Resource Conservation

Basic Concept

The Nisshinbo Group's Business Conduct Guidelines include Awareness and Concern towards its environmental impact. The Group is committed to promoting recycling and other activities with a view to improving the quality of resource recycling, and faithfully realizing a safe and secure society for all people. The Group manages key performance indicators (KPIs) as part of systematic measures to achieve its environmental target for improvement of the recycling rate.

【Main measures】

①Proper disposal of industrial waste through ISO 14001 activities while ensuring proper waste disposal governance
②Promotion of reduction of waste discharge, recycling, reuse of packaging materials, reduction of use, etc.
③Selection and consignment of outstanding waste recycling companies and activities to promote the recycling and reuse of waste at overseas sites where the conditions for waste treatment differ

Please refer to "Promotion System" in "Environmental Activities" for the promotion system.

Specific Initiatives of The Nisshinbo Group

Volume of Waste Generated

The Nisshinbo Group generated 51.8 thousand tons of waste, 7% decrease from the previous fiscal year. The amount of waste generated per unit of sales was 0.100 t/million yen, 8% decrease from the previous fiscal year. The amount of waste generated and the amount of waste generated per unit production decreased because of the suspension of production at TMD Friction France S.A.S. in the Automobile Brakes business and the switch to electricity purchase from November 2021 at PT. Nikawa Textile Industry in the Textiles business.

The recycling rate was 84% (an increase of 4% recycling rate in the previous fiscal year). This was mainly due to a decrease in demand for the recycling of brake friction material polishing powder at overseas Automobile Brakes business sites.

Trends in the Volume of Waste Generated and Volume of Waste Generated per Unit of Sales

* In 2018, we changed our fiscal year-end from March 31 to December 31. As a result, the consolidated fiscal year, which is a transitional period, is an irregular accounting period. For this reason, the period used for reference to FY2018 is adjusted to the period from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019, to match the period of other consolidated fiscal years.

Trends in the Recycling Volume and Recycling Rates

Trends in Volume of Waste Generated by Business and Recycling Rate by Business

The Nisshinbo Group has set the target of achieving a 95 % recycling rate by FY2030. To this end, The Group is engaging in initiatives to reduce the amount of waste generated by each business.

The Automobile Brakes business accounted for 49% of all waste generated by the business. Processing of brake friction material polishing powder at overseas sites is an issue, and the Group is studying reuse methods and recycling destinations.

Trends in Volume of Waste Generated by Business and Recycling Rate by Business

*1 In 2018, we changed our fiscal year-end from March 31 to December 31. As a result, the consolidated fiscal year, which is a transitional period, is an irregular accounting period. For this reason, the period used for reference to FY2018 is adjusted to the period from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019, to match the period of other consolidated fiscal years.

*2 In fiscal 2019, the Electronics business was separated into the Wireless and Communications business and the Micro Devices business.

Examples of Nisshinbo Group

Zero Emissions

Throughout the Nisshinbo Group, the Group is working toward zero emissions (a recycling ratio of 99% or more). Of its locations that generated 10 tons of waste or more in FY2022, 41 locations achieved zero emissions.

Specific Activities of the Group Companies

Establishment of a Corporate Collaboration Platform to Upcycle Discarded Resources

NISSHINTOA IWAO INC. together with Nestlé Japan Ltd. and 13 other companies and organizations, established "Upcycle Association," a corporate collaboration platform on February 7, 2023, to promote the upcycling of discarded resources in order to realize a sustainable society for the present and future generations. The first project is "TSUMUGI," which uses upcycled paper yarn.

This is an initiative to upcycle paper resources that would otherwise be discarded, as well as materials such as Japanese cypress generated from the thinning of forests on Mt. Rokko, into paper yarn. Although paper is a material with a high recycling image, the recycling rate for paper containers and packaging is 2.7%. In addition, some of the thinned wood generated for road maintenance is difficult to use because of its size and shape and is currently left unattended.

The Upcycle Association will promote initiatives and product development to transform discarded resources into familiar articles by leveraging the strengths and expertise of supporting companies.

