Environmental Activities

Basic Concept

The Nisshinbo Group is aiming to increase corporate value as a more united corporate group by realizing its Corporate Philosophy — “Change and Challenge! For the creation of the future of Earth and People.” With “Awareness and Concern towards our Environmental Impact” as the Group’s Business Conduct Guidelines, the Group has a deep understanding of environmental behavior and actively engage in and act on environmental activities. As an Environment and Energy Company group, the Group will continue to offer new products and systems that help protect the environment, save energy and create alternative sources of energy, while also providing solutions that address some of the greatest issues faced by humanity today, such as environmental destruction and natural disasters caused by climate change, to make life safer and more secure for people everywhere.

The Nisshinbo Group emphasizes the following environmental issues:

  • ①Providing sustainable solutions
  • ②Taking action against global warming
  • ③Contributing to a recycling-oriented society
  • ④Water-resource conservation measures

By setting environmental targets for the above issues and promoting activities to address them, the Group aims to contribute to the achievement of the “sustainable, decarbonizing and resource-recycling society” advocated by Japan and the United Nations, and to find solutions for customers’ social and environment issues. In so doing the Group is continuing to contribute to achieving the SDGs.

Promotion System

The Nisshinbo Group, as an Environmental Company, has established internal regulations for promotion of environmental management to contribute to the sustainable development of society on a global scale and to specify basic matters related to the promotion of environmental management.

The chief executive responsible for promotion of the environmental management of the Group is the President of Nisshinbo Holdings Inc. The Group is engaged in promotion activities of the environmental management under a system in which the director and the chief of the Corporate Strategy Center of Nisshinbo Holdings, Inc. is in charge.

Similarly, at each of the Company's subsidiaries, a representative serves as the chief executive responsible for promotion of the environmental management, and the general manager responsible for promotion of the environmental management and the person for promotion of the environmental management are appointed to promote environmental management promotion activities.

The “Sustainability Development Promotion Meeting” and the “Environmental Management Promotion Staff Meeting” are held once a year under the auspices of the Sustainability Development Department to discuss policies and issues related to the promotion of environmental management on a Group-wide basis.

The Environment Group of the Sustainability Development Department of Nisshinbo Holdings Inc. collects performance data and manages the progress of each Group company's activities toward environmental targets, and the progress is checked by the Director and Chief of the Corporate Strategy Center of the Company.

The Group conducts periodic environmental audits once a year to ensure that the environmental management system is being properly implemented, including compliance with environment-related laws and regulations. The representative of each of the Company's subsidiaries in charge of the general manager responsible for promotion of the environmental management conducts an environmental management review once a year to receive reports on changes to the environmental management system and the status of achievement of the annual environmental plan, as well as to issue instructions on the necessary implementation items for environmental management.

The Director and chief of the Corporate Strategy Center of the Company reports the details of changes to the Group's environmental management system, the status of achievement of the three-year environmental targets, and the results of environmental audits once a year at the board of management*. The President, who is the chief executive responsible for promotion of the environmental management, conducts environmental management reviews and issues instructions on matters necessary for environmental management. The management review is also reported to the Board of Directors, which discusses actions to be taken and oversees the targets and their progress.

* The Board of Management: Executive conference consisting of Directors, Executive officers, etc.

Specific Initiatives of the Nisshinbo Group

The Nisshinbo Group is developing activities with an emphasis on providing sustainable products and solutions through technological capabilities and innovation created by its diverse human resources. The Group will continue to offer new products and systems that help protect the environment, save energy and create alternative sources of energy, while also providing solutions that address some of the greatest issues faced by humanity today, such as environmental destruction and natural disasters caused by climate change, to address environmental and social issues.

