ºÚÁÏÍø

As a global healthcare company, the ºÚÁÏÍø Group has established the ENW (ºÚÁÏÍø Network Companies) Environmental Protection Policy and conducts business activities with an emphasis on global environmental protection. It is stated in our Action Guidelines that we will “4. Contribute to the formation of a recycling-oriented society by promoting the sustainable use of resources, including water, along with waste reduction and recycling” and as such, we are promoting proper disposal of waste and resource recycling initiatives, including water, on a global scale.

The ºÚÁÏÍø Group in Japan is working to reduce the ratio of landfill waste to the amount of waste generated to 0.5% or less to achieve zero emissions in waste management with three goals in mind, i.e. to reduce the amount of waste generated, to increase the ratio of recycled waste, and to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.  

To secure sufficient water resources is absolutely essential for the production of high-quality pharmaceuticals, and the ºÚÁÏÍø Group is working to ensure the quality of water discharged from its production and research sites and also implementing initiatives to reduce water consumption.

In order to promote proper waste management, we have set the following new mid-term goals in fiscal 2023 in addition to our existing initiatives.

- Total waste;
  a) Reduction of the amount ratio of total waste / net sales by 7% from FY2023 levels
  b) Reduction of the amount ratio of hazardous waste / (net sales plus R&D expenses) by 7% from FY2023 levels

- Landfill disposal; Waste landfilled / Waste generated ratio; < 2%

- Recycling (including valuables) ratio; 50% or more (including thermal, chemical, and material recycles)

As a midterm goal, the ºÚÁÏÍø Group as a whole has set a target to reduce water consumption by 7% (intensity per sales) from the fiscal 2023 level by fiscal 2030, and is encouraging the efficient use of water resources, including the recycling of waste water from research facilities and rainwater harvesting. Furthermore, we have set mid-term goal of maintaining zero violations of laws by fiscal 2030 in compliance with wastewaterrelated environmental standards of each country, and we maintain high-quality wastewater treatment to contribute to preservation of water quality.

Under the supervision of the Board of Directors, the ºÚÁÏÍø Group has established the Company-wide Environment and Safety Committee chaired by the Corporate Officer responsible for Environmental and the Corporate Officer responsible for Safety. The Committee deliberates and makes decisions on important agenda items related to environmental safety. In addition to promoting global activities such as reduction of GHG emissions and efficient use of resources, the Committee contributes to the strengthening of activities to identify environmental risks in Japan and overseas and establish countermeasures to address these risks. Important environmental issues related to the entire ºÚÁÏÍø Group that are discussed by the Committee are reported to the Corporate Strategy Committee and the Growth & Operating Committee, the decision-making bodies of the business execution departments, for deliberation, resolution, and implementation. Resolutions of the Companywide Environment and Safety Committee are shared with the ºÚÁÏÍø Group companies in Japan and overseas at meetings of the Domestic ºÚÁÏÍø Network Environment and Safety Conference and Global ºÚÁÏÍø Carbon Neutrality Information Sharing Meeting, and the Group work together in addressing these issues.

Each operational site has established its own environmental management system and promotes environmental activities. The main production sites in Japan as well as the Suzhou Plant in China and Vizag Site in India have all obtained ISO 14001 certification and are conducting activities in accordance with the ISO standards, while also striving to raise environmental awareness through activities such as facilitating environmental education and training to address environmental risks. In addition to complying with environmental laws, ordinances and agreements, we periodically conduct internal environmental audits by a department specializing in internal auditing to identify and resolve issues.

The ºÚÁÏÍø Group in Japan has set the goal of “reducing the amount of waste generated, improving the recycling rate, and reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills.
The breakdown of waste shows an increase in alkali waste due to the manufacturing of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) for anti-ulcerogenic drugs. Another factor contributing to the increase in waste generated was the change in counting septic tank sludge as general waste beginning fiscal 2022. On the other hand, plastic and metal waste decreased after the completion of the head office renovation.
With regard to recycling, we actively promoted the selection of waste disposal contractors that are more willing to thoroughly separate waste and recycle resources, the reuse of organic solvents for purposes such as in chemical synthesis of APIs, and the sale of waste solvents for use as auxiliary fuel. In particular, plastic waste was either thermally recycled or recycled into raw materials for Refuse Paper and Plastic fuel (RPF). As a result, the volume of plastics recycled by the ºÚÁÏÍø Group in Japan increased by 25 tons from the previous year, and the recycling rate reached 90.5%, achieving our target. Regarding paper waste, the use of paper in our offices is also kept to the minimum necessary. In addition to promoting paperless operations, such as digitization of archived documents, we also encourage the sale of used paper.
The ºÚÁÏÍø Group will continue to dispose of waste appropriately in compliance with relevant laws and regulations, and further promote waste reduction and recycling based on the efficient use of resources, thereby contributing to the formation of a recyclingoriented society.

Regarding water withdrawals in water-stressed regions, assessments using the databases "Think Hazard" and "WRI (the World Resources Institute) Aqueduct" confirmed that there were some plants and research laboratories located in high-risk areas. On the other hand, a survey of plants and research laboratories to determine their perceptions based on the medium-term outlook for business activities did not identify any areas that posed a high risk to business activities. At present, we have determined that we are not withdrawing water from areas at high risk of water stress.
As a midterm goal, the ºÚÁÏÍø Group as a whole has set a target to reduce water consumption by 7% (intensity per sales) from the fiscal 2023 level by fiscal 2030, and is encouraging the efficient use of water resources. As a specific example, the Tsukuba Research Laboratory uses large amounts of water for facility maintenance and management, including air conditioning. We are working to reduce water consumption by using intermediate treated water that is processed internally from wastewater during research and development within the facility, resulting in recycling approximately 70,000 m3 of intermediate treated water in fiscal 2023.
Furthermore, we have set mid-term goal of maintaining zero violations of laws by fiscal 2030 in compliance with wastewater related environmental standards of each country, and we maintain high-quality wastewater treatment to contribute to preservation of water quality.
As for investments, the ºÚÁÏÍø Group set its IWP (Internal Water Pricing) for each country where major operational sites are located, which is incorporated into the investment decision criteria as the amount of investment effect by converting the reduction in water use into monetary values.

In fiscal 2021, a relatively large volume of plastic and metal waste was generated as a result of office renovations at the head office building. The volume of the waste returned to normal levels in fiscal 2022, with the total waste generated decreasing by 156 tons from the previous fiscal year. The volume of recycled materials and the volume of recycled valuable materials decreased by 516 tons and 444 tons, respectively, from the previous fiscal year. The recycling rate excluding valuable materials was 25.3%, down 10.8% from the previous fiscal year, and the recycling rate including valuable materials was 45.5%, down 6.9% from the previous fiscal year, falling short of the target. Landfill volume was 13.0 tons, an increase of 1.6 tons from the previous fiscal year due to an increase in product disposal, but the landfill rate was 0.31%, achieving zero emissions for the 16th consecutive year.