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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We will raise the environmental awareness of each and every employee and make group-wide efforts to preserve the global environment.
We will disclose environment-related information related to our corporate activities in a timely and appropriate manner to fulfill our accountability to our stakeholders.
The Group's environmental policy and initiatives are subject to approval
by the Executives Meeting and the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors supervises
environmental disaster prevention risks, and the director in charge of risk reports to the Board
of Directors on important matters such as regarding environmental disaster prevention as
necessary.
In addition, we hold a Global Environment and Safety Meeting on the environmental initiatives of
each business at worksites in Japan and overseas to summarize the results of activities and
discuss environmental targets for the next fiscal year.
In Tokai Carbon Japan, 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.
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 61% for consolidated production sites including domestic and overseas group
companies.(As of the end of February 2025)
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.
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.
In advancing its environmental activities, Tokai Carbon undertakes initiatives focused on the following five targets.
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 were no environmental claims. In addition, there were no serious
violations of regulations or ordinances, nor any environment-related lawsuits or fines.
Number of environmental claims
2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
---|---|---|---|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Subjects: Tokai Carbon and domestic group companies for 2020 and 2021. Consolidated for 2022 and thereafter.
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.
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We are working to reduce water consumption by clearly understanding the amount of water
required for production and limiting excess water usage. In 2024, we have set a target
of reducing water usage below the 2021 level (9 million m3/year) for our consolidated
companies (Tokai Carbon and major group companies both in Japan and overseas), and have
made efforts to reduce our water consumption. As a result, the consumption for 2024 was
8.02 million m3, achieving our target. In 2025, we will work to reduce water usage,
aiming for "water consumption of 8.9 million m3/year or less (1% reduction against
2021)".
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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 2024, we have expanded the scope to include Tokai Carbon and its major domestic and
overseas group companies, and set the recycle rate target to 50% or higher*, and have
achieved the target with the recycle rate target to 58.5%.
For 2025, the scope of the target will continue to be consolidated(Tokai Carbon and its
major domestic and overseas group companies)and we will work towards our target of the
recycle rate target to 51% or higher.
*Recycle rate (%) = Recycled weight (Recycled weight of waste) / (Weight of generated
waste) x 100
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In order to reduce the environmental burden on the atmosphere, we are working to reduce
emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), and volatile organic compounds
(VOCs). In 2024, we have expanded the scope to include our consolidated companies (Tokai
Carbon and major domestic and overseas group companies) and have set the targets of "NOx
emissions: 3,400 tons or less/year (base year: 2021)," "SOx emissions: 18,600 tons or
less/year (base year: 2021)," and "VOC emissions: 280 tons or less/year."
As a result, we achieved our targets: NOx emissions: 2,843t/year, SOx emissions:
11,132t/year, VOC emissions: 167t/year.
For 2025, the scope of the target will continue to be consolidated(Tokai Carbon and its
major domestic and overseas group companies)and we will work towards our targets : NOx
emissions: 3,330 t/y or less (2% reduction against 2021), SOx emissions: 17,670 t/y or
less (5% reduction against 2021), VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds): 265 t/y or less (5%
reduction against 2022).
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.
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 for all employees. We are ensuring that all employees regularly acquire
environmental knowledge by providing environmental education based on ISO 14001 at each business
site, informing them of our company-wide policy and amendments to environmental laws at various
environment-related meetings, and disseminating environment-related information through the
in-house portal site and in-house newsletter.
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.