(Key Sustainability Issues) Reduction of Wastewater and Industrial Waste | Sustainability | the KAYAKU Spirit Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.

Policy and Basic Approach

The Nippon Kayaku Group, in the course of its business activities, uses and discharges vast amounts of water resources. We view water resource use as an issue for all of our business sites, and are therefore mindful of using water appropriately and conserving the local environment. With respect to water discharge, we hold ourselves to yet stricter standards than those laid down in law and at regional and local government regulatory level.
When it comes to waste, we must drive forward efficient use and recycling of substances from production through to consumption and disposal, so as to minimize resource usage and advance towards a recycling society with low environmental burdens. That is why our KAYAKU Vision 2025 (KV25) lists recycling rates and zero-emission rates among our key performance indicators (KPIs), and why, in addition to working on waste reduction, we are perceiving waste produced in the course of business as a future resource which should be efficiently used.
Furthermore, April 2022 saw the implementation of a Law on Plastic Resource Recycling, underlining the fact that the conditions imposed on plastics are ever-changing and ever-stricter. The backdrop of problems stemming from climate change and plastic refuse has led to yet livelier moves towards plastic waste recycling in Japan as much as anywhere. With respect to the waste discharged from the plastic used by the Nippon Kayaku Group, we are moving forward with 3R initiatives (reduce, reuse and recycle) firmly in our minds.

System

System for Promoting Responsible Care

Audit

In order to confirm whether wastewater and waste are being appropriately managed at every business site and Group company, the Nippon Kayaku Group conducts audits in the form of Core Environment, Safety and Health Diagnostic Checks. These Checks allow us to confirm any problems or inadequacies regarding compliance with laws and regulations on wastewater and waste treatment, run our eye over wastewater treatment areas and waste disposal areas, and grasp any problems with the management situation.

Responsible Care Audits

Indicators

Environmental Management

Initiatives

Wastewater

Protection of the Water Environment

The Nippon Kayaku Group holds itself to yet tougher standards than those laid down by laws or regional and local regulations, and makes sure to comply with them when discharging. We also handle color material products such as dyes and inkjet printing ink, and the plants which manufacture them, Fukuyama and Tokyo, make sure that any colored wastewater produced during manufacturing is given decoloring treatment prior to discharge.

Scroll sideways for an overview of the table below.

Indicators	Covering	Unit	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
COD	consolidated	tons	231.9	218.8	223.6	243	274
Total phosphorus	consolidated	tons	10.6	3.2	11.2	7.1	18.5
Total nitrogen	consolidated	tons	74.8	83.2	73.5	114.0	68.5
SS^*	consolidated	tons	46.0	48.4	49.9	49.2	44.6

*SS - Suspended solids: Refers to particulate matter of 2mm diameter or less either floating or suspended in water, including fine particles from minerals, plant and animal plankton or the carcasses of such, sewage, organic matter and metal sediments originating from plant wastewater. If present in large amounts, suspended solids can negatively affect water transparency and appearance, and – through impeding light-ray penetration – underwater photosynthesis as well

Business Site Initiatives

Education and Training
Head Office
A Seminar on the Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act

September 2023 saw our Technology Unit’s Technical Administration & Engineering Division open a seminar on the Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act for domestic business site in-charges and environmental protection managers, aimed at deepening understanding of environmental laws. The Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act is geared towards grasping soil pollution situations and implementing relevant measures to prevent health hazards. As Nippon Kayaku handles a multitude of chemical substances, we must gather the requisite knowledge on soil contamination prevention measures in order to appropriately apply the law when, for example, decommissioning facilities which handled designated hazardous chemicals or encountering changes in soil characteristics (due to excavations or embankment-building). The seminar saw around 50 employees given the chance to learn about the outline and purpose of the Act and the process for filing applications from a specialist who introduced actual case studies. The future will see us hold such internal seminars periodically to deepen employee understanding as we work on fully observing the law.

Joetsu Plant
Training on Wastewater Issues

The Joetsu Plant manufacturing process for polarizing plates gets through some 20,000m³ of water a month.
Such manufacturing operations cause discharged wastewater to contain various chemical substances. Once put through treatment equipment, though, we can reuse such wastewater as process water and thereby decrease industrial waste volumes. We also use analyzers to monitor wastewater discharged into rivers, and hold ourselves to standards yet higher than those laid down in regulations, discharging only wastewater which meets those standards.
The same plant also hosts training seminars given by Facility Safety Division employees on water treatment equipment and discharge methods, with production employees and managers learning how water used in production is treated prior to discharge into rivers. We will continue holding these training sessions on a regular basis so as to deepen employee understanding and lower environmental burdens.