Environmental Targets

The Long-Term Environmental Target (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction)

The Nisshinbo Group aims to capture climate change-related business opportunities and reduce risks. In order to reduce climate change-related risks, the Group declared in June 2022 to be carbon neutral by 2050 and established a new long-term environmental target with 2050 as the year of achievement. With the achievement of carbon neutrality as its top priority, the Group is actively promoting climate change countermeasures, such as energy conservation activities, switching to electricity derived from renewable energy, and reducing emissions of PFCs* (perfluorocarbons). At the same time, in June 2022, the Group revised its three-year and medium-term environmental targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

* PFCs: Fluorinated greenhouse gases used in dry etching and other processes in semiconductor

The Nisshinbo Group’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Targets

The Nisshinbo Group’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Targets

The Medium-term Environmental Targets

The Nisshinbo Group positioned the environmental target, which is to be achieved by FY2030, as the medium-term environmental target and will work together as a company to achieve the targets for the four items shown in the table below by expanding sales of “products that contribute to a sustainable society*” including those that contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions throughout the supply chain as the top target.

* Within all products, the Group identifies “products that contribute to a sustainable society.”

The Medium-term Environmental Targets

The Three-Year Environmental Targets

The Nisshinbo Group is developing activities to achieve the target for the following eight items, including the above four items, with the environmental target as the fifth three-year environmental target, which will be achieved in FY2024. The four items that are also included in the mid-term environmental goals are positioned as milestones in the mid-term targets. The Fifth Three-Year Environmental Targets are included in the Fifth Sustainability Promotion Plan.

FY2022 Results and Assessment of the 5th Three-Year Environmental Targets

The 5th Three-Year Environmental Targets (FY2022-2024)

Key Action Items The 5th Three-Year Environmental Targets Result as of FY2022
Improvement of the sales percentage by the products that contribute to the development of the sustainable society 60% or more of total sales 55% of total sales
Reduction of greenhouse gas*1 emissions Reduce by 35% or more compared to FY2014 Reduced by 36% compared to FY 2014
Reinforcement of the maintenance of biodiversity Activities in Japan and overseas at more than 5 new sites At 2 new sites*2
Reduction of water usage per unit of sales Reduce by 65% or more compared to FY2014 Reduced by 78% compared to FY 2014
Promote Life Cycle Assessment*3 (LCA) 60% or more of total sales 64% of total sales
Reduction of the energy consumption per unit of sales Reduce by 15% or more compared to FY2014 Reduced by 19% compared to FY 2014
Reduction of the volume of PRTR substances*4 emissions per unit of sales Reduce by 30% or more compared to FY2014 Reduced by 42% compared to FY 2014
Improvement of recycling rate Increase the recycling rate to 90% or more 84%

*1 The Greenhouse Gas Emissions

・Scope1:

Energy related Greenhouse Gas Emissions = Σ[Fuel Consumption × CO2 Emission Factor*1-1]

Non-Energy related Greenhouse Gas Emissions = Non-Energy related CO2 Emissions + Σ [Greenhouse Gas Emissions other than CO2 × Global Warming Potential*1-2]

*1-1 Emission factors based on the Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures are used. Coal, however, uses a factor calculated based on actual calorific values, which is 1.896 t-CO2/t in FY2022.

*1-2 Global warming potential based on the Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures.

・Scope2:

Energy related Greenhouse Gas emissions = Σ [purchased electricity and purchased steam volume x CO2 emission factor*1-3]

*1-3 Purchased electricity uses, in Japan, adjusted emission factors for each electric company based on the Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures, and in foreign countries, the emission factors for each electric company, and if unavailable, the latest country-specific emission factors of IEA Emissions Factors. Data for FY2021 and earlier use country-specific emission factors for each year from "IEA Emissions Factors 2021." Purchased steam uses emission factors based on the Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures.

*1-4 For purchased electricity, alternative emission factors by electric power supplier were used until FY2020 based on the Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures. For data for past fiscal years after FY 2014, greenhouse gas emissions were retroactively adjusted using the emission factors in *1-3 above.

*2 FY2022 Activities started: Japan Radio Co., Ltd. (Japan) and Nisshinbo Micro Devices AT Co., Ltd. (Japan).

*3 Life cycle assessment (LCA): Understanding of environmental load, through the life cycle of a product, from raw materials, to production, use, and finally to disposal.

