Initiatives Aimed at Preventing Global Warming

Energy Consumption

JSR's Responsible Care Committee adopted a Medium-Term Voluntary Environmental Preservation Plan. This plan sets two targets for reducing energy use as measures to prevent global warming. To achieve them, the Company is carrying out the Efficiency 100% (E-100) project at all Group companies to reduce energy and resource use. While we did not reach our reduction target for energy use per unit of production, we will continue our evaluations and make further efforts to conserve energy.

1.  Law Concerning the Rational Use of Energy

Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Under the Kyoto Protocol, which entered into force in February 2005, Japan is required to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 6% in the five-year period from 2008 to 2012, using FY1991 as the base year. As a member of the Japan Chemical Industry Association (JCIA), the JSR Group is taking measures to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by conserving energy in accordance with the policies of the Kyoto Protocol. Initially, our goal was only to reduce energy use per unit of production, but in FY2011 we also started to work toward an absolute CO₂ emissions reduction target.
As one such activity, the Yokkaichi Plant installed a large-scale, natural gas-fired turbine cogeneration system in April 2010. By using natural gas as fuel, this system is expected to produce fewer CO₂ emissions than the previous coal and heavy oil-fired steam boiler and condensing steam turbine system. In FY2011, the company as a whole cut some 33,000 tons of CO₂, an approximately 2% reduction from the FY1991 level.

JSR's initiative to encourage its employees to conserve energy at home began with its participation in the JCIA's “Accelerate By Chemical Industry for Cool Earth (ABC) Activities.” In FY2011, we participated in“Eco-notebook ” (Environmental Household Account Book), which is part of the Environment Ministry's Wagaya-no-Kankyodaijin (“The Environmental Minister in My Home”) program. With some 900 employees registered in the program, JSR has raised awareness of energy conservation by surveying and recording monthly electricity, gas, and water use and determining CO₂ emissions from such data. While we can no longer measure the effects of this program due to its cancellation by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan's power situation has become more critical due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, making household energy conservation more important than ever. Our efforts will continue, albeit using different approaches, such as by informing employees of creative ways to reduce energy use over the intranet.

Logistics Environmental Policy

Improving Transport Efficiency

As part of our environmental efforts in transportation, we have taken systematic steps to reduce our energy use in transportation as a designated shipper under the 2006 amended Energy Conservation Law. We are trying to reduce transport energy intensity by at least an average of 1% per annum by using larger tanker trucks and shifting from road to rail and water transport.
In FY2011 (April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011), we made progress in shifting from rail to water transport for products and raw materials. However, both transport energy intensity and CO₂ emissions increased relative to FY2010 levels as a result of increased total shipping volume.
Nonetheless, in the four-year period from 2006, we reached our target to reduce transport energy intensity by 6.7% (yearly average of 1.6%).

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