Waste

Responding to the Law on Plastic Resource Recycling

Amid the ever-changing, ever-stricter environment around plastics did Japan introduce a Law related to the Promotion of Recycling of Plastic-related Materials (Law on Plastic Resource Recycling) in April 2022. Under this Law, Nippon Kayaku can be defined as a “heavy waste producer”. Hence, in order to contribute to a sustainable society, we are mindful of the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) as we drive forward efforts to systematically fix plastic waste targets and reduce the volumes produced.

Plastic Waste Emission Amounts

Scroll sideways for an overview of the table below.

Indicators	Covering	Unit	2020	2021	2022	2023
Plastic waste emissions	Non-Consolidated	tons	954	888	885	788
Recycling rate	Non-Consolidated	%	80.2	80.8	81.8	91.0

Business Unit Initiatives

Fukuyama Plant
Pursuing Zero Emissions through Effective Use of Waste

In addition to cutting volumes of waste produced, Nippon Kayaku promotes exploring the reuse of waste as a future resource. Of the many types of waste generated by the Fukuyama Plant, sludge produced during microbial water treatment comes in particularly large amounts. As the moisture component of sludge makes it difficult to treat, we formerly sent it to landfill after the proper management processes. But after we examined its resource potential with the aim of decreasing environmental burdens, an incineration company informed us that sludge could potentially be recycled as a heat-adjustment fuel (a so-called “heat-reducing fuel”), and is currently using our sludge for that purpose. Additionally, the ash from the incineration process is now being effectively repurposed for cement and roadbed materials. The Fukuyama Plant is also looking at ways of utilizing other forms of industrial waste, and continues to achieve rates of 0% landfill and 100% recycling.

Going forward, we will endeavor to maintain the proportion of industrial waste earmarked for incineration (the Zero-Emissions Rate) at 1% or less, and raise recycling rates to 80% or more.

Kayaku Safety Systems de Mexico
Industrial Waste Management

Kayaku Safety Systems de Mexico (KSM) properly sorts its solid waste into wood, cardboard, nonferrous metals, aluminums and plastics, and is constantly on the lookout for external suppliers who can reuse these materials. The materials are stored in a fixed place for 2 to 3 months before being collected by government-certified suppliers.
The recyclable elements of industrial waste are delivered to various recycling companies so that wood being can be repurposed for wooden palettes, cardboard is also reused, and new materials can be generated from plastic, aluminum and steel.
This program also extends into areas outside production. One example would be the setting up of a breakroom which allows users to sort plastic bottles, organic and inorganic waste.
The end of 2021 brought waste management improvements. Prior to that, we had no proper sorting system, meaning that waste was sent for treatment while containing resources that could yet be effectively used. We have now rectified that by fixing reuse and waste standards for each type of waste, and sorting in line with those standards. This has made sorting decisions easier for workers, thereby increasing efficiency, accuracy, and recyclable amounts of metals, wood and plastic. We have also boosted reusable materials by reassessing plastics formerly designated as waste. Our higher recycling amounts have also produced the secondary benefits of less municipal waste and landfill disposal.
FY2023 saw negotiations with customers result in permission being given for the reuse of polyester packaging materials, which we plan to commence during FY2024.

Recycling amounts

Category	Covering	Unit	2021	2022	2023
Metals	KSM	tons	1	3	9
Plastics	KSM	tons	50	73	77
Lumber	KSM	tons	10	4	9
Cardboard	KSM	tons	24	23.3	26
Municipal waste	KSM	tons	160	165	112

Waste Data

The total volume of waste produced by the Nippon Kayaku Group in FY2023 ran to 22,030 tons, which was 24% down on the 28,934 tons produced in FY2022. In our non-consolidated business, we have also been promoting the recycling of waste previously landfilled or incinerated. Our continued efforts at reducing the environmental burden in this way have yielded a 143-ton (39%) year-on-year reduction in landfilled waste, and a further 0.1% year-on-year fall in zero-emission rates from 0.8 to 0.7%.
We will continue promoting waste volume reduction and effective use of waste, easing the heavy environmental burdens posed by landfilled waste, and working towards environmental conservation and a sustainable society.

Scroll sideways for an overview of the table below.

