure design and process design in research and development.
Names and Roles of Chemical Substance Management Organizations
The General Manager of the Responsible Care Division serves as the supervisor. Respective divisions collaborate under the leadership of the General Manager to manage chemical substances.
The Production Division manages emissions to the environment arising from the handling of substances in our production activities. Design management related to the composition of manufactured products and manufacturing processes is carried out by the Production Division and the Research & Development Department that belongs to each Business Division.
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| Division | Primary responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Responsible Care Division |
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| Each Business Division |
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| SCM Supervisory Division |
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| Production Division |
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Safe and appropriate handling of chemical substances
The Sanyo Chemical Group handles a variety of chemical substances in its operations, making it essential that we acquire knowledge about the physical properties and harmful effects of these substances. In addition to learning about the substances we handle through Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) and conducting risk assessments within each department, we encourage employees to acquire certifications in handling highly hazardous specified chemical substances, as well as organic solvents, poisonous and deleterious substances, and hazardous materials for preventing fire and accidents. In addition, plant engineers at our factories are required to obtain qualifications as a Class A Hazardous Materials Engineer or Class B Hazardous Materials Engineer (Group 4).
Status of Qualifications in Japan
As of March 31, 2024
| Qualifications | Number of qualified people |
|---|---|
| Hazardous materials engineers*1 | 1,961 |
| Poisonous and deleterious substance handlers | 15 |
| Organic solvent work chiefs | 520 |
| Specified chemical substance work chiefs | 461 |
| High pressure gas production safety managers | 259 |
| Pollution prevention managers*2 | 60 |
Qualified people in production/R&D at Sanyo Chemical and domestic subsidiaries and affiliates
- Total Class A and Class B Hazardous Materials Engineers (Groups 1-6)
- Total managers qualified for air, water, noise, and dioxins
Design management
Product design requires translating “function and performance" into physical and chemical “properties" to satisfy needs, and designing chemical compositions such that these “properties" can be put to use. We strive to ensure safety while minimizing environment release and the impact on the people handling products containing chemical substances at the time of manufacture and use of such products. To this end, we conduct examinations and checks from various angles at every stage from composition design to process design, prototyping, and commercialization.
Inspections Prior to Productization
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Chemical substance management regulations
Customers' green procurement requirements
- Needs
- Function and performance
- Physical properties
- Chemical composition and
production processes - Trial production
- Productization
Inspections
Composition reviews, regulatory reviews, chemical substance control reviews, new raw material reviews, SDS reviews, container reviews, hazard stability reviews, production facility reviews, etc.
This page lists products designed with consideration given to preventing pollution and reducing polluting components based on the keywords “solvent-free,"
“halogen-free," “free from harmful substances," and “environmental residue reduction."
Click here for more information about considerations regarding harmful chemical substances used for products.
The page introduces products designed by giving consideration to the prevention of pollution and reduction of content based on the keywords of “solvent-free,” “halogen-free,” “free from harmful substances,” and “environmental residue.”
Discharge control
In order to reduce the negative impact on the air, water, and soil environment of chemical substances emitted through our production activities, we comply with laws and regulations as well as engage in voluntary emission reduction efforts.
Air quality conservation
Our business sites emit combustion gases (e.g., NOx, SOx) into the atmosphere due to the use of boilers, cogeneration systems, and incinerators. Our business sites also generate volatile organic compounds (VOCs) through the operation of reaction tanks and storage tanks at plants.
We endeavor to reduce the impact on air quality by maintaining and properly operating this equipment along with ancillary exhaust gas treatment equipment.
Our target for VOCs is 80 tons or less in Japan and 10 tons or less overseas by the final fiscal year (FY2024).
In FY2023, VOC emissions in Japan totaled 44 tons (down 22 tons from the previous fiscal year) and 8 tons overseas (no change from the previous fiscal year), for total Group emissions of 52 tons, achieving the FY2024 target (the previous fiscal year's target was also achieved).
This is a 53% reduction from FY2019 emission volume.
NOx emissions
SOx emissions
Soot and dust emissions
VOC emissions
- The overseas values for NOx, SOx, and soot and dust in FY2019 were high because abnormal measured values were recorded at SDP GLOBAL (MALAYSIA) SDN. BHD. Equipment and measuring methods have been reviewed, and values have been normal since FY2020.
- Scope of VOC calculation: All business sites in Japan, as well as Sanyo Kasei (Thailand) Ltd.; Sanyo Kasei (Nantong) Co., Ltd.; San-Dia Polymers (Nantong) Co., Ltd.; and SDP GLOBAL (MALAYSIA) SDN. BHD.
Water quality conservation
For the wastewater discharged from the pipes at our business facilities, we set voluntary control values that are stricter than the legal effluent control values, and monitor the status of the wastewater to control pollutant concentrations. We endeavor to prevent the discharge of pollutants into aqueous environments by appropriately maintaining equipment, installing oil retaining walls, and taking measures to prevent leakages at business sites.
≫ ESG Performance Data > Environment | Water Resource Related Data
Nagoya area facilities (Nagoya Factory, SDP Global Co., Ltd. and SAN NOPCO LIMITED.) discharge to Ise Bay, and Kawasaki area facilities (San Chemical Co., Ltd.) discharge to Tokyo Bay.
Other domestic facilities discharge to sewerage systems.
COD
Total phosphorus emissions
Total nitrogen emissions
Soil and groundwater quality conservation
We do not perform landfill disposal at business sites. Along with monitoring the condition of groundwater using observation wells at business sites, we conduct voluntary soil surveys on company premises during construction work to check for problems on an ongoing basis.
Compliance with PRTR Law
Japan and Thailand have a system in place for notifying of the amount of emissions entities release into the environment or transfer in accordance with the PRTR Law.
In addition to substances subject to the PRTR Law, the Group monitors emissions of VOCs not subject to the Law from its business sites and prioritizes them in its efforts to reduce emissions.
In FY2022, we began taking measures to reduce emissions of chloromethane, which is the largest VOC emitted in Japan but for which no effective measures had been taken.
Through manufacturing process improvements, we succeeded in reducing our previously excessive input of chloromethane, reducing chloromethane emissions from 17.2 tons in FY2021 to 6.1 tons in FY2023.
Overseas, we will incorporate emission reduction technologies developed in Japan to reduce emissions through combustion and adsorption treatment of exhaust gases.
Breakdown of VOCs (FY2023, domestic)
Release and transfer of substances subject to the PRTR Law (FY2023)
(Unit: tons)
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| Substances handled | Volume handled | Atmospheric emissions | Water emissions | Soil emissions | Waste transferred | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanyo Chemical | 100 | 122,674 | 25.2 | 0.4 | 0 | 352.9 |
| Domestic subsidiaries and affiliates | 53 | 105,717 | 3.8 | 0 | 0 | 7.6 |
| Total | 112 | 228,391 | 29.0 | 0.4 | 0 | 360.5 |
≫ ESG Performance Data > Environment | Chemical Substance Emission Data
Compliance regarding environmental matters
There were no pollution complaints, violations of environmental laws or regulations, administrative guidance, or lawsuits at our domestic sites in FY2023.