Improving Raw Material Costs through Effective Use of Discarded Materials

NJ Components Co., Ltd., Sanyo Office, conducts firing of some of the products in the piezoelectric manufacturing division. An electric furnace is used for firing, and in order to reduce energy costs and CO₂ emissions during firing, the company is trying to fire as many products as possible in an efficient manner. In order to achieve this, the company uses multistage stacking firing in which many products are stacked on top of each other. However, in multistage stacking baking, warping occurs in the topmost product, which then results in the loss of raw materials due to the disposal of the topmost product.

Therefore, the company focused on materials that were originally discarded in the manufacturing process (waste materials). The company considered reducing the loss of raw materials by making a dummy product for the topmost layer from the discarded materials and replacing it with a regular product. Since there was concern about mixing the dummy product with the regular product when replacing it, the company changed the size of the regular product and the dummy product for the top shelf so that they could be easily identified. As a result, a 14% reduction in raw material loss was achieved.

Resource Conservation Initiatives through Collaboration of Group Companies "Utilization of Scraps of Nonwoven Fabrics as Rags"

Nanbu Plastics Co., Ltd., Fujieda Plant, received scraps of nonwoven fabric at a low price from the adjacent Fujieda plant of Nisshinbo Textile Inc. and used them to wipe off machine oil in the manufacturing department and as an absorbent material, cut them into pieces, and used them as rags for disinfection with alcohol to prevent the COVID-19. The company has been implementing a reuse program since 2021.

This initiative also made it possible to reduce the purchase of new rags, which resulted in cost savings. In addition, the company's neighboring Oigawa Plant and the Head Office also utilize the rags during the year-end cleaning season. In FY2022, 110 kg of nonwoven scraps were provided annually at a frequency of approximately every two months.

The company will continue to promote collaboration within the Nisshinbo Group by starting with small activities.

Utilization of Plastic Scraps

Toms Manufacturing Corporation in the Philippines is promoting the reuse of plastic scraps. In the plastic molding process, a material, which is called runner, is generated that are not used as products. These runners are crushed, melted, and re-pelletized to be reused in molding. The company mixes re-pelleted materials into its production whenever possible for use in molded products. This process of re-pelletizing crushed materials is called re-pelletizing.

The company currently owns two re-pellet machines. For those that can be reused as crushed material without re-pelleting, runners are automatically removed from the molding machine and then crushed, mixed, dried, and molded into pellets. As a result of these activities, the amount of crushed material reused increased from approximately 186 t in FY2021 to 325 t in FY2022.

Recycling of Plastic Scrap Materials

Nanbu Philippines Incorporated in the Philippines has always been environmentally conscious and focused on reducing plastic waste.

As a measure to reduce the amount of waste materials generated, the company continues to review the molding conditions of each product and to revise the procedures to minimize the initial loss amount at the weekly start-up. Furthermore, the company is reducing waste by sorting recyclable plastic scraps generated in the production process, such as lost materials due to "chocotei^*" and cutting scraps in the cutting process, and then recycling them through pulverization after carefully checking customer requirements and restrictions.

As a result of these efforts, the ratio of waste to raw material input was halved from 27.0% to 13.5% in FY2022 compared to the previous fiscal year.

The company will continue to work with employees, mainly at weekly meetings, to further increase recycling potential while learning together.

* Chocotei: A temporary stoppage of equipment or production.

Initiatives to Create Reports with Electronic Signatures

Nisshin Environmental Planning Inc. analyzes the samples requested by customers and delivers measurement certificates and analysis reports as deliverables of analysis results. Until now, a measurement certificate stamped on paper by an environmental certified measurer for each case was recognized as an official document, so in the majority of cases, multiple copies of a paper report with a stamp were prepared and delivered.

In February 2016, the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) issued "Interpretation and Application of Laws and Regulations Related to the Measurement Law," indicating that measurement certificates could be issued electronically, and began the move to digitization. In consideration of the environment and in order to promote paperless operations, the company proposed to customers the electronic delivery using "e-metering," a report with an electronic signature and has started to do so with customers who have given approval.

The number of reports issued by the company using "e-metering" increased year by year to 273 in FY2021 and 725 in FY2022, but this is still only a part of the total number of reports. In the future, the company will work to have customers understand the purpose of this project and switch from imprinting to "e-metering" as soon as possible.

Shirt Recycling Project

Nisshinbo Textile Inc. is engaged in the "Shirt Recycling Project" in which discarded shirts are reborn as new shirts.