Indicators		Covering	Unit	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Non-hazardous waste		non-consolidated	tons	17,971	19,411	22,069	21,154	16,146
		Group companies	tons	4,240	996	1,199	1,242	1,087
		Total	tons	22,211	20,407	23,268	22,396	17,233
	General waste	non-consolidated	tons	714	643	673	648	464
		Group companies	tons	647	504	449	559	513
		Total	tons	1,361	1,147	1,122	1,207	977
	Industrial waste	non-consolidated	tons	17,256	18,768	21,396	20,506	15,682
		Group companies	tons	3,593	493	750	682	574
		Total	tons	20,849	19,261	22,146	21,188	16,256
Hazardous waste		non-consolidated	tons	5,231	5,925	6,503	6,467	4,828
		Group companies	tons	190	92	86	71	59
		Total	tons	5,421	6,017	6,589	6,538	4,887
	Source-specific hazardous industrial waste	non-consolidated	tons	131	221	146	182	182
		Group companies	tons	0	0	0	0	0
		Total	tons	131	221	146	182	182
Total^*1			tons	27,631	26,426	29,857	28,934	22,119
Types of waste	Sludge	non-consolidated	tons	2,206	1,979	2,309	2,338	2,291
		Group companies	tons	267	131	336	258	115
		Total	tons	2,473	2,110	2,645	2,596	2,406
	Waste oil	non-consolidated	tons	5,296	5,766	6,386	5,848	4,809
		Group companies	tons	95	94	87	71	59
		Total	tons	5,391	5,860	6,473	5,919	4,868
	Spent acid	non-consolidated	tons	617	2,244	2,185	1,523	1,116
		Group companies	tons	1,916	3	2	8	13
		Total	tons	2,533	2,247	2,187	1,531	1,129
	Waste alkali	non-consolidated	tons	13,399	13,382	15,784	16,064	11,219
		Group companies	tons	631	17	11	11	8
		Total	tons	14,030	13,399	15,795	16,075	11,227
	Plastic waste	non-consolidated	tons	642	954	888	885	788
		Group companies	tons	731	235	277	326	326
		Total	tons	1,373	1,189	1,165	1,211	1,114
	Others	non-consolidated	tons	1,041	1,010	1,021	962	751
		Group companies	tons	790	609	572	640	624
		Total	tons	1,831	1,619	1,593	1,602	1,375
Landfill amount		non-consolidated	tons	844	404	298	233	144
Recycling rates^*2		non-consolidated	%	84	81	82	87	84
Zero-emissions rates		non-consolidated	%	3.7	1.6	1	0.8	0.7

*1As figures have been rounded off, the totals in some columns do not exactly match the sum of each item above.
*2Includes recovered and reused solvent

Trends in Waste Generation Amounts and Rates of Zero Emissions (Nippon Kayaku alone)

Costs Associated with Pollution, Waste and Resource Reuse

Environmental Accounting

Responses to Environmental Regulations

At every plant do we prepare treatment equipment to deal with manufacturing process wastewater depending on its composition, and hold ourselves to higher standards than those imposed by law and local authority regulations when keeping tabs on water pollution figures. We are happy to report that FY2023 saw no violations of laws such as the Water Pollution Prevention Law and related regulations, and zero violations of wastewater discharge laws such as the Waste Disposal and Public Cleaning Law.

Numbers of Environmental Violations

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(Key Sustainability Issues)Reduction of Wastewater and Industrial Waste

Policy and Basic Approach

System

Audit

Indicators

Initiatives

Wastewater

Protection of the Water Environment

Business Site Initiatives

Education and TrainingHead OfficeA Seminar on the Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act

Joetsu PlantTraining on Wastewater Issues

Waste

Responding to the Law on Plastic Resource Recycling

Plastic Waste Emission Amounts

Business Unit Initiatives

Fukuyama PlantPursuing Zero Emissions through Effective Use of Waste

Kayaku Safety Systems de MexicoIndustrial Waste Management

Recycling amounts

Waste Data

Trends in Waste Generation Amounts and Rates of Zero Emissions (Nippon Kayaku alone)

Costs Associated with Pollution, Waste and Resource Reuse

Responses to Environmental Regulations

(Key Sustainability Issues)
Reduction of Wastewater and Industrial Waste

Education and Training
Head Office
A Seminar on the Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act

Joetsu Plant
Training on Wastewater Issues

Fukuyama Plant
Pursuing Zero Emissions through Effective Use of Waste

Kayaku Safety Systems de Mexico
Industrial Waste Management