*4 PRTR substances: Substances subject to the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) system pursuant to the “Act on the Confirmation, etc. of Release Amounts of Specific Chemical Substances in the Environment and Promotion of Improvements to the Management Thereof” and reports of their amounts of release and transfer must be filed.

The Nisshinbo Group conducted an assessment of its activities in FY2022 (the first year) with regard to its 5th Three-Year Environmental Targets (to be achieved by FY2024). Seven of the Group's eight initiatives are making steady progress, and five of them have achieved their targets for FY2024 ahead of schedule.

Sales of “the products that contribute to the development of sustainable society” are growing steadily, accounting for 55% of the Group's FY2022 sales. The breakdown is as follows: friction materials compliant with copper and antimony regulations*5 in the Automobile Brakes business account for 18%, semiconductor products (contributing to energy saving and smaller chip size in electrical appliances) in the Micro Devices business account for 11%, disaster prevention and mitigation-related products in the Wireless and Communications business account for 8%, and others account for 18%. The Group aims to achieve a sales expansion rate of 60% by increasing production of carbon separators for fuel cells, including those for automobiles, at its new plant (Midori-ku, Chiba City), which will start operation at the end of 2024.

In FY2022, the Group will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 36% from the FY2014 level, achieving the FY2024 target ahead of schedule, through energy conservation activities, switching to green electricity from purchased electricity, installation of additional PFCs (perfluorocarbons) gas abatement equipment involving capital investment, and expansion of solar power generation, as well as through the aggressive Group-wide promotion of other measures. The target for FY2024 was achieved ahead of schedule. In the Textiles business, which is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, switching to the purchase of green power derived from geothermal power generation for electricity at production plants in Indonesia led to an approximately 23% reduction in emissions for the entire Group compared to the previous fiscal year.

In strengthening biodiversity preservation activities, in the Wireless and Communications business, the Group began in FY2022 to collaborate with the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology on research into the collection and monitoring of marine plastic waste through fixed-net fishing. In addition, the Micro Devices business has registered its longstanding efforts to restore the vegetation of the Kashibaru Marshland, which dates back to the middle of the Showa period, as a Nisshinbo Group biodiversity conservation activity. Each segment is also considering the details of new activities to be determined.

In FY2022, water consumption per sales was reduced by 78% compared to FY2014, achieving the FY2024 target ahead of schedule. Water consumption per net sales was 12.0 m³/million yen, a 13% decrease from the previous fiscal year, because of the efforts to improve water intake methods at the Fujieda and Yoshinogawa plants of the Textiles business, which use a large amount of water, and a reduction of more than 600 thousand m3 (equivalent to about 10% of the Group's total water consumption) compared to the previous fiscal year.

In terms of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) promotion target, this represents 64% of the Group's FY2022 sales, and the FY2024 target has been achieved ahead of schedule. New LCA implementation has been completed for ring yarn (general staple spun yarn) in the Textiles business, fuel cell separators in the Chemicals business, and valves for automobile engines in the Precision Instruments business, and the implementation rate is improving in all segments.

Energy used in FY2022 per sales was reduced by 19% from FY2014, achieving the FY2024 target ahead of schedule. In the Textiles business, PT. Nikawa Textile Industry stopped using coal boilers to generate electricity from November 2021, which greatly contributed to the 8% reduction compared to the energy consumption per sales in the previous fiscal year.

In FY2022, emissions of PRTR substances per sales were reduced by 42% compared to FY2014, achieving the FY2024 target ahead of schedule. Significant reductions were achieved by switching to paints and cleaning agents used by the Wireless and Communications businesses that do not contain PRTR substances.

In terms of the target for improving the recycling rate, the Group as a whole achieved 84% in FY2022. The treatment of friction material polishing powder in the Automobile Brakes business is an issue, and the Group aims to achieve the target by promoting the study of reuse methods and recycling destinations.

*5 Copper and antimony regulations: Laws of and regulations Japan and overseas that restrict the use of copper and antimony, which are considered highly toxic when released into the environment.

The Status of Environmental Management System

As of the end of December 2022, 50 sites were certified in accordance with ISO 14001. Certain operations are pursuing integrated certification in the aim of conducting environmental activities more intertwined with their business operations.

At the TMD Group, all manufacturing plants and one service department have received ISO 14001 certification. The group is also pursuing certification under the ISO 50001 standards for energy management systems, and 7 business locations have received certification.

Organizations with ISO 14001 Certification (As of December 31, 2022)

(Details of related affiliated companies and business sites within each plant included in the scope of registration have been omitted.)

In Japan (23 group companies )

  • Nisshinbo Holdings Inc.
  • NISSHINTOA IWAO INC.
  • Japan Radio Co., Ltd.
  • JRC Tokki Co., Ltd.
  • Japan Radio Glass Co., Ltd.
  • Nagano Japan Radio Co., Ltd.
  • JRC Logistics Service Co., Ltd.
  • Nagano Japan Radio Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
  • NJ Components Co., Ltd.
  • Ueda Japan Radio Co., Ltd
  • JRC Mobility Inc.
  • Nisshinbo Micro Devices Inc.
  • Nisshinbo Micro Devices AT Co., Ltd.
  • Nisshinbo Micro Devices Fukuoka Co., Ltd.
  • Nisshinbo Brake Inc.
  • Nisshinbo Mechatronics Inc.
  • Nisshinbo Precision Instrument & Machinery Hiroshima Corp.
  • Nanbu Plastics Co., Ltd.
  • Kyushu Nanbu Plastics Co., Ltd.
  • Excel Tokai Co., Ltd.
  • Nisshinbo Chemical Inc.
  • Nisshin Environmental Planning Inc.
  • Nisshinbo Textile Inc.

In Overseas (27 group companies)

  • Shenzhen NJRC Technology Co., Ltd. (China)
  • Nisshinbo Micro Devices (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (Thailand)
  • TMD Friction Services GmbH* (Germany)
  • TMD Friction UK Ltd. * (The United Kingdom)
  • TMD Friction Romania SRL* (Romania)
  • TMD Friction Espsna, S.L.* (Spain)
  • TMD Friction do Brasil S.A. (Brazil)
  • TMD Friction Mexico, S.A. de C.V.* (Mexico)
  • Shijiazhuang TMD Friction Co., Ltd* (China)
  • Hangzhou TMD Friction Co., Ltd.* (China)
  • Nisshinbo Automotive Manufacturing Inc. (The United States)
  • Nisshinbo Somboon Automotive Co., Ltd. (Thailand)
  • Saeron Automotive Corporation (Republic of Korea)
  • Saeron Automotive (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (China)
  • Nisshinbo Saeron (Changshu) Automotive Co., Ltd. (China)
  • Saeron Automotive (Yantai) Co., Ltd. (China)
  • Nisshinbo Mechatronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (China)
  • Nisshinbo Mechatronics (Thailand) Ltd. (Thailand)
  • Nisshinbo-Continental Precision Machining (Yangzhou) Co., Ltd. (China)
  • Nisshinbo Mechatronics India Private Limited (India)
  • Nanbu Philippines Incorporated (Philippines)
  • Toms Manufacturing Corporation (Philippines)
  • PT. Standard Indonesia Industry (Indonesia)
  • PT. Nikawa Textile Industry (Indonesia)
  • PT. Nisshinbo Indonesia (Indonesia)
  • Nisshinbo Do Brasil Industria Textil LTDA. (Brazil)
  • PT. Naigai Shirts Indonesia (Indonesia)

* Also received certification for ISO 50001 Energy Management System.

Activities to raise awareness of the SDGs through environmental news

The Nisshinbo Group publishes environmental news four times a year to disseminate environment-related information to the Group companies in Japan. By explaining the relationship between environmental activities conducted by the Group and the SDGs, the Nisshinbo Group is promoting activities to raise awareness of the SDGs.

Environmental news