Basic ideas

Basic ideas

The Tokai Carbon Group treats protection of the global environment as one of its highest management priorities. To harmonize our business activities with environmental needs, we have implemented an environmental management system based on the ISO 14001 international standard. Toward that same end, we also qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the environmental impacts of our usiness activities, focusing on production and distribution, and take various steps to reduce them. We believe these efforts will also contribute to the realization of a sustainable society. To facilitate our environmental protection activities, we have established an environmental philosophy and environmental policy for the entire Tokai Carbon Group.

Environmental Philosophy

The Tokai Carbon Group views the protection of the global environment as one of its highest-priority management issues.
We work to achieve harmony between business activities and the environment, and conduct activities towards the realization of a sustainable society.

Environmental Policy

1. Comply with environment related laws and regulation

   In consideration of the impact of corporate activities on ecosystems and biodiversity, we will strive to protect the environment by ensuring compliance with environmental laws, ordinances, and agreements, as well as by establishing self-management standards as necessary.

2. Promote efficient use of resources and energy

   We will preserve the global environment by conserving resources and energy, minimizing waste, and reducing emissions of global warming and hazardous substances. In particular, we will strive to reduce CO2 emissions to achieve carbon neutrality, as well as to use water efficiently and manage wastewater appropriately.

3. Enhance environment management system

   We will maintain and improve our environmental management system and develop our corporate activities in consideration of the global environment within the framework of appropriate governance.

4. Promote environmental awareness and social contribution activities

   We will raise the environmental awareness of each and every employee and make group-wide efforts to preserve the global environment.

5. Disclosure of environmental information

   We will disclose environment-related information related to our corporate activities in a timely and appropriate manner to fulfill our accountability to our stakeholders.

Structure

Environmental management

【Management structure for advancing environmental disaster prevention】

The Group's environmental policy and initiatives are subject to approval by the Executives Meeting and the Board of Directors.
Further, we hold environmental disaster prevention division meetings for each division to confirm the details of environmental initiatives and the progress of disaster prevention plans at each business site, and promote activities related to environmental disaster prevention.

ISO 14001-based environmental management system

In order to promote environmentally friendly corporate activities, we have acquired environmental management system (ISO 14001) certification at each site and are working to reduce environmental risks.

The acquisition status of ISO 14001 certification is 100% for domestic production bases and 83.3% for main production bases of the Group companies including overseas. (As of the end of August 2022)
Further, we regularly conduct internal audits by appointed auditors and external audits by an external environmental certification body to enhance the effectiveness of our environmental conservation activities. There were no serious findings in the external audit.

ISCC PLUS

We have acquired ISCC PLUS（※）, an international certification for sustainable products, at our Carbon Black manufacturing plants in Ishinomaki, Chita, Kyushu Wakamatsu and North America. By supplying certified materials, we will continue to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society.

We herewith declare our commitment to comply with the ISCC PLUS requirements in accordance with the latest ISCC regulations.

※ISCC PLUS
ISCC（International Sustainability and Carbon Certification）is an international certification system for sustainability and carbon. Its system monitors and assures compliance of bio-based and circular materials (sustainable feedstocks) manufactured and supplied worldwide along the supply chain.

Objectives

Environmental objectives

In advancing its environmental activities, Tokai Carbon undertakes initiatives focused on the following five targets. 

1. Zero environmental complaints

   Tokai Carbon places importance on coexistence with local communities and will continue with the approach to organize and appropriately comply with related laws, ordinances, as well as arrangements and agreements concluded with the local communities. We also respond appropriately to matters that pose problems in the local community, even if they fall below the established standards.
   In 2023, there was one environmental complaint in the Tokai Carbon Group workplace which has been appropriately dealt with and the issue has been solved. Apart from this environmental complaint, there were no serious violations of regulations or ordinances, nor any environment-related lawsuits or fines.

Number of environmental complaints

2020	2021	2022	2023
0	0	0	1

Subjects: Tokai Carbon and domestic group companies for 2020 and 2021. Consolidated for 2022 and thereafter.

2. Response to the climate change

   We recognize that responding to climate change is an important management issue for the Tokai Carbon Group in order to realize a sustainable society. The Group is working toward the goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 25% (compared with 2018) by 2030 in order to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050.
   →Check data

3. Reduction of water consumption

   We are working to reduce water consumption by clearly understanding the amount of water required for production and limiting excess water usage. In 2023, we have expanded the scope to include our consolidated companies (Tokai Carbon and major domestic and overseas group companies) and have set the target to be lower than the water consumption of 2021 (9 million m3/year) and have made efforts to reduce our water consumption. As a result, the consumption for 2023 was 8.45 million m3, achieving our target. We will continue to target lower than the water consumption of 2021 (9 million m3/year) in our approach to reduce water consumption.
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4. Reduction of industrial waste

   The Company is focusing on further reducing the amount of outsourced disposal and final disposal by reducing the amount of industrial waste, avoiding the generation of industrial waste, thoroughly separating industrial waste, and recycling waste.
   In 2023, we have expanded the scope to include Tokai Carbon and its major domestic group companies, and set targets for a recycling rate of 80% or more and a final disposal rate of 25% or less, and have achieved the targets with a recycling rate of 89% and a final disposal rate of 11%.
   For 2024, we will expand our scope to further include Tokai Carbon and its major domestic and overseas group companies, and have set the recycle rate target to 50% or higher*.
   *Recycle rate (%) = Recycled weight (Recycled weight of waste) / (Weight of generated waste) x 100
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5. Reduction of environmentally hazardous substances

   In order to reduce the environmental burden on the atmosphere, the Company has set a target of reducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for Tokai Carbon alone to 90% or less compared with 2015 (base year) every year, and has achieved the target in the last four years.
   For 2024, the scope will be expanded to cover consolidated companies (Tokai Carbon itself and its major domestic and overseas group companies) with its target set to reduce environmentally hazardous substances as follows: NOx emissions: equal to or less than 3,400 t/y (base year: 2021), SOx emissions: equal or less than 18,600 t/y (base year: 2021), and VOC’s of equal or less than 280 t/y.

Initiatives

Initiatives to reduce environmental impact in the Group

In order to reduce the environmental impact of our business activities, we have formulated specific measures to achieve the above goals and are actually carrying them out. We will also promote energy and resource conservation activities for transportation, raw materials, secondary materials, packing and packaging materials, etc., by shortening transportation distances, improving loading efficiency and others in cooperation with transportation companies and recipients. Tokai Unyu, a Group company that handles our products as a transportation department, also strives to reduce the environmental burden by introducing fuel-efficient vehicles and promoting eco-driving, joint delivery, etc.

Environmental education and awareness

To promote the Company’s environmental initiatives, it is important for each employee to increase their understanding of environmental issues and act with environmental awareness.
Tokai Carbon outlines environmental education and awareness activities in our environmental policy and proactively conducts various education and awareness activities related to the environment.
Under our environmental management system, we have established structures and procedures to identify the potential for an environmental pollution accident, engage in environmental pollution prevention and, in the event of an emergency, minimize the environmental impact.
We also systematically conduct educational activities to ensure the development of credentialed environmental engineers, including the pollution prevention managers and energy management technicians, required for our business activities.