Used shirts are collected and cut, and ionic liquid is used to dissolve the cut shirts and extract the cellulose. The extracted cellulose is spun into yarn and recycled as regenerated cellulose fiber, which is then used to make shirts again. The company was selected for the NEDO Leading Research Program in FY2022 and is conducting research and development to establish the basic technology in collaboration with Shinshu University.

In December 2022, equipment will be installed at the company's Yoshinogawa Plant, and a pilot plant will start up in April 2023. The goal is to establish production technology, produce prototype shirt products by the end of 2024, and establish a circular economy model with Tokyo Shirts Co., Ltd.

Start of Recycled MOBILON Production

Nisshinbo Textile Inc. and Fukusuke Co., Ltd., launched Japan's first, "Satisfaction x Mobilon Circular Economy Project," which aims to realize a Circular Economy for stockings.

Used stockings of "Satisfaction" and "Daily Satisfaction," Fukusuke's flagship products, are collected at 12 directly managed Fukusuke stores nationwide. The collected stockings are spun together with virgin raw materials using a special technology to extract only MOBILON, which is then transformed into recycled MOBILON and reused as a raw material for new stockings.

The conventional economic activities of mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal bring about a variety of negative factors, such as climate change and loss of biodiversity. The “Circular Economy” is an activity to recycle waste as a resource by reusing previously discarded materials as raw materials. The company is committed to expanding the Circular Economy in the future.

Reduction of Industrial Waste

Nisshinbo Textile Inc., Tokushima Plant, obtained ISO 14001 certification in 1999 and has been working to improve productivity and minimize the environmental impact of its manufacturing processes, starting with raising employee awareness, and then through more efficient energy and resource consumption and zero emissions.

In 2019, the company obtained certification from Tokushima Prefecture as a 3R Practice Office, and the company is actively working to protect the environment by promoting waste reduction and recycling. In 2021, the company reviewed the entire process from sorting to treatment by subdividing waste into smaller pieces, recycling non-recyclable waste, and consolidating waste treatment companies to reduce the number of transports out of the plant. As a result, in FY2022, the company was able to reduce the total volume of waste by 74% and waste treatment costs by 60% compared to the previous year, contributing to a reduction in environmental impact, cost reduction, and management efficiency.

Reuse of Used Paper Tubes

Nisshinbo Do Brasil Industria Textil Ltda. in Brazil reuses used paper tubes in cooperation with two major customers in the state of São Paulo. Paper tubes are a material used in the yarn manufacturing process and are the core part of the yarn when wound. They are mainly made of recycled paper and have a certain degree of strength and durability.

Until now, the yarn was disposed of after use at the destination, but from the viewpoint of resource conservation, the company explained the purpose of collecting and reusing used paper tubes, and two of the suppliers agreed to this. Collection began in June 2021 and reuse began in August of the same year. The company checks and sorts each collected paper tube for damage and stains before recycling, and to date, there have been no complaints about the quality of the recycled paper tubes. In FY2022, the company collected 613,000 pieces (approx. 25 tons) and reused 435,000 pieces (approx. 17 tons) after strictly sorting them.

The company will continue this activity from the viewpoint of resource conservation and cost reduction.

Resource Conservation

Basic Concept

【Main measures】

Specific Initiatives of The Nisshinbo Group

Volume of Waste Generated

Trends in the Volume of Waste Generated and Volume of Waste Generated per Unit of Sales

Trends in the Recycling Volume and Recycling Rates

Trends in Volume of Waste Generated by Business and Recycling Rate by Business

Trends in Volume of Waste Generated by Business and Recycling Rate by Business

Examples of Nisshinbo Group

Zero Emissions

Sites that have Achieved Zero Emissions

Specific Activities of the Group Companies

Establishment of a Corporate Collaboration Platform to Upcycle Discarded Resources

Improving Raw Material Costs through Effective Use of Discarded Materials

Resource Conservation Initiatives through Collaboration of Group Companies "Utilization of Scraps of Nonwoven Fabrics as Rags"

Utilization of Plastic Scraps

Recycling of Plastic Scrap Materials

Initiatives to Create Reports with Electronic Signatures

Shirt Recycling Project

Start of Recycled MOBILON Production

Reduction of Industrial Waste

Reuse of Used Paper